MUST READ
Richard Trumka (point): A major infrastructure investment is needed (Opinion)
NNY360.com
By Richard Trumka
May 8, 2021
As President Biden addressed a joint session of Congress recently, he highlighted a fundamental truth about his American Jobs Plan. For once, our leaders aren’t pushing another tax break for the elite, bailing out the ultra-wealthy or preaching the false gospel of trickle-down economics. As the president put it, this is “a once-in-a-generation investment in America itself.” It couldn’t come at a more critical moment. Working people are facing a crisis beyond anything we’ve weathered since the Great Depression. The burdens of this pandemic have fallen squarely on our shoulders, while our communities continue paying the price for decades of failed, corporate-first government.
Complaint Accuses Mexican Factories of Labor Abuses, Testing New Trade Pact
The New York Times
By Thomas Kaplan
May 10, 2021
“U.S.M.C.A. requires Mexico to end the reign of protection unions and their corrupt deals with employers,” Richard L. Trumka, the president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., said in a statement, using the abbreviation for the trade deal. “The ongoing harassment of Susana Prieto and SNITIS members is a textbook violation of the labor laws Mexico has pledged to uphold.” e
TRADE
U.S. unions lodge first Mexico labor grievance under new NAFTA
Financial Post
By Daina Beth Solomon
May 10, 2021
The AFL-CIO, the biggest U.S. labor federation, on Monday will file the first petition for the U.S. government to bring a labor complaint against Mexico under the trade deal that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement, the union said. The AFL-CIO’s petition, which it shared with Reuters, states that workers at the auto parts plant Tridonex in Matamoros, a Mexican city on the border with Texas, were denied independent union representation in violation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that replaced NAFTA last year.
POLITICS
The PRO Act: What’s in It and Why Is It a Labor Movement Priority?
Teen Vogue
By Kim Kelly
May 7, 2021
Enter the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021. Better known as the PRO Act, this bill would be the first major worker-friendly labor law reform since the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935, would significantly expand workers’ ability to join and organize unions, and level heavy penalties on employers who stand in their way. There are a number of exciting reforms in the bill, including a federal override of so-called right-to-work laws that weaken unions by allowing members to opt out of paying dues; an end to the hated 1947 Taft-Hartley Act’s ban on secondary strikes (also known as solidarity strikes, these are collective actions that employees in different workplaces can undertake to support another group of workers on strike); an update to the union election process to allow workers to vote online or by phone; enhanced protections for whistleblowers; and a response to the issue of worker misclassification that would give independent contractors — a group left out of the original NLRA that is still denied basic labor rights (especially those who are part of the so-called gig economy) — the right to organize collectively. (As an independent contractor myself, I am especially thrilled about that one.)
IN THE STATES
Annual Worker Fatality Report Calls For Increased Workplace Safety Inspectors
WFYI
By Justin Hicks
May 7, 2021
Brett Voorhies of the Indiana AFL-CIO said the constant focus from state Republicans on reducing perceived burdens to businesses comes at the expense of workers. He referenced safety measure that have failed in the General Assembly, like one this year to put speed cameras in road construction zones. “It’s really unfortunate,” he said. “Every year there’s at least 100 deaths on the job and it’s just sickening that we’re not able to do anything legislatively because our hands are tied because of the supermajority.” Injuries and illness remained at the previous year’s rate of about three recorded cases for every 100 full-time workers.
Union leaders decry Indiana's high rate of worker deaths
Daily Herald
By Associated Press
May 9, 2021
Indiana labor union leaders are calling for improved workplace safety enforcement with the state's rate of deaths while working about one-third higher than the national average. Federal data shows Indiana had 146 worker deaths during 2019, the most recent year available. A report from the AFL-CIO says that represents 4.7 deaths per 100,000 workers compared to the national rate of 3.5 deaths per 100,000. Indiana AFL-CIO President Brett Voorhies says the state's workers deserve better protection from workplace dangers. The union says the 38 inspectors with Indiana's worker safety agency would need more than 200 years to inspect each workplace once.
JOINING TOGETHER
TikTok Union Memes Are the Antidote to Instagram Slacktivism
Vice
By Katie Way
May 7, 2021
"TikTok is a fantastic tool for rallying people around exciting ideas, so it's no wonder unions and activists within the labor movement are breaking through,” Kalina Newman, Eastern regional communications coordinator for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)—the biggest confederation of trade unions in the United States—told VICE. Though the AFL-CIO’s account is relatively new (and “small but mighty”), Newman said the 66-year-old union, which represents more than 12 million,700,000 workers nationwide, is committed to the platform as a tool for getting the word out about all the good things unions can do. “America's labor movement is reaching young workers where they are, educating folks about unions and sparking a conversation about the changes we want to see in our workplaces,” she said. “We want to get the message out to as many young workers as possible that unions remain the single best tool for addressing income inequality and turning bad jobs into good ones.”
SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris Elected President Of International Federation Of Actors
Deadline
By David Robb
May 7, 2021
SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris has been elected president of the International Federation of Actors – the first American to ever hold the position. She was elected by delegates attending FIA’s 22nd World Congress. Carteris succeeds Canadian actress Ferne Downey, who had been its president since 2012. Founded in 1952, FIA represents performers’ trade unions, guilds, and professional associations in some 65 countries whose members work in all recorded media and live theatre. “It is my profound honor to be elected president of the International Federation of Actors,” Carteris said. “For nearly seventy years, FIA has been a leader and fighter for actors around the world. FIA has worked tirelessly to make stages, sets and studios more diverse and equitable, in addition to creating a culture of respect and accountability in the entertainment, media and performing arts industry that transcends international boundaries. I am grateful to Ferne Downey for her leadership as president over the past nine years, and look forward to working with my colleagues across FIA in the years ahead.”