MUST READ
AFL-CIO kicks off Labor Day with detailed political plan
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Aug. 25, 2022
The AFL-CIO kicked off the Labor Day weekend, in advance, with a detailed political plan for the fall elections and beyond, released August 24 in a nationwide zoom call. The plan features massive from-the-ground-up member-driven involvement, including a feedback loop where workers’ recommendations will adjust the federation’s issue priorities between now and Election Day, and afterwards, President Liz Shuler said. “What we need to be thinking about is how we’re taking these (issues) out into the field, listening to our members, talking about what matters to them and what matters locally,” and changing accordingly, Shuler explained. “We start with worksite communications, then to local unions, then connecting back to state federations and local labor councils” and finally the national headquarters. Then the issues members decide on locally would be applied to campaigns “from school boards to the U.S. Senate,” she elaborated.
STUDENT DEBT
Student Debt Relief
Politico
Aug. 25, 2022
Others defended the decision: “About half the 27.5 million US households with student debt are people who did not finish college,” said AFL-CIO chief economist Bill Spriggs. “Of those 13.9 million households, roughly 4.6 million will now be debt free. This isn't about helping the privileged.”
JOINING TOGETHER
California retail workers vote for union at second REI store
Reuters
By Doyinsola Oladipo
Aug. 25, 2022
Employees at a Recreational Equipment Inc (REI) store in Berkeley, California, on Thursday voted to form a union, the outdoor equipment and apparel retailer's second location to do so in a time when more service workers have been choosing to organize. Full-time and part-time employees at the outdoor retailer secured a majority in a mail-in ballot election by voting 56 to 38 in support of joining United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5, a 30,000-member labor union, according to a tally on Thursday by the National Labor Relations Board.
Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and musicans reach contract agreement
WFAE
By Layna Hong
Aug. 25, 2022
Last week, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and the American Federation of Musicians, the labor union representing CSO’s musicians, announced that a new contract has been ratified between the musicians and the Board of Directors. “The negotiations and resultant contract represent a very thoughtful and thorough look at our collective bargaining agreement,” CSO horn and Chair of the Orchestra Negotiations Committee Bob Rydel said in the Thursday press release. “The musicians are grateful for the collaborative process and the partnership we have with the staff and the Board of Directors.”
Mission Hospital nurses rally for patient safety; cite concerns of chronic short staffing
ABC 13 News
By Kristy Kepley-Steward
Aug. 25, 2022
Registered nurses from Mission Hospital rallied Thursday morning in protest of what they say is management's refusal to address chronic short staffing. National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United announced the protest saying since June 2021, Mission RNs have been speaking out and holding actions to demand that hospital management take immediate action toward recruiting and retaining staff nurses.
Chateau Marmont Owner Strikes Deal With Hotel Workers to Unionize
The Hollywood Reporter
By Gary Baum
Aug. 25, 2022
The famed Chateau Marmont, a perennially trendy industry hangout which had turned radioactive in recent years over toxic workplace allegations, is set to unionize, according to a joint memo released by owner Andre Balazs and the co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11, which had long been seeking to organize the hotel. “All prior disputes have been laid to rest,” they wrote in the statement, released on Aug. 25. “Both the Chateau Marmont and UNITE HERE Local 11 are pleased with this new relationship. We believe that it solidifies the foundation of the Chateau’s historic success: the commitment to its guests and employees, both of which are famous for their loyalty and longevity.” A bargaining committee will now begin negotiations on a first contract.
REI Workers At Berkeley Store Vote To Unionize In Another Win For Labor
Yahoo! News
By Dave Jamieson
Aug. 25, 2022
REI employees in Berkeley, California, have formed the outdoor retailer’s second union, extending a winning streak for organized labor at largely non-union companies. Workers at the Berkeley store voted 56 to 38 in favor of joining the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union in a mail-in election this month, according to a vote count held Thursday by the National Labor Relations Board. Employees at REI’s store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City were the first to unionize earlier this year.
TRANSPORTATION
Bus drivers, flight attendants say they’re feeling less safe
Northwest Labor Press
By Colin Staub
Aug. 25, 2022
“If it moves, we represent the people who build, operate and maintain it.” That’s how AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department President Greg Regan describes his member unions. Transportation Trades Department is a national coalition of 37 unions that represent workers across all modes of transportation, including pilots, flight attendants, ground crew, air traffic controllers, freight and passenger rail workers, longshoremen, and maritime workers.