Today's AFL-CIO press clips
MUST READ
Joaquin Castro, Texas AFL-CIO Back Bill To Support Seasonal Workers
Texas Signal
By Fernando Ramirez
April 22, 2022
Leonard Aguilar, secretary treasurer of the Texas AFL-CIO, said the stories of exploitation and violence within the H-2B program were both heartbreaking and infurtating. “For far too many workers, these jobs turned into nightmares,” Aguilar said. “Because of the issues that were forced upon them, issues such as wage theft, poor working conditions, exposure to COVID-19, fraud and discrimination, harassment and retialtion.”
MUST LISTEN
No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (38 minutes in)
Podcast
April 24, 2022
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler: “Collective action now is being seen as the way to make change. I think we’re going to be seeing a lot more organizing efforts — whether it is Starbucks or Amazon, we’ve seen research assistants in the UC system 17,000 rising up, forming their union, Silicon Valley, museums, culture workers, non-profit workers. So I think it is vast and it is just getting started.”
APPRENTICESHIPS
Union offers 5-year apprenticeship for women to learn welding
News Channel 5
By Claire Kopsky
April 22, 2022
With less than 3% of tradespeople being women, a local union chapter is offering a 5-year apprenticeship program with full benefits to entice more female applicants. The union, Tennessee State Pipe Trades Association (TSPTA), is one of 5,000 pipefitters, welders, sprinkerfitters and plumbers across the state. The Nashville chapter, Local 572, helped to build some of the largest economic development projects in the region, such as the Titans' Nissan Stadium, the Facebook Data Center in Gallatin, Spring Hill GM Plant, and most recently, the Nashville Sounds' GEODIS Park at the Fairgrounds.
TRADE
Britain’s hopes of post-Brexit US trade deal ‘depend on workers’ rights’
The Guardian
By Richard Partington
April 25, 2022
Eric Gottwald, a trade policy specialist at the AFL-CIO, said: “For too long, the voices of working people have been shut out of trade negotiations or discussions. We need the TUC and its unions at the table to shape a fair agreement that lifts wages and standards on both sides of the Atlantic.”
JOINING TOGETHER
Machinists' union at Lockheed in Fort Worth ratifies new contract
CBS DFW
By Alex Keller
April 24, 2022
About 5,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 776 in Fort Worth, Texas voted on Sunday, April 24, 2022 to ratify a new contract with Lockheed Martin. The four-year, two-month contact takes effect on Monday, April 25 and includes historic pay increases and strong benefits.
USW Local 309 members rally in support of impending Arconic negotiations
The Daily Times
By Steve Wildsmith
April 23, 2022
David “Buzz” Sawyer, Nick McCarter, Ronnie Amos, Kevin Kittrell, Jennifer Myers and Mike Bivens are headed to the industrial Pennsylvania city as the negotiating team for United Steelworkers Local 309, the Blount County chapter of the international union which begins talks with Arconic this week to secure a labor deal.Friday, the Local 309 hosted a rally at the union headquarters on Hall Road in Alcoa as a show of support for the upcoming negotiations and solidarity among the members themselves.
Political outcry over elimination of bus routes sparks proposed raises for drivers and mechanics
The Buffalo News
By Robert J. McCarthy
April 24, 2022
Jeff Richardson, president of Amalgamated Transit Union 1342, said negotiators left the bargaining table last week with a tentative agreement that must yet be ratified by the authority's board of commissioners. He said the NFTA agreed to address a new contract well before the expiration of its current pact on July 31, and that the union feels good about the results. "It wasn't paying enough, and all those years of zeros [with no contract] put us behind the 8-ball," he said. "I believe they listened and the negotiations went well. We didn't back down, and they came through." Richardson also credited local politicians for calling attention to the relative low pay of NFTA workers, especially after the authority cited the inability to attract workers as the reason for suspending several express routes. On Feb. 13, the NFTA ended express bus service on eight routes and decreased evening and weekend service. At the time, Executive Director Kimberley A. Minkel called the driver shortage a nationwide problem, while the local authority contended with a labor shortage and high absenteeism because of Covid-19.
IN THE STATES
Workforce development: Missouri Works Initiative aims to break barriers, help people land jobs
Springfield News-Leader
By Ralph Green
April 23, 2022
The Missouri Works Initiative is holding a five-week pre-apprenticeship training program in Springfield to help people land jobs in the skilled trades. The program began April 11 and runs through May 13. The goal is to help people land steady, high-paying jobs while also benefiting employers who are short on qualified workers. The Missouri Works Initiative is a non-profit organization affiliated with the Missouri AFL-CIO. Its goal is to address the state’s changing workforce needs by creating healthy and recovery-friendly workplaces, connecting laid off workers with job-search or upskilling resources for future employment, and facilitating apprenticeship opportunities. The Missouri Works Initiative was formed to eliminate barriers to economic opportunities by connecting Missourians to the necessary resources to build life-sustaining careers.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Local electricians donate services to fix electrical hazards in low-income homes
Fox2
By Ala Errebhi
April 23, 2022
Electricians with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) Electrical Connection partnership are volunteering their time Saturday to work on upgrading electrical systems in 15 low-income homes. Volunteers with Electric Connection join the Rebuilding Together St. Louis effort every year – for 19 years – to help those in low-income households. Around 150 electricians will gather at the IBEW Union Hall first and fan out from there to make the repairs.
Letter Carriers' Annual Food Drive Set for May 14 Throughout Nation
Yahoo! Finance
By PR Newswire
April 22, 2022
The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) will conduct its annual national food drive on Saturday, May 14. NALC's food drive, which was first held in 1983, helps feed millions of Americans. The Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive, the country's largest one-day food drive, provides residents with an easy way to donate food to those in need. Customers simply leave their donation of non-perishable food items next to their mailbox before the delivery of the mail on Saturday, May 14. Letter carriers will collect these food donations on that day as they deliver mail along their postal routes, and distribute them to local food banks, pantries, shelters and churches.