MUST READ
Newly organized workers are talking about why it’s important to join a union
Labor Tribune
By Ed Finkelstein
May 16, 2022
With AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and newly organized cannabis worker members of United Food & Commercial Workers Local 360 and Starbucks Workers United, New Jersey AFL-CIO President Charlie Wowkanech opened the press conference with the essential point: “Workers deserve what the bosses are getting: better wages, health care, decent working conditions and respect on the job.” “This is your moment, workers are showing everyone what can be done when they organize, that they can take on the corporate giants and win,” said AFL-CIO President Shuler. “These young workers have shown courage. They are brave folks who stood up and spoke out. “Because workers are fed up with companies making billions a year but cannot afford to pay decent wages, affordable health insurance…they can afford to pay their CEO’s big wages and bonuses but can’t afford a decent wage for their workers! “It takes so much courage to stand up and speak out” Shuler said workers are fed up with low wages, benefits that are unaffordable, hours that are insufficient and schedules that are unpredictable.. “You can’t plan your life, your budget, how to provide for your family…all across America workers are fed up and they are not going to take it anymore!
TRANSPORTATION
The supply chain’s little-known weakest link: Railroad workers
Politico
By Eleanor Mueller
May 16, 2022
“There has been a decent amount of focus on the problems in the trucking industry, but there hasn’t been as much attention on the rail side — and frankly, all of them need to be in order for our supply chain to be functioning properly,” AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department President Greg Regan told Weekly Shift. “Every single component has to be working well, whether it be the ports, the railroads, the trucking industry or the warehousing industry.”
JOINING TOGETHER
Relief after Arconic, United Steel Workers reach tentative contract agreement
WWNYTV
By John Pirsos
May 16, 2022
The Massena community is reacting to retaining jobs. It was announced over the weekend that the United Steel Workers Union and Arconic reached a tentative agreement keeping more than 100 workers at its Massena plant employed. “I’m very relieved and very happy for our community, and for all those workers as well,” said Greg Paquin, the mayor of Massena. A deal was struck just ahead of Sunday’s deadline. The Arconic plant in Massena employs about 130 workers. Those employees were threatening to go on strike, along with employees from three other plants, if a new labor deal could not be reached. The two sides tentatively agreed to new terms on Saturday, however.
The Union Drip Twitter Account Highlights the Style of the Labor Movement
Teen Vogue
By Jacqui Germain
May 16, 2022
Honestly, it was the all-red look for me. The day the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) declared its victory, the new union’s interim president, Christian Smalls, faced the cameras wearing a red ALU hoodie, red sweatpants, a red fitted hat, and shades. He opened a bottle of champagne, took a sip, and passed the bottle to his coworkers. If his gold chains had been longer, he would’ve been giving big 2000s-hip-hop-at-the-MTV-Awards-red-carpet vibes. Occasionally, his grill caught the sunlight as he spoke to the crowd: “This is a prime example of the power that people have when they come together.”
Second Missouri cannabis shop files to join UFCW Local 655
Labor Tribune
May 16, 2022
United Food & Commercial Workers Local 655 has filed for an election at a second cannabis shop in Missouri, President David Cook announced last week. Workers at Bloom Medicinals, O’Fallon, have filed a petition to hold an election with the goal of joining Local 655 and negotiating a first contract. Root 66 Cannabis Dispensary, 3737 S. Grand, voted last month to join Local 655. It was the first cannabis dispensary in Missouri to organize.
Writers Guild’s CBS News Union Ratifies New Three-Year Agreement
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
May 16, 2022
Workers at CBS News who are unionized with the Writers Guild of America West and East have ratified a new three-year contract, the WGA East announced on Monday. The agreement, initially reached in April after a few months of negotiation, will apply to around 260 staffers, including newswriters, producers, desk associates, graphic artists and others at locations in New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Chicago. The ratification vote for the deal concluded on Friday, with 89.36 percent of members voting “yes” on the agreement.
IN THE STATES
Labor Tribune
By Carl Green
May 16, 2022
As a Labor leader, May 1 was a special day for Mary Harris “Mother Jones.” Now the day will always remain associated with her. Tim Drea, president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, came from Springfield to speak at the event and pointed out that May 1 is now known as International Workers Day. “It was even more important this year to celebrate the life of Mother Jones,” he said.
Senators introduce bill to crack down on union busting
North Central PA
By NCPA Staff
May 16, 2022
A bill to stop corporations from writing off expenses incurred while fighting unionization has been introduced in the state Senate. As workers around the country join together to fight for better pay and safer working conditions by unionizing, they often face million-dollar corporate intimidation campaigns to prevent unionization, according to Sen. Casey. To add insult to injury, corporations are allowed to write off these anti-unionization efforts as run-of-the-mill business expenses. “Workers who engage in collective action and organizing drives deserve to have the chance to make their voices heard,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “As we've seen a wave of union drives across the country, we've also witnessed a wave of companies using union busting tactics to stop their workers from organizing. We should not be subsidizing intimidation and bullying tactics, and this legislation would put an end to it. Companies that engage in union busting shouldn't reap financial benefits, they should pay penalties for this anti-democratic behavior.”
RAISING WAGES
‘I cannot survive on $260 a week’: US retail and fast-food workers strike
The Guardian
By Michael Sainato
May 16, 2022
Workers in America’s fast-food and retail sectors who worked on the frontlines through the dangers of the Covid-19 pandemic are continuing a trend of strikes and protests over low wages, safety concerns and sexual harassment issues on the job. The Covid-19 pandemic has incited a resurgence of interest and support for the US labor movement and for low-wage workers who bore the brunt of Covid-19 risks. The unrest also comes as corporations have often reported record profits and showered executives with pay increases, stock buybacks and bonuses, while workers received minimal pay increases. Workers at billion-dollar corporations from Dollar General to McDonald’s still make on average less than $15 an hour while often being forced to work in unsafe, grueling conditions.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Everything You Need To Know About The Fabric Act, The First Federal Fashion Bill
Fashionista
By Ana Colón
May 16, 2022
Last week, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced a new piece of legislation that would address labor concerns and worker's rights in the U.S. garment industry. The Fashioning Accountability and Building Real Institutional Change (FABRIC) Act was introduced to the Senate on May 12, with Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) as co-sponsors. "Every single day, every one of us starts the morning getting up and getting dressed. 'What are we going to wear?' But the question we don't ask ourselves is, 'What did it take to make the clothes that I'm going to wear?' The answer to that question is an answer we don't want to hear," she told the small crowd gathered on the floor of Ferrara Manufacturing. "The reality is that the people who make our clothes are too often not employed fairly or treated fairly or paid fairly for their work in an industry that's vital to our economy and our daily lives. It's an unacceptable reality that we have to address head-on." Sen. Gillibrand noted how, while the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911 brought attention to unsafe work conditions in the fashion industry and led to legislation, little has been done since on the policy front — even though many of those issues persist 111 years later.