OLITICS
White House memo: Facing a wave, White House plotted a one-two punch
NBC News
By Mike Memoli
Nov. 10, 2022
AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler credited the White House for recognizing that the economy was broader than simply jobs and gas prices. She said the president’s focus on retirement security and leaning into criticism of oil companies over high gas prices. “I think he saw the need to come out swinging because people wanted to see folks fighting for them,” she said. “Companies are making record profits coming out of this pandemic and not a lot of people are talking about that. And workers are still getting the short end of the stick.”
Dems defy history, winning control at state level across the country
People’s World
By John Wojcik and Mark Gruenberg
Nov. 10, 2022
“For months, we’ve warned that democracy is on the ballot and that we likely wouldn’t know all the outcomes on election night,” Shuler said. “That’s good because it means every vote is being counted. But we also know election deniers will try to take advantage of this time by attempting to skew results and baselessly challenge closely contested races. “The AFL-CIO and our affiliates will vigorously defend democracy until the last vote is counted—in every state and every race, including the anticipated upcoming runoff race for the U.S. Senate in Georgia.”
JOINING TOGETHER
Nearly 48,000 UC graduate students poised to shut down many classes, labs and research with strike
Los Angeles Times
By Teresa Watanabe
Nov. 11, 2022
Nearly 48,000 University of California academic workers — the backbone of the vaunted higher education system who research, mentor and teach — are poised to strike Monday in a labor action that could shut down some classes and lab work just weeks before final exams. In what would be the nation’s largest strike of academic workers, four UAW bargaining units representing teaching assistants, postdoctoral scholars, academic and graduate student researchers, tutors, fellows and others are set to picket from 8 a.m. at all of UC’s 10 campuses. The campuses are scheduled to remain open and plan to continue instruction and operations.
HarperCollins Workers Strike for Better Pay and Benefits
The New York Times
By Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth A. Harris
Nov. 10, 2022
Unionized employees at HarperCollins went on strike Thursday, saying they planned to stop working until they reached an agreement on a new contract. The HarperCollins union represents about 250 employees in editorial, publicity, sales, marketing, legal and design. In a statement, the union said its members, who have been working without a contract since April, wanted better family leave benefits and higher pay. Olga Brudastova, the president of Local 2110 of the U.A.W., which represents unionized HarperCollins employees, said that the union had decided to go on an indefinite strike after negotiations with the company stalled. The union is proposing that HarperCollins raise the minimum starting salary to $50,000, from $45,000. It has also demanded that the company address the lack of diversity in its work force.
Tufts RAs declare intent to form union, ask university for voluntary recognition
The Tufts Daily
By Aaron Gruen and Emily Thompson
Nov. 10, 2022
Tufts Resident Assistants are unionizing following months of planning. In a letter to University President Anthony Monaco and Director of Residential Life and Learning Christina Alch, members of United Labor of Tufts Resident Assistants said that over 80% of the RAs have signed union authorization cards, declaring their intent to form a union and requesting that the university voluntarily recognize it. ULTRA has organized as a union under the Office and Professional Employees International Union, Local 153. OPEIU, which is part of AFL-CIO, has more than 100,000 members. In their letter, they request a response by Nov. 16.
AFSCME reaches tentative agreement with UMN
The Minnesota Daily
By Amelia Roessler
Nov. 10, 2022
The AFSCME bargaining team reached an agreement with the University of Minnesota on Monday that includes a three-year contract for clerical, technical and health care workers. The agreement includes a $20 an hour minimum wage with the lowest paid workers to receive raises of more than $3 an hour along with market adjustments for technical and health care job classifications. For the second and third years on the contract, there will be a 4% cost of living increase. “We are thrilled to report we have reached a tentative agreement on a contract that is the best we have achieved regarding wages in 20 years,” AFSCME administrative worker Rachel Katkar said in an email to the Minnesota Daily. AFSCME went into bargaining with the University Nov. 1.
Hundreds of nurses at Wichita’s St. Francis hospital vote to unionize
KCUR
By Daniel Caudill
Nov. 10, 2022
More than 600 registered nurses at St. Francis hospital in Wichita will be represented by a union. The nurses voted 378-194 in favor of organizing with the National Nurses United, which is the largest union of registered nurses in the country. The election was held Wednesday and Thursday. The union says the bargaining unit at St. Francis will include more than 650 nurses.
Loudoun County Transit Workers Authorize Strike That Would Potentially Impact New Silver Line Access
DCist
By Aja Drain
Nov. 10, 2022
Union members at Loudoun County Transit have authorized a potential strike that could impact access to portions of Metro’s new Silver line service. Ninety-six percent of the members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 voted to strike if necessary. Members include some of the transit workers that will help connect commuters to the new Silver Line Phase II stations in Loudoun County – over 140 fixed route and commuter bus operators, mechanics, and paratransit drivers. The union alleges Keolis, the private contractor that employs them, has failed to adequately staff in preparation for the opening of Silver Line Phase II because their wages and benefits are the lowest for a transit agency in the region. They also claim Keolis has been delaying progress at the bargaining table and is violating federal labor law.
Glide nonprofit workers win union election by a landslide
San Francisco Examiner
By Margaret Hetherwick
Nov. 11, 2022
Workers at the Tenderloin nonprofit Glide voted to unionize in a landslide vote in an election Thursday morning. They will be called Glide United and will be represented by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 29. "A lot of folks really stepped up and came wanting a seat at the table. This showed that ultimately, we are incredibly devoted to our work," said Mario Lemos, a union member and organizer for Glide United. "This is a turning point for nonprofits. We're happy to join this momentum." The new union will represent food service workers, case managers, office workers, harm reduction staff and teachers at Glide.
IN THE STATES
Lamont says his mandate for a second term is economic growth
CT Public
By Mark Pazniokas
Nov. 10, 2022
The labor movement picked up two new friends in the state Senate: Jan Hochadel, a teacher and former president of the American Federation of Teachers in Connecticut; and Martha Marx, a nurse and labor activist. Both won open seats, Marx flipping a GOP seat. Two other labor allies won reelection after being targeted by Republicans: Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, a former UAW regional director; and Sen. Jorge Cabrera, D-Hamden, a union organizer. “We don’t have an agenda yet,” said Ed Hawthorne, president of the Connecticut AFL-CIO. “We’re meeting soon and working on an agenda that will put the working people of Connecticut first.” In his first term, Lamont delivered on a union agenda that included a $15 minimum wage, paid famil