Today's AFL-CIO Press Clips
MUST READ
Biden is trying to remake the gig worker economy
Vox
By Rachel M. Cohen
Oct. 12, 2022
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler hailed the draft rule on Tuesday for “restoring commonsense rules to determine who is an employee, and making it harder for employers to intentionally misclassify their employees as independent contractors.”
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Being in a union means you could make $1.3 million more over your lifetime
Business Insider
By Juliana Kaplan and Madison Hoff
Oct. 11, 2022
If you want to make a million more dollars over your lifetime, there's one solution: Join a union. That's according to a new paper in Cornell University's ILR Review. Researchers Zachary Parolin of Bocconi University and Tom VanHeuvelen of University of Minnesota Twin Cities examined the advantages of being part of a union throughout your entire career.
JOINING TOGETHER
Skilled trades workers at U of R issue another strike notice after months of negotiations
Spectrum News 1
By Keegan Trunick and Spectrum News Staff
Oct. 12, 2022
The union representing hundreds of skilled trade workers on the campus of the University of Rochester says it will strike in two weeks if a collective bargaining agreement can't be reached. The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 158 represents nearly 320 workers on the U of R campus and its medical center. The two sides have negotiated a deal for several months, but so far there has been no agreement. The collective bargaining agreement was set to expire at the end of July, but has been extended multiple times throughout negotiations. The last extension expired on Oct. 8 meaning the trade workers are currently operating without a contract.
Nurses at Steward Health Care hospitals approve new contracts
Becker’s Hospital Review\
By Kelly Gooch
Oct. 12, 2022
Registered nurses at three Florida hospitals have approved new three-year contracts with Dallas-based Steward Health Care. Members of the National Nurses Organizing Committee, part of National Nurses United, approved the agreements over the last week, according to an Oct. 12 union news release. The contracts cover nurses at Coral Gables Hospital, Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah, and Florida Medical Center in Lauderdale Lakes, all Steward Health Care facilities. Nurses at Palmetto General Hospital and Florida Medical Center approved new contracts, while nurses at Coral Gables Hospital approved their first contract. "We are thrilled with all that we have achieved in the past few months, winning union representation this summer and now, in record time, a first contract," Dorotea Reyes, RN, a nurse in the intensive care unit at Coral Gables Hospital, said in the union news release. "We want our patients to know that our advocacy for them does not stop here. We are united in our commitment to improving their care and with the new contract we have an excellent tool for accomplishing this."
Fairfax County firefighters could let union negotiate work conditions for first time in decades
Reston Now
Oct. 12, 2022
The first union election that Fairfax County employees have been allowed to hold in over four decades is now underway. With an election for representation that launched Monday (Oct. 10), firefighters, medics, fire marshals and other Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department workers will determine whether the union IAFF Local 2068 can represent them in upcoming contract negotiations with the county government. Voting is being conducted electronically through the independent company BallotPoint and will continue until Oct. 31, according to IAFF Local 2068, which has a membership of approximately 1,500 FCFRD employees. “Our department is filled with intelligent, highly qualified and highly trained people,” IAFF Local 2068 President Robert Young said in the news release. “We’re first responders who love our jobs, love serving the Fairfax community, and want to continue to ensure that we are providing the best fire and medical emergency services possible. Bargaining allows us to do just that, while also ensuring that the concerns of our members and our community are heard and treated equitably.”
Workers pushing for McKay's union in Knoxville bring out many community members during Tuesday rally (Video)
WBIR
By wbir.com
Oct. 12, 2022
Workers are organizing to form a union with the Communications Workers of America. They already filed for a union election and ballots will be counted on November 8.
YCAT bus drivers could go on strike if new contract is not agreed upon
KYMA
By Vanessa Gongora
Oct. 12, 2022
Yuma County Area Transit (YCAT) bus drivers could go on strike if they don't reach a deal on a new three-year contract. The drivers are currently under a contract extension from the expired contract. Amalgamated Transit Union #1433 President Bob Bean, who represents the YCAT bus drivers says they're looking to increase wages by at least 30%. Bean says Phoenix drivers make more than $5 an hour compared to Yuma drivers.
USW union, Cleveland-Cliffs ratify new labor agreement
Reuters
Oct. 12, 2022
he United Steelworkers (USW) union and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (CLF.N) on Wednesday said that 12,000 union-represented employees had ratified a new, four-year labor contract that offers employees better pay and insurance benefits. USW International President Tom Conway said in a statement that the steel producer's commitment to partner with USW includes a plan to invest $4 billion in union facilities during the contract term.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Ohio Association of Public School Employees to donate food to 2,600 DPS students
Dayton 247
By Lydia Bice
Oct. 12, 2022
As part of the union's OAPSE Making a Difference (OMAD) initiative, leaders from the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE/AFSCME Local 4) will serve meals and snacks to 2,600 elementary students at six schools in the Dayton Public Schools (DPS). Since its establishment in 2014, the nonprofit foundation has raised more than $175,000 and assisted in feeding more than 22,000 hungry students around Ohio.
WBKO
By Isaac Calvert
Oct. 12, 2022
“A lot of people do not actually know how bad food insecurity is in Warren County,” says Kaitlyn Jackson, Marketing and Communications Manager for Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland. According to Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland, Warren County has the highest rates of food insecurity among the 42 counties that they cover. Today, a partnership between Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland and the UAW Local 2164 is helping with tornado disaster relief and to decrease the amount of food insecurity Warren County is facing. Brian Ferrett, President of the UAW Local 2164, says despite the pandemic, natural disasters, and high inflation rates within the community, building boxes of food is something he and his fellow union-workers/volunteers think is necessary in times of need.