MUST READ
Labor Unions See Their Highest Approval Rating In Nearly Six Decades
HuffPost
By Dave Jamieson
Aug. 30, 2022
Americans have taken an increasingly positive view of labor unions over the past decade, with 71% now saying they approve of them in a new Gallup poll. That’s the highest favorability rating Gallup has seen for organized labor since 1965. Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO labor federation, which includes 57 unions, cheered the new findings. “After a year of victorious strikes, record union election filings, and relentless efforts from corporate billionaires to silence workers, today comes as no surprise,” Shuler wrote on Twitter Tuesday.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Support for labor unions highest since 1965: Gallup
The Hill
By Zach Schonfeld
Aug. 30, 2022
Seventy-one percent of Americans indicated support for labor unions in a Gallup poll released on Tuesday, the highest percentage since 1965. The latest measure is a slight uptick from the 68 percent who supported labor unions when the survey giant polled the question last year. President Biden has pledged to be the most pro-union president in history. He has hosted union leaders organizing at major companies and spoke at AFL-CIO’s convention in June. “We’re seeing a resurgence of worker organizations and unionization,” Biden said earlier this month. “Where I come from, that’s a good thing, and it’s long overdue.”
U.S. Approval of Labor Unions at Highest Point Since 1965
Gallup
By Justin Mccarthy
Aug. 30, 2022
Seventy-one percent of Americans now approve of labor unions. Although statistically similar to last year's 68%, it is up from 64% before the pandemic and is the highest Gallup has recorded on this measure since 1965.
'They are working harder than ever': How much should you tip hotel housekeepers
USA Today
By Beth Luberecki
Aug. 30, 2022
“Housekeeping is a challenging, messy job that is sometimes invisible,” said Tiffany Ten Eyck, a spokesperson for hotel workers’ union UNITE HERE. “Housekeepers are the backbone of the ideal hotel experience, where you can relax and know that your room is clean and amenities are restocked. Tips, whether big or small, make an impact on housekeepers financially and provide a thanks for a job well done that workers truly appreciate.”
JOINING TOGETHER
Inside the drive to bring ‘cultural workers’ into the labor movement
Fast Company
By Kristin Toussaint
Aug. 30, 2022
It’s mid-June, and Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union, is speaking so loud into the microphone that it’s slightly distorted, and someone has to go over and tweak the dials on the PA system so his booming voice comes out clearer. Sitting down for an interview the following day, Saunders noted that the union support those workers felt at that event was “what the labor movement was all about—coming together, all of us supporting one another who have the desire to organize.” PMA is just one example of a surge in cultural institutions that have been unionizing with increasing fervor in the last few years, part of a campaign by AFSCME to offer support for these sectors to join their ranks..
University of Rochester facilities employees voting to go on strike
WHEC
By News10NBC
Aug. 30, 2022
A union vote is taking place Tuesday night that could affect over 300 workers employed by the University of Rochester—including the hospitals. The University is involved in negotiations to renew its contract with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 158. The union represents skilled trades staff in multiple roles who service and maintain campus facilities.
Columbus Museum of Art Staff Push to Unionize
Art Forum
Aug. 30, 2022
Workers at the Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) in Ohio on August 29 revealed their plan to unionize, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Announcement of the scheme was attended by roughly one hundred employees and followed on the delivery to CMA’s management of a letter seeking recognition of the staff union, formed under the auspices of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The local branch of that organization, known as AFSCME Ohio Council 8, is also assisting workers at the nearby Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University, who announced their own intentions to unionize back in March. The organization is still collaborating with staff there on completing the unionization process.
NLRB
UAW applauds labor board ruling that Tesla violated workers' rights
Detroit Free Press
By Jamie L. LaReau
Aug. 30, 2022
“Our union commends this decision as a just recognition that the right to organize is meaningless if workers cannot exercise the right without fear of reprisal,” said UAW President Ray Curry in a statement Tuesday. “Worker expression is a statement of solidarity during organizing. As a result of this decision, which the UAW fought for, workers can feel more secure in their pro-union expression today as they work to form their unions.”
IN THE STATES
New Illinois amendment would give constitutional right to join union
My Stateline
By Jack Baudoin
Aug. 30, 2022
A ballot question in the November election could change the debate around unions in Illinois for years. The “Worker’s Rights Amendment” would make it a constitutional right to collectively bargain or join a union in Illinois. It would also stop any laws from being able to change or restrict the process of joining a union. A court battle over the amendment threatened to keep it off the 2022 ballot, but the judge settled that court case last week, paving the way for the vote in November.