Today's AFL-CIO press clips
AMAZON
‘I feel very unsafe’: Union alleges unsafe conditions at Alabama Amazon facility
AL.com
By Tandra Smith
March 26, 2022
Workers at an Alabama Amazon facility were allegedly told to keep working Friday as potentially vaporized oil spread throughout a series of floors. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which is seeking to represent workers the facility, made the allegations known about the Bessemer facility in a statement issued Saturday afternoon.
JOINING TOGETHER
Grocery workers vote to strike if needed in South California for higher wages
Reuters
March 26, 2022
Around 48,000 grocery workers voted to strike if needed when seeking higher wages from stores owned by Kroger Co (KR.N) and Albertsons Companies Inc (ACI.N) in South California, the UFCW 770 union said on Saturday. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) has been seeking significantly higher and equal pay, sufficient staffing and enough working hours in their negotiations with the grocers, which began on Jan. 28.
Minneapolis educators approve contract, classes set to resume Tuesday
MPR News
By MPR News Staff and Elizabeth Shockman
March 27, 2022
Minneapolis teachers and education support professionals have approved a new contract, the district said Sunday night. Over the weekend as members voted, the union and district agreed to a plan to to bring educators back on Monday as a transition day, with students returning on Tuesday. The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers confirmed members ratified the agreement and hailed the improvements to wages, mental health supports for students and job protections. “We will return to our schools on Monday more united with our students, our communities, and each other,” said Greta Callahan, president of the teachers chapter in a statement Sunday.
WisPolitics.com
March 25, 2022
The following statement was released by Business Manager Dean A. Warsh of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 494 in regards to the NLRB’s final decision regarding the IBEW being the rightfully elected and NLRB certified representative of the workers of Colectivo Coffee: “The bold and brave workers of Colectivo Coffee really have something to celebrate after the wonderful news out of Washington D.C. yesterday,” said Business Manager Dean A. Warsh. “This past January, the owners and management of Colectivo Coffee had filed for an additional review of the union election that NLRB representatives had already twice decided was just and sound. Now, the final decision has been made by the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C. that the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is officially and without question, the union representative of the workers of Colectivo Coffee,” added Business Manager Warsh.
Steelworkers union reaches contract agreement with Sappi’s Skowhegan mill
CentralMaine.com
By Taylor Abbott
March 25, 2022
After months of negotiations, the largest union at Sappi North America’s Somerset Mill in Skowhegan has reached an agreement with the company on a new three-year contract. The contract involving United Steelworkers Local 9 includes a 3% pay increase each year of the contract, a $5,000 payout to each employee, enhancements to pension and accident/sickness insurance, and no increase in out-of-pocket health care costs. “For many months, the company questioned our solidarity. The members spoke loud and clear,” said Patrick Carleton, president of United Steelworkers Local 9. “After working in the plant through the pandemic, this contract offer represents the dedication and commitment to keep our company profitable in our markets. It was long overdue.”
Southern California grocery workers authorize a strike amid contract negotiations
Los Angeles Times
By Margot Roosevelt
March 27, 2022
The United Food and Commercial Workers announced that 95% of those voting at seven local unions approved a potential strike. A three-year contract covering 47,000 workers at 540 stores expired March 6. Negotiations over a new agreement began in January but stalled three weeks ago.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Local nonprofits seeking donations
News Press-Now
By Morgan Doyle
March 27, 2022
Local nonprofit organizations around town are in need of donations. AFL-CIO Community Services needs men’s and children’s clothes. Executive Director Nichi Seckinger said children and men tend to wear out their clothes, so many of the donations received at the agency’s Fab-U-Less Finds store have stains or tears and therefore can’t be given away. “We have a lot of men that come in looking for jeans for work,” Seckinger said. “It’s what they can wear in a factory job or something like that and so they’re desperately looking for it so they can go to work, and then we don’t have anything to give them.”