Today's AFL-CIO Press Clips
MUST READ
Boeing workers ratify 3-year contract, averting strike
The Washington Post
By Aaron Gregg
Aug. 3, 2022
Unionized Boeing workers at three St. Louis-area factories voted in favor of the company’s latest contract offer Wednesday, averting a strike that threatened to paralyze the company’s output of crucial military hardware. A strike by roughly 2,500 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 would have commenced at midnight had the vote gone against the three-year proposal. “At the end of the day, that is what the impending strike was about. Congratulations to IAM District 837 members for standing strong in achieving an agreement that is more fair and just,” Steve Galloway, who is Midwest territory general vice president at IAM.
JOINING TOGETHER
Reuters US Staff Plan to Strike For First Time In Decades
Bloomberg
By Josh Eidelson
Aug. 3, 2022
Thomson Reuters Corp. journalists in the US are preparing to launch a daylong strike Thursday, the first walkout in decades among the media company’s long-unionized staff. Employees plan to start a 24-hour strike at 6 a.m. New York time Thursday after claiming the company didn’t fairly negotiate pay increases, according to the Communications Workers of America’s NewsGuild, which represents US-based Reuters reporters, photographers and video journalists. The group said about 90% of the 300 or so Reuters employees it represents agreed to participate.
Steelworkers to vote on tentative contracts with Goodyear, Bridgestone
Akron Beacon Journal
By Jim Mackinnon
Aug. 3, 2022
Unionized workers in Akron and elsewhere at tire makers Goodyear and Bridgestone will soon be voting on proposed contracts with the two companies. The United Steelworkers reached tentative deals with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and the U.S. subsidiary of Bridgestone Corp. last week.
Judge to decide whether Ohio State Marion faculty can form first faculty union
Marion Star
By Sophia Veneziano
Aug. 3, 2022
Months after filing to form the first faculty union at The Ohio State University, Ohio State's Marion campus faculty will finally receive the answer of whether or not they will be able to organize after a hearing through the Ohio State Employee Relations Board (SERB) Sept. 20. A majority of tenured and tenure-track faculty members at The Ohio State University at Marion first submitted union authorization cards with with the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Ohio Council 8 in March.
STATE LEGISLATION
Yahoo! Entertainment
By David Robb
Aug. 3, 2022
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s promise to sign a bill that would extend the state’s $330 million-a-year film and television production tax credit program until 2030 is receiving high praise from the Entertainment Union Coalition, whose members include SAG-AFTRA, the DGA, the California IATSE Council, Teamsters Local 399 and Laborers International Union of North America Local 724. The bill – SB 485, authored by state Sen. Anthony Portantino – would extend the annual $330 million in tax incentives to qualified film and TV productions, which is set to expire in 2025.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Utility line workers compete at Lineman Rodeo
Northwest Labor Press
Aug. 3, 2022
The annual Pacific Northwest Lineman Rodeo, which was held July 23, is sponsored by IBEW Locals 125, 659, and 77 together with PGE, Pacificorp, and Clark County PUD. It tests utility line workers for speed, safety and trade skills, and raises money for the Oregon Burn Center. This year’s fundraising results weren’t final at press time, but last year’s raised $50,000. All told, 21 three-member teams of journeymen, 58 apprentices, and even seven pre-apprentices competed. Challenges included a relay event, a pole climb with a raw egg, a written test, and a “hurt man rescue” in which a mannikin simulating an injured and unconscious coworker is brought safely to ground.