JOINING TOGETHER
Steelworkers union works to negotiate 'fair agreement' for Bridgestone factory workers
Daily News Journal
By Scott Broden
July 27, 2022
Many commuters on Waldron Road Tuesday drove by United Steelworkers picketing by the Bridgestone tire factory. "We're working toward a fair agreement," said Jess Kamm, a spokeswoman for the United Steelworkers. The current contract between the union and Bridgestone is set to expire by 11 p.m. Thursday. If the sides fail to reach an agreement, negotiations will continue at a time of high inflation when prices increased by 9.1% in June from the year before.
Deadline
By David Robb
July 27, 2022
IATSE president Matthew Loeb is urging his members to get out and vote in the upcoming midterm elections and to contribute to the union’s political action committee, which overwhelmingly supports Democratic candidates for federal office. “We are now faced with yet another of the most consequential elections in our history this November,” Loeb wrote in his latest newsletter. “Those we elect will decide the fate of legislation on reproductive rights in the immediate and impact the course of history in our fight for human rights. In the face of a direct attack on personal freedoms, it’s easy to conclude that voting isn’t enough, and rather that entire institutions need to be rebuilt. That may be, but we know lives will be impacted before that, and to abstain from voting is to forgo one of the few immediate means of protection for ourselves and our kin.
Resorts Reaches Deal With Union; Only 1 Casino Without Pact
U.S. News & World Report
By Wayne Parry
July 27, 2022
Resorts casino reached an agreement with Atlantic City's main casino workers union on Wednesday, leaving only one of the city's nine casinos without a new labor agreement. That casino, the Golden Nugget, will sit down at the bargaining table Thursday with Local 54 of the Unite Here union, and a deal is considered likely to be reached. Resorts agreed to the same economic terms as the city's larger casinos did several weeks ago, according to union president Bob McDevitt. Housekeeping employees will see their pay increase to $22 per hour at the end of the four-year contract.
IN THE STATES
Lorena Gonzalez sworn in as head of California Labor Federation
The San Diego Union-Tribune
By Deborah Sullivan Brennan
July 27, 2022
Former San Diego Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez took the helm of the California Labor Federation on Wednesday, announcing new initiatives for the organization. Gonzalez was sworn in around noon as executive secretary-treasurer of the federation at its convention in San Francisco, more than six months after stepping down from her Assembly seat to to head it.
Halifax Transit union head says members 'forced' to work extra hours
Halifax City News
By Steve Gow
July 27, 2022
Shane O’Leary, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 508, which represents Halifax Transit bus drivers and ferry operators, told CityNews Halifax that cancelling service is a band-aid solution. “We are still very shorthanded at our garages due to staffing shortages and a lack of ability to train and keep members working,” says O’Leary, noting that retention is the root cause of the problem. “They are getting hired and quitting almost as soon as they get back out on the road.” O’Leary notes that the job is exceeding the expectations and demands of both new employees and seasoned operators, adding that members of all experience levels are leaving the profession.
Maine AFL-CIO opposes the consumer-owned utility referendum
Maine Public
By Carol Bousquet
July 27, 2022
The Maine AFL-CIO is opposing the consumer-owned utility referendum, saying a publicly-owned utility would threaten the rights of workers and create uncertainty for consumers. Union President Cynthia Phinney said the majority of workers at CMP and Versant do not support the proposal, which could prompt a buyout of the two investor-owned utilities and reclassify union workers as public employees. "If they're public employees they could lose their right to withhold their labor which is a fundamental right that we think all employees should have," Phinney said.