LABOR AND ECONOMY
House Judiciary Committee Approves Bill Requiring Radio Stations to Pay Royalties to Performers
Variety
By Thania Garcia
Dec. 7, 2022
In a markup session, the House Judiciary Committee has given its approval to a bill that implements a sound recording performance royalty on over-the-air broadcasting, the American Music Fairness Act. If the bipartisan bill were to go through, artists, performers, producers and musicians involved in creating songs would receive royalties when their music plays on U.S. terrestrial radio stations, just as songwriters already do. The American Music Fairness Act is endorsed by the AFL-CIO, the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), the American Federation of Musicians, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), SAG-AFTRA and SoundExchange.
JOINING TOGETHER
Baileyville millworkers authorize strike amid fight for higher wages
Bangor Daily News
By Christopher Burns
Dec. 7, 2022
The union workers at the Baileyville mill have authorized a strike amid an impasse in contract negotiations with management. “The wages and benefits we are requesting are not unreasonable and are necessary for us to keep up with inflation. If I felt that our demands were excessive, I would be the first to stand before the membership and say so,” United Steelworkers Local 27 President Shawn Howland said. “These negotiations have left us feeling unappreciated and unvalued, considering the hard work and resilience our members showed during COVID 19 pandemic. Our production numbers are at an all-time high, largely due to the efforts of the hourly employees here at Woodland.”
New York Times refusal to bargain pushes workers to walkout
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Dec. 7, 2022
Management’s refusal to bargain in good faith for almost two years over decent raises and its demand to cut or kill pensions is pushing the 1,036 newsroom and related workers at New York Times into a reluctant one-day walkout tomorrow, on Dec. 8. And they asked Times subscribers, supporters, readers and union members to back them by not reading the paper, either in print or online, “or using its other products” on that day. “All would not exist without our labor,” say the workers, represented by the News Guild of New York.
Production workers at Nickelodeon Studios have voted to unionize
Kidscreen
By Ryan Tuchow
Dec. 7, 2022
More than half of Nickelodeon Studios’ production workers have voted in favor of unionizing with entertainment industry union The Animation Guild, or TAG (IATSE 839). The 177 staffers include production managers, production coordinators, post-production assistants, art production coordinators and asset coordinators. It’s the largest group of production workers ever to organize with TAG, which represents more than 5,000 people employed in the animation industry.
Ohio University workers union delivers nearly 800 petitions to President Sherman
WOUB
By Kaitlin Thorne
Dec. 7, 2022
Union workers and supporters rallied on campus Wednesday afternoon before delivering a petition to Ohio University President Hugh Sherman requesting the university rescind pandemic-based staffing and wage cuts. Over the last two years members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Ohio Council 8 have held multiple rallies since the University’s 2020 decision to cut a large number of culinary, maintenance and custodial staff and reduce wages of others. Union members seek to restore both staff and wages.
New York Times braces for 24-hour newsroom strike
CBS News
Dec. 7, 2022
The New York Times is bracing for a 24-hour walkout Thursday by hundreds of journalists and other employees, in what would be the first strike of its kind at the newspaper in more than 40 years. Newsroom employees and other members of The NewsGuild of New York say they are fed up with bargaining that has dragged on since their last contract expired in March 2021. The union announced last week that more than 1,100 employees would stage a 24-hour work stoppage starting at 12:01 a.m. Thursday unless the two sides reach a contract deal.