LABOR AND ECONOMY
Labor unions are hot, but their moment may not last
Los Angeles Times
By Noah Bierman and Don Lee
Aug. 11, 2022
Liz Shuler, who replaced Trumka as president of the AFL-CIO, said that she’s in touch with members of the administration daily and that unions are not giving up on passing legislation. But she believes many Americans are overlooking the hundreds of billions of spending the Biden administration has secured for infrastructure — building a semiconductor industry, electric car expansion, roads and highways. “All of these huge investments have labor standards attached to them,” Shuler said, “to make sure that we’re going to benefit working people.” She said her federation of unions is increasing its investment and cooperative efforts to help fledgling movements to unionize Amazon workers and other industries. Shuler pointed to the example of Microsoft, which agreed to make it easier for employees of one of its gaming subsidiaries to unionize, as a positive sign. But she said the struggle with Starbucks — which has raised wages and pushed back against organizers — shows resistance remains strong. “The one missing ingredient is companies,” she said. “Companies are fighting workers with everything they have.”
JOINING TOGETHER
Union nurses announce strike vote as negotiations with 15 hospitals stall
Minnesota Reformer
By Max Nesterak
Aug. 11, 2022
Unionized nurses at 15 hospitals across the Twin Cities and the Duluth area will vote on Monday on whether to authorize a strike, as negotiations remain stalled over staffing levels and wages. A vote to strike wouldn’t lead to nurses immediately walking off the job but would allow the Minnesota Nurses Association to call some 15,000 away from bedsides to picket lines for any duration with 10 days notice. “We don’t take this lightly,” said Mary Turner, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association and an intensive care nurse at North Memorial Health Hospital.
MetroAccess Workers Reach Tentative Union Agreement With Private Contractor, End Strike
DCist
By Margaret Barthel
Aug. 11, 2022
Workers who run some of Metro’s paratransit service have reached a tentative agreement with a private contractor, ending a nine-day strike. The over 200 MetroAccess workers walked off the job on August 1, after negotiations for a new three-year contract with employer Transdev stalled. The main sticking points were wages — workers said the company was offering less than what similar workers in Baltimore currently make — and the company’s original unwillingness to sign on to a three-year contract, workers say. The employees perform a range of MetroAccess functions, working in utilities, maintenance, dispatch, and supervisory roles. They are expected to ratify the tentative agreement soon, according to Local 689 organizers. The agreement came after workers rallied and attended a contract negotiation en masse. “Our members stood strong and united throughout this process. They braved the heat and the company’s tactics to try and divide us,” said Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 President Raymond Jackson, in a statement announcing the tentative agreement. “This strike shows that our members are willing to lay it all on the line for justice.”
Change at Hillsboro libraries as workers secure new contract
Hillsboro News Times
By Troy Shinn
Aug. 11, 2022
Hillsboro's library employees unionized last year and have been negotiating with the city for the past year. Hillsboro Public Library employees have agreed to a new contract with the city following a unionization effort and lengthy negotiations that began in 2021. The new contract was approved by the Hillsboro City Council on July 5, and union members voted to approve it a little later in the month. Effective until the end of June 2024, it comes with many, but not all, of the provisions that library workers sought. Employees, who describe themselves as "exhausted" by providing a crucial service during a pandemic, say that the key benefit is simply having a seat at the table. "I think burnout is maybe going to be less of a factor now because we feel like, at this point, at least we have a voice," said librarian Mary Davis, who works at the Hillsboro Brookwood Library. Employees turned to Oregon AFSCME Council 75 in June 2021 after voting to unionize. The new contract has come into effect a little over a year later.
IN THE STATES
Illinois workers would see boost in wages if a proposed constitutional amendment passes, study finds
WBEZ Chicago
By Esther Yoon-Ji Kang
Aug. 11, 2022
A new report highlights the potential impact of a proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution that would, if passed, guarantee all workers in the state the right to collectively bargain. Researchers from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign say the Illinois Right to Collective Bargaining Amendment, better known as the Workers’ Rights Amendment — which will be put to voters in the November 2022 election — would boost incomes and improve working conditions for workers, as well as better the state’s economy.