JOINING TOGETHER
Southern California grocery workers vote to authorize strike
KPBS
By City News Service
March 28, 2022
Contract negotiations are scheduled to resume Wednesday after thousands of grocery workers across Southern California voted to authorize their union to call a strike against the owners of stores including Ralphs and Vons/Pavilions/Albertsons. The "yes" vote does not automatically result in a strike — it only authorizes the union to call one if no progress is made in labor negotiations. Roughly 47,000 workers represented by seven United Food and Commercial Workers locals between Central California and the Mexico border were eligible to cast ballots. The membership covers workers at more than 500 stores.
Google Fiber contractors in Kansas City are first to unionize under Alphabet Worker Union
CNBC
By Jennifer Elias
March 25, 2022
Google Fiber contractors in Kansas City, Missouri voted to unionize Friday, becoming the first workers with bargaining rights under the Alphabet Workers Union. The group of 10 full-time workers are employed by BDS Connected Solutions through Alphabet and work in a retail store for Google Fiber, the project that provides high-speed internet access to 19 U.S. markets. The National Labors Relations Board counted and approved March votes on Friday. The 9 to 1 vote marks the first location of Google workers to unionize under the Alphabet Workers Union, which was created a year ago alongside the Communications Workers of America (CWA) amid increased tensions between workers and Google leadership. The Alphabet Workers Union now has more than 800 members in various locations across the company, but otherwise operates through a “minority union” model, meaning it doesn’t have bargaining rights with leadership.
Minneapolis teachers OK contract; classes to resume Tuesday
ABC News
By The Associated Press
March 28, 2022
The union, which represents about 4,500 teachers and support professionals, voted to approve the new contract Sunday after its negotiators reached a tentative agreement with the district Friday. The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers went on strike on March 8 after negotiations dragged on over wage increases, smaller class sizes, exemptions for teachers of color from seniority-based layoffs and mental health support for students. “We have never been more united, and all of our eyes are wide open to the real fight ahead of us," Greta Callahan, president of the union’s teacher chapter, said Sunday at a news conference announcing the contract's approval. "This is one battle in a larger war that we are fighting, and it is for strong public schools.”
Broadway World
By Chloe Rabinowitz
March 28, 2022
Actors' Equity Association, the national labor union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers in live theatre, has announced that Executive Director Al Vincent, Jr. has been elected as a voting member to the Board of Directors for the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. The International Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to education and research about professional benefits for workers in the U.S. and Canada. Vincent will serve a two-year term, effective immediately. "The International Foundation works tirelessly to make sure that workers get the most out of their benefits," said Vincent. "As a labor union, we know that benefits like health insurance, retirement savings and pensions are hard-won, and I look forward to working with the International Foundation to ensuring these crucial elements of worker compensation are within reach for as many working people as possible."
Why is the San Antonio Symphony on strike? KSAT Explains
KSAT
By Myra Arthur
March 28, 2022
Negotiations are happening, but music is not, within the San Antonio Symphony. On September 27, 2021, symphony musicians went on strike after an impasse was declared in negotiations for a new contract between the Symphony Society of San Antonio and the union that represents a majority of its members — the local chapter of the American Federation of Musicians. The two sides are struggling to hammer out a deal that strikes a balance between competitive wages that maintain talent and addressing financial struggles that have persisted for years.
IN THE STATES
Unanimous vote lifts wage theft bill supporters
WWLP
By Colin A. Young
March 28, 2022
Organized labor groups are optimistic that the unanimous support in a committee for legislation to ratchet up enforcement against wage theft could signal that the issue, addressed twice by the Senate in recent years but not by the House, could get the attention of lawmakers before this session ends. Kevin Brousseau, political director for the Massachusetts AFL-CIO and co-chair of its Wage Theft Coalition, said the bill’s “heart and soul” is its lead contractor liability provisions, under which a lead contractor could be subject to joint and several civil liability for wage theft violations among its subcontractors. The shift towards greater subcontracting has exacerbated wage theft issues in the construction industry, bill supporters said.
AMAZON
Union officials: Bessemer Amazon workers told to keep working after smoke incident
Alabama Political Reporter
By John H. Glenn
March 28, 2022
“Amazon knowingly kept workers at their stations for hours during the incident, failed to properly evacuate the facility, and told workers to go back to work before any clarity on the safety of the vapor in the air was known.” said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the RWDSU, in a statement made Saturday. “It is unconscionable that Amazon would keep workers at their stations when there is a known health and safety issue. Workers’ lives should never be put in jeopardy for profits, something Amazon has an inexcusable history of doing.”
EQUAL PAY
In These 22 Cities, Women Under 30 Are Out-Earning Men—Or At Least Reaching Pay Parity
Forbes
By Jena McGregor
March 28, 2022
The gender pay gap still looms large on a national level for women, as recent “equal pay day” headlines reminded everyone. But in a small yet growing number of metropolitan areas—including New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.—young women’s median pay has reached parity when compared with their male peers, and in some cases, even tops what young men are making.