Today's AFL-CIO Press Clips
POLITICS
Big push to get voters out to polls heightened with Sanders visit
CBS Austin
By Monique Lopez
Oct. 29, 2022
His second stop Saturday was in Austin at a Texas Labor Celebration. The Texas AFL-CIO hosted the rally. They know how important it is to fulfill our American duty and vote. “I’m telling you, the main message that I would have for people is that just because things are not good now doesn’t mean that they always have to be this way,” president of the Texas AFL-CIO Rick Levy said. “Politics is how we write the rules that we all live by. If we sit aside and let other people write the rules, we’re going to continue getting what we’re getting. We can make a difference, we can make our voices heard, and we can make our lives better if we get out and vote.”
JOINING TOGETHER
Weyerhaeuser Says Labor Union Strike Has Ended
MarketWatch
By Dean Seal
Oct. 28, 2022
Weyerhaeuser Co. said Friday that the labor strikes affecting its operations in Oregon and Washington have been resolved after the company approved a new contract with union workers. The forest-products manufacturer and distributor said the work stoppage involved about 1,200 employees and members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. A representative for the union confirmed Friday that a contract has been approved and that the strike has ended. The union said earlier this week that it had reached a tentative agreement with the company that includes the largest wage increases Weyerhaeuser woodworkers have seen yet in a four-year deal, along with better shift differential, improved vacation and fewer cuts than had previously been on the table.
Columbus Museum of Art Workers Vote to Form Union
ArtForum
Oct. 28, 2022
Staff at the Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) in Ohio on October 27 voted overwhelmingly to unionize as the Columbus Museum of Art Workers United (CMAWU) under the aegis of AFSCME Ohio Council 8, the local branch of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. The vote comes less than two months after employees announced their intention to form a union. The staff at CMA join their compatriots at museums across the United States who have moved to unionize in recent years, among them Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the Baltimore Museum of Art; the Brooklyn Museum, Dia Art Foundation, New Museum, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, all in New York; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Minneapolis Parks Workers to Strike as Early as November 8
Red Lake Nation News
Oct. 30, 2022
Today, AJ Lange, Business Manager of the City Employees’ Union LIUNA Local 363, announced that more than 200 Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) employees intend to walk off the job on November 8 after issuing a 10-day notice to strike. "We have exhausted all options to avoid taking this action. Minneapolis Park employees take pride in providing the community with welcoming, clean, and enjoyable public spaces," said Lange. "In the midst of a pandemic and civil unrest, we continue to work despite being understaffed and overworked. We are the reason the Minneapolis park system consistently ranks in the top five across the country.”
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
IAFF Local 244 holds fundraiser at Civic Plaza
KRQE
By Laila Freeman
Oct. 29, 2022
A fundraiser event took place this weekend. Albuquerque area firefighters IAFF Local 244 held its 4th annual Fire Muster Saturday at Civic Plaza. The event, which included food trucks, face painting, and other activities helped raise money for the nonprofit’s survivors fund. The fund helps firefighters and their families who are facing life-threatening illnesses.