MUST READ
AFL-CIO’s Shuler says fed-up employees are leaving the workforce
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
By Kris B. Mamula
March 29, 2022
Workplace disgust has also created a rare opportunity to expand unions at a time when overall membership is down, and a younger generation of baristas, librarians and university faculty have been embracing the labor movement, AFL-CIO President Elizabeth H. Shuler said Tuesday in Pittsburgh. “Do you see what’s happening out there,” said Ms. Shuler, a Gladstone, Ore., native and the first woman president of the national labor organization. She was a guest speaker at the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO 45th Constitutional Convention, which continues through Thursday at the Omni William Penn, Downtown. “Working people are rising up. ‘I’m not going to work anymore at a crappy job with low pay.’ We’re feeling this all across the country.”
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Workers are fed up, and that’s a good sign for unions, national labor leader says in Pittsburgh
WESA
By An-Li Herring
March 29, 2022
“Workers are fed up. They're fired up. They're exhausted. They're frustrated. And for many of them, the pandemic was the tipping point. They're tired of risking their health and safety for a crappy job,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said. She addressed a ballroom full of union delegates, who collectively represent 700,000 workers across Pennsylvania. The delegates are meeting this week at the Omni William Penn Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh for a convention that the state’s AFL-CIO chapter hosts every other year. Shuler’s remarks coincided with the release of new federal data that shows that the number of people who quit their jobs in the U.S. again reached a historic high last month. The figures published Tuesday show that 4.4 million of the nation’s workers quit in February, up from 4.3 million in January. A record 4.5 million quit in November.
JOINING TOGETHER
Vogue, Bon Appétit and other Condé Nast staffers form union
The Washington Post
By Elahe Izadi
March 29, 2022
For years, employees at Condé Nast — the influential publisher of glossy titles such as Vogue, Vanity Fair and GQ — have been trading notes with each other about their increasing workloads and what they discovered to be differing salaries. On Tuesday, these conversations culminated in a letter to Condé managers signed by more than 350 employees requesting the company voluntarily recognize their union, which would organize under the NewsGuild of New York. (A Condé spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment). The union would cover more than 500 editorial, production video workers across 11 publications, including Bon Appétit, Architectural Digest and Allure. Those leading the effort say nearly 80 percent of eligible workers have indicated support.
‘We’re prepared to strike’ — Hundreds of Kennecott workers rally for new contract
The Salt Lake Tribune
By Blake Apgar
March 25, 2022
Hundreds of employees of one of the world’s largest copper mines rallied Friday in support of a new union contract with one of the world’s largest mining companies. “What do we want?” supporters shouted outside the Kennecott office for Rio Tinto in South Jordan’s Daybreak. “Fair contract!” hundreds yelled back. The demonstration came as the March 31 deadline for ratifying a new agreement between four unions and Rio Tinto nears for workers of the Kennecott Copper Mine. Rio Tinto said if it is unable to reach an accord with members of the United Steelworkers, International Union of Operating Engineers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, it is prepared for work to continue uninterrupted at the mine in the Oquirrh Mountains.
Culinary Union sues Station Casinos over pandemic jobs right-to-return
News3
By Associated Press
March 29, 2022
A union representing more than 60,000 hotel housekeepers, bartenders and porters is backing a lawsuit alleging that one of Nevada’s largest private employers is breaking state law by not rehiring workers laid off because of coronavirus pandemic closures two years ago. Culinary Union officials said Tuesday the civil lawsuit filed in state court by 76 non-union hospitality workers alleges “flagrant violation” by Station Casinos of a state “right to return” law the politically powerful union backed and the Legislature adopted last year.
Negotiations to Resume Wednesday Between SoCal Grocers, Workers
Pasadena Now
By City News Service
March 29, 2022
Contract talks will resume Wednesday in hopes of avoiding a walkout by thousands of Southern California grocery workers who have already authorized their union to call a strike if negotiations break down. The United Food and Commercial Workers union announced late Saturday that its members had “overwhelmingly” voted to authorize a strike if necessary against 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.
BuzzFeed Union Votes to Authorize Newsroom Strike Amid Escalating Tensions
Yahoo!
By Antoinette Siu
March 29, 2022
The BuzzFeed Union on Tuesday voted in favor of authorizing a newsroom strike amid escalating tensions with management of the digital media company. More than 90% of The NewsGuild of New York voted to approve a strike if BuzzFeed management continues “bargaining in bad faith,” the group said in a release. “BuzzFeed News Union members are ready to do whatever it takes to ensure their Pulitzer-prize winning newsroom continues to operate with integrity and to win a contract that values the essential work they do,” Susan DeCarava, president of The NewsGuild of New York, said in a statement. “Their nearly 5,000 Guild colleagues stand with them.
Covid upended the labor market, and now these workers are using their leverage to push for unions
CNBC
By Kate Rogers
March 29, 2022
The Covid pandemic pushed Americans to reconsider how and where they work, resulting in a tight labor market, rising wages and what’s been dubbed the Great Resignation. It also spurred workers, many of them younger, at big companies such as Amazon and Starbucks to flex their newfound leverage with union movements. Warehouse and store employees seeking union membership feel they have no seat at the table. They’re looking for better pay and working conditions, and they want a say with management in day-to-day operations.
ISU employee union votes to authorize strike
WCIA
By Austin Schick
March 29, 2022
Illinois State University dining, residence hall and maintenance employees now have the option to strike amid labor contract negotiations with the university. Monday, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) 1110 announced a near unanimous decision to make striking an option. According to AFSCME 1110 representatives, 80% of its members that work at ISU voted Friday on strike authorization. 96% of those voting members said yes to striking being a possible tactic used by the negotiating team, if needed. This does not mean a strike will happen, however, it’s giving members the option to do so.
IN THE STATES
Pennsylvania AFL-CIO holding convention in Pittsburgh this week
WTAE
By Tom Garris
March 29, 2022
Pennsylvania's AFL-CIO started its annual constitutional convention in Pittsburgh on Tuesday with delegates from different unions planning to vote on resolutions and elect officers. "A lot of important resolutions on health and safety, political action, legislation, work and family issues, all the things that workers deal with every day," said Rick Bloomingdale, president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.