MUST READ
Morning Star
By Emma Ockerman
May 1, 2022
"Worker injuries and deaths are still far too common," Liz Shuler, the president of the AFL-CIO, said in a press conference Tuesday. "Every single day, 340 people die because of hazardous working conditions."
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Remembering labor priest George Higgins and passing the torch to a new generation
National Catholic Reporter
By Michael Sean Winters
April 29, 2022
The next day, Liz Shuler, the president of the AFL-CIO, will co-host a panel discussion with the Catholic Labor Network about Higgins' legacy at the federation's national office across the street from the White House. Both the Mass and the panel will be livestreamed.This is more than just a story about a coincidence. It is really a story about relationships. It is impossible to understand the historic relationship of the Catholic Church and organized labor unless you understand first the personal relationships that stood behind someone like Higgins in his day. Those relationships both build and are built by the sense of solidarity, which is the value where the church and labor most obviously intersect.
JOINING TOGETHER
Machinists at Pratt & Whitney ratify new contract
Fox 61
By Doug Stewart
May 1, 2022
Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers have voted to ratify a new contract with aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney. The three-year contract takes effect Monday, May 2. In a release from the union leadership, the 3,000 members ratified the contract which calls for increased job security, wage increases, decreased healthcare costs, improvements in time off and vacations, and improvements in severance and re-education programs among other things. "During the pandemic, our members, deemed essential, took their roles to maintain production and helped the company remain profitable seriously," said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr.
IN THE STATES
Labor rights advocates remember people killed on the job on Workers’ Memorial Day
KVRR
By Austin Erickson
April 28, 2022
Union leaders, members and workers honor the 18 people killed on the job in North Dakota last year and those killed while working in Minnesota. Carnations are placed in remembrance of those killed on the job in 2021. Workers Memorial Day is recognized on April 28th, the day the Occupational Safety and Health Act went into effect in 1971. The somber yet hopeful memorial has a simple message. “Every worker has the fundamental right to a safe job,” North Dakota AFL-CIO President Landis Larson said. The past two years have been difficult for those working in many fields. “The pandemic has also shown us the weaknesses of our laws and workplace safety agencies that were designed to ensure workers are protected,” Larson explained.
'We can do better for each other': Wisconsin unions commemorate Workers Memorial Day
Wisconsin Public Radio
By Christine Hatfield
April 28, 2022
Wisconsin unions called attention to the effects of workplace injuries and deaths Thursday on what they call Workers Memorial Day. An AFL-CIO report released Tuesday found 340 workers across the country died each day in 2020 because of dangerous working conditions. It also found Latino and Black workers are at greater risk than their fellow workers. Mike Daily is secretary for the Milwaukee Area Labor Council. He's also a representative for the United Steel Workers. "It's a sad thing that, in 2022, we're still arguing the same things that we were decades ago," Daily said. Daily said the day was chosen by the AFL-CIO in 1989 to mark the anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act going into effect in 1971.
Workers Memorial Day recognizes deaths on the job, calls for improved safety
News 5 Cleveland
By Catherine Ross
April 28, 2022
More than 50 years after the Occupational Safety and Health Act began setting and enforcing workplace safety standards, labor organizations in Northeast Ohio and around the country are highlighting the hazards that still exist in modern workplaces. Thursday, April 28 marked Workers Memorial Day, which recognizes workers who lost their lives on the job or suffered injury or illness due to hazards at work. “This is a day that we not only mourn those who have lost their lives in the line of work but also recommit ourselves to having safe workplaces,” said Dan O’Malley, the Executive Secretary for the North Shore AFL-CIO.
Maine labor coalition scores major legislative win creating renewable energy jobs
Maine Beacon
By Dan Neumann
April 29, 2022
“Maine is the most oil dependent state in the country,” Maine AFL-CIO executive director Matt Schlobohm said. “Mainers are feeling the squeeze of rising energy costs from being dependent on global oil and natural gas markets. It is long past time to develop Maine’s energy independence and build our clean energy future. This bill ensures that we build that clean energy economy with good jobs and career opportunities for all Maine workers.”
Hartford Courant
By Mark Pazniokas
May 1, 2022
One of organized labor’s two legislative priorities in 2022 — a ban on “captive audience” meetings that unions say are used to thwart organizing — won final passage in the Connecticut House of Representatives. “The labor movement is incredibly grateful to the representatives that voted to protect workers from employer intimidation and harassment during union organizing campaigns,” said Ed Hawthorne, president of the state AFL-CIO. “No employer should be able to force a worker to attend a meeting to coerce their opinions on religion, politics, or union organizing. And no one should be fearful at work for exercising their right to join a union.”
LABOR AND ECONOMY
The Revolt of the College-Educated Working Class
The New York Times
By Noam Scheiber
April 28, 2022
Over the past decade and a half, many young, college-educated workers have faced a disturbing reality: that it was harder for them to reach the middle class than for previous generations. The change has had profound effects — driving shifts in the country’s politics and mobilizing employees to demand fairer treatment at work. It may also be giving the labor movement its biggest lift in decades. Members of this college-educated working class typically earn less money than they envisioned when they went off to school. “It’s not like anyone is expecting to make six figures,” said Tyler Mulholland, who earns about $23 an hour as a sales lead at REI, the outdoor equipment retailer, and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. “But when it’s snow storming at 11:30 at night, I don’t want to have to think, ‘Is the Uber home going to make a difference in my weekly budget?’”