CIVIL, HUMAN, AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS
The Hollywood Reporter
By Rebecca Sun
Dec. 20, 2022
The Writers Guild of America East and Writers Guild of America West have crafted a pledge committing to improving diversity, equity and inclusion in late night and comedy/variety TV, signed by more than 50 supervisory scribes in the space. The diverse group, which includes John Oliver, Amber Ruffin, Amy Schumer and Charlamagne tha God, acknowledges systemic barriers and a “sink or swim” culture that has historically excluded BIPOC writers and outlines some specific remedies for helping them enter, stay in and move up through the pipeline.
JOINING TOGETHER
Sparrow and its UAW bargaining units reach new contract agreements covering 2,200 caregivers
WILX
By Kayla Jones
Dec. 21, 2022
New contracts approved for Sparrow and its four UAW bargaining units that will extend to Nov. 30, 2025. This includes a clause for an additional one-year extension. The previous contracts expired on Nov. 30. The contract will impact about 2,200 caregivers, including those in Support Operations, Food and Nutrition Services, Facilities, technicians who work directly with patients in Respiratory Therapy, Radiology, Physical Therapy, and Pharmacy, and many caregivers who support Sparrow Specialty Hospital.
Ohio: Hundreds of Hollywood Casino Toledo workers set to strike Thursday
CDC Gaming Reports
By David Barkholz
Dec. 20, 2022
About 400 unionized workers at the Hollywood Casino Toledo are threatening to strike on Thursday at midnight if they can’t get a new labor agreement with the casino. They have been working under a contract extension since Dec. 1, said Tony Totty, president of United Auto Workers Local 14 in Toledo who is supporting the hourly casino workers.The UAW represents about 200 of the workers, including dealers, slot machine attendants, and others, while the United Steelworkers represents the other 200 hourly casino workers.
Ganim, Bridgeport firefighters' union reach contract agreement
WSHU
By Molly Ingram
Dec. 21, 2022
The City of Bridgeport and its firefighters have reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement. Acting Fire Chief Lance Edwards said the CBA is favorable for both the city and the department. “I think most people know it's been close to two and a half years, we've been going back and forth with contract negotiations,” Edwards said. “I think most people understand neither side is going to get everything that they want. But I do believe that the package that we have agreed upon, we have a tentative agreement, is fair for both sides, both the city and locally 834.”
NLRB
NLRB Funding Boost Falls Short of White House, Unions’ Requests
Bloomberg Law
By Diego Areas Munhoz
Dec. 21, 2022
Congressional appropriators have proposed a $25 million budget increase for the National Labor Relations Board, failing to heed unions’ calls for a more significant boost to strengthen the agency at a time when organizing efforts are on the rise across the US. Bart Sheard, a legislative representative for the AFL-CIO, said corporate influence in Congress is to blame for the increase being slimmer than what Democrats and the president had asked for. “There are real forces at hand trying to keep the board from getting this funding,” Sheard said in an interview Tuesday. “Corporations are overly represented on the Hill, and employers benefit from the underfunding.”
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Violence in Nursing: How To Create a Safer Work Environment
Newsweek
By Jacob Kupietzky
Dec. 21, 2022
I've talked at length about the stress and risk of burnout from working in healthcare during the pandemic. One major issue in healthcare that I feel doesn't get enough attention is the persistent threat of violence, particularly against nurses. According to data from Press Ganey, a healthcare data analytics company, there were roughly 57 assaults on nursing personnel per day in the U.S. between April and June 2022 — more than two per hour, every hour, every day. According to the AFL-CIO, workplace violence in healthcare in the private sector rose 52% between 2010 and 2019 and 95% for hospitals in particular.