Today's AFL-CIO Press Clips
MUST READ
Elon Musk hosting SNL: A very bad joke on working people (Opinion)
New York Daily News
By Liz Shuler
May 6, 2021
Before we even find out if Elon Musk can do comedy, we know this: Letting him host “Saturday Night Live” is a joke. Musk has used his social-media megaphone to spread misinformation about COVID, endanger employees’ health and violate their organizing rights. He’s exactly the kind of union-busting CEO who proves why American workers need the PRO Act, a bill sitting in the Senate that will help us reclaim our power.
Sports Unions Come Together to Fight for the PRO Act
The Nation
By Dave Zirin
May 6, 2021
The PRO Act is about as important a piece of labor legislation as we’ve seen in some time. It holds the potential to open the door for workers and organizers to step up and reverse 40 years of losses for organized labor. The law, whose initials stand for Protecting the Right to Organize, aims to do just that: protect workers from being harassed or fired if they try to organize a union or if they try to help their already existing union become more active in their workplace. This is seen as the number one legislative priority for organized labor. Its chances of passing are regarded as slim in the Senate, but that isn’t stopping the union movement from trying to get it passed. Now the PRO Act has very loud and proud support from another group of “pros,” the major sports unions of the United States. The Major League Baseball Players Association, the NBA Players Association, the NFL Players Association, and the NHL Players Association.
POLITICS
Biden administration blocks Trump-era rule affecting gig workers
Reuters
By Nandita Bose
May 6, 2021
The Biden administration on Wednesday blocked a Trump-era rule that would have made it easier to classify gig workers who work for companies like Uber (UBER.N) and Lyft as independent contractors instead of employees, signaling a potential policy shift toward greater worker protections.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
What's up with the labor market? Probably won't know until the fall
Reuters
By Ann Saphir and Lucia Mutikani
May 6, 2021
Some workers in industries hard hit by job losses, such as restaurants and retail, have moved sectors entirely, said Bill Spriggs, chief economist with the AFL-CIO and professor at Howard University. Some people who had low-paying jobs before the pandemic were struggling to cover their bills even before the crisis and may be searching for more financial security, Spriggs said.
JOINING TOGETHER
Nurses Are Striking Across the Country Over Patient Safety
The Nation
By Sarah Jaffe and C.M. Lewis
May 6, 2021
On May Day outside of St. Vincent Hospital here, there was a sing-along going on. It was the 55th day that the nurses, members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, had been on strike at the hospital, and the sunny weather and blooming flowers meant morale was high.
NLRB
Google ‘arguably violated’ labor law by illegally firing three workers claims NLRB
The Verge
By Zoe Schiffer and Mitchell Clark
May 5, 2021
The acting head of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said Google “arguably violated” US labor law by illegally firing three workers in 2019 amid their organizing activities, Bloomberg reports. On Wednesday, the NLRB reversed an earlier decision which had dismissed claims from Sophie Waldman, Rebecca Rivers, and Paul Duke that Google had retaliated against them for labor activism. The NLRB’s general counsel’s office has already accused Google of unlawfully terminating former Google workers Laurence Berland and Kathryn Spiers. Now, acting general counsel Peter Sung Ohr has asked that the complaint be amended to include Waldman, Rivers, and Duke.
IN THE STATES
Cuomo signs bill requiring COVID safety guidelines for workplaces
Spectrum News
By Nick Reisman
May 6, 2021
A bill that requires workplaces to have COVID-related safety measures in place was signed into law on Wednesday night by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. But the approval of the bill came with an agreement with Democrats in the state Legislature that amendments would be added in the coming weeks to provide businesses with a clear timeline for fixing violations before being immediately at risk of a lawsuit. The measure's approval was cheered by a range of advocacy organizations who had called for its passage since the early days of the legislative session. But business groups were staunchly opposed, pointing to the potential legal exposure with the new law.
Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Calls on U.S. Steel to Reinvest in Pennsylvania Manufacturing
PR NEWSWIRE
By PA AFL-CIO
May 6, 2021
This week, the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO issued a letter to United States Steel Corporation's President and CEO David B. Burritt criticizing its decision to end the promised $1.5 billion upgrade to its Pittsburgh facilities. State Federation President Rick Bloomingdale and Secretary-Treasurer Frank Snyder call for U.S. Steel to reconsider and reinvest in Pennsylvania.
GIG ECONOMY
Opposing Pro Act, Uber And Other Gig Companies Spend Over $1 Million Lobbying Congress
The Intercept
By Zak Cassel and Rose Adams
May 6, 2021
EVEN AS President Joe Biden called for Congress during his joint address last week to pass labor reform legislation, a slate of gig companies has spent over $1 million lobbying Congress to influence the PRO Act and other related issues in 2021 alone, according to newly released lobbying disclosures. Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft and delivery apps DoorDash and Instacart spent at least $1,190,000 on 32 lobbyists to persuade members of Congress on the PRO Act, first quarter disclosure reports show. The bill, which the House of Representatives passed in early March, would allow many gig workers to unionize and make it harder for companies to union-bust, among other changes.
AMAZON
Amazon Drivers Are Instructed to Drive Recklessly to Meet Delivery Quotas
Vice
By Lauren Kaori Gurley
May 6, 2021
Amazon delivery companies around the United States are encouraging reckless and dangerous driving by ordering delivery drivers to shut off an app called Mentor that Amazon uses to monitor drivers' speed and give them a safety score to prevent accidents. Drivers say they are being ordered to turn the app off by their bosses so that they can speed through their delivery routes in order to hit Amazon's delivery targets.