EDITOR'S NOTE: Scroll down to "IN THE STATES" to see Kentucky State AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan quoted in "Mourn the dead, fight like hell for the living and pass the PRO Act" a Daily Kos posting.
MUST READ
Unions Applaud Biden OSHA for Advancing Covid Safety Standard to Protect Workers
Common Dreams
By Kenny Stancil
April 27, 2021
"Make no mistake, an emergency OSHA standard will save lives," AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said in response to the move. "We're grateful for the Department of Labor's work in getting the standard to this point, and we urge swift issuance of the rule." "Strong enforceable standards that require employers to develop workplace Covid-19 safety plans, implement science-based protection measures, train workers, and report outbreaks are necessary for reducing infections and deaths, and beating this virus," Trumka continued.
POLITICS
CNBC
By Abigail Johnson Hess
April 27, 2021
“This is a victory for working people across the country, but we can’t stop fighting until everyone has the same guarantee,” John Weber, AFL-CIO spokesperson tells CNBC Make It in a statement. “Building a just recovery means giving workers a fair return on our hard work and finally raising the federal minimum wage to $15.”
Biden Names Trade Expert Celeste Drake as ‘Made in America’ Director
The Washington Post
By Nancy Cook
April 27, 2021
“Celeste is a brilliant, critical thinker on trade and global issues who throughout her career has fought for policies that benefit America’s working families,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said. “She is the perfect person to lead Made-in-America for the Biden-Harris administration.”
Biden to raise minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 an hour
CNN
By Tami Luhby
April 27, 2021
Two months after his effort to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour ran into the Senate parliamentarian buzz saw, President Joe Biden is set to use his executive powers to hike the pay of hundreds of thousands of federal contract workers. The President is expected to issue an executive order on Tuesday that increases contract workers' hourly minimum wage to $15 in early 2022, up from the current $10.95. It eliminates the tipped minimum wage, now $7.65 an hour, by 2024 and ensures that federal contract workers with disabilities also receive a minimum of $15 an hour.
Biden names former AFL-CIO official Celeste Drake as 'Made in America' director
Market Watch
By Robert Schroeder
April 27, 2021
President Joe Biden on Tuesday named Celeste Drake, a former AFL-CIO official, as the first "Director of Made in America" at the Office of Management and Budget. The White House said in a statement that Drake would shape federal procurement policy, to help carry out Biden's vision for a future "made in all of America by all of America's workers." One of Biden's early executive orders as president tightened "Buy American" rules in government procurement. Drake joins the administration from the Directors Guild of America and was the trade and globalization policy specialist for the AFL-CIO.
TRANSPORTATION
Just transition needed in transit electrification, labor leaders say
Smart Cities Dive
By Chris Teale
April 27, 2021
In a joint policy statement, leaders of two unions that represent transportation workers — the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and the Transport Workers Union (TWU), alongside the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO (TTD) — said transit agencies should be required to show the workforce impacts of buying electric vehicles (EVs), establish a national workforce training center to train current employees on those systems and guarantee that workers will be represented on task forces and committees around climate change and technology.
IN THE STATES
PRO Act will move working families forward
Tennessean
By Billy Dycus
April 27, 2021
Passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in March and awaiting action by the U.S. Senate, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act is the most significant worker empowerment and civil rights legislation that has been introduced in nearly a century. It’s a much-needed first step toward rebuilding our economy and ensuring that workers have a seat at the table.
Duluth’s Labor Union Honor Workers Memorial Day
Fox21
By Reece Lindquist
April 26, 2021
As workers safety continues to be a top priority in the trade, today was about honoring and remembering those lost on the job. “When someone goes to work you expect them to come home. That’s what workers memorial is all about. It’s about having safe work conditions but honoring those that did their job and unfortunately didn’t come home,” Duluth Central Labor Body President, Beth McCuskey says.
Labor Leaders: PRO Act Would Boost Working Women
Public News Service
By Mike Moen
April 27, 2021
Midwestern union leaders say before and after the pandemic, women have dealt with a variety of challenges in the workforce, but they say a proposed federal law could give them more power to organize and demand fairness. Last month, the U.S. House approved the PRO Act, which among other things, would bar employer interference and influence in union elections. Sue Martin, President/Secretary-Treasurer for the Nebraska State AFL-CIO, said in workplaces such as meatpacking plants, there is a lack of union protection, leaving women behind in making advancements. "Many women are passed up for promotions by their basically dominated male supervisors because of favoritism, or for whatever reason," Martin asserted. She contended by removing barriers to organize, more labor contracts could be drafted to include language addressing fairness issues. The PRO Act would also counteract "right-to-work" laws in nearly 30 states, including North Dakota. Opponents of the proposal say those state laws protect a worker's individual rights, while arguing the federal plan would remove flexibility for those wanting to pursue side ventures.
Mourn the dead, fight like hell for the living and pass the PRO Act
Daily Kos
By Berry Craig
April 24, 2021
Since 1989, unions have been observing April 28 as Workers Memorial Day. “Workers killed on the job the previous year are commemorated in events across America,” explained Bill Londrigan, Kentucky State AFL-CIO president. “April 28th was chosen as Workers Memorial Day because the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was born on that date in 1970.”
Labor activists urge Senate passage of federal Protecting the Right to Organize Act
Wisconsin Radio Network
By Bob Hague
April 27, 2021
At the Capitol in Madison on Monday, advocates for organized labor urged U.S. Senate passage of a bill that would repeal right-to-work laws in all states. Stephanie Bloomingdale is President of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO. “We are happy that Tammy Baldwin has been a sponsor and a co-sponsor from the very beginning of the Pro Act. But U.S. Senator Ron Johnson has still refused to meet with the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, or anyone else in labor, in terms of talking about the PRO Act,” she said.
AMAZON
Labor board will hold hearing on objections to Amazon union election on May 7
CNBC
By Annie Palmer
April 27, 2021
The National Labor Relations Board will hold a hearing on May 7 to review objections to a recent union election at one of Amazon’s Alabama warehouses, according to the union that led the campaign. In an April 16 complaint, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union accused Amazon of interfering in the closely watched union campaign held earlier this month at the company’s Bessemer, Alabama, warehouse. Bessemer employees overwhelmingly rejected unionization, with fewer than 30% of the votes tallied in favor of joining the RWDSU. The RWDSU requested that the NLRB set aside the election results because of Amazon’s alleged interference. The union accused Amazon of retaliating against pro-union employees, threatening widespread layoffs and closing the facility if employees voted in the union, among other complaints.
JOINING TOGETHER
'Major disruptions': Churchill Downs valets demand contract as Kentucky Derby Week begins
Courier Journal
By Emma Austin
April 24, 2021
About 50 union workers and supporters stood in the rain outside Churchill Downs Saturday afternoon, demanding the racetrack agree to a fair contract with its valets as it heads into Kentucky Derby Week. Members of SEIU Local 541, the racetrack employees union, say the track's valets have been working without a union contract since November after the previous five-year agreement expired. A statement from the group said the situation "could result in major disruptions during Kentucky Derby Week." The crowd, which included city workers, Teamsters and members of the Greater Louisville Central Labor Council, carried signs that said "Don't bite the hands that feed your billion $$$ greed" and demanded a "fair contract now."