JOINING TOGETHER
More than 600 city of Portland workers out on strike
OPB
By Alex Zielinski
Feb. 2, 2023
More than 600 Portland city workers have walked off the job. Workers represented by the union Laborers Local 483 officially went on strike early Thursday after nearly a year of negotiations. The workers have been without a contract since June 2022, and negotiations over a new four-year deal broke down in December over wages.
The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Susan Snyder
Feb. 2, 2023
On Day 3 of the first strike in their history, graduate student teaching and research assistants at Temple University got support from a national union leader and local politicians during a rally on campus. The Temple University Graduate Students’ Association (TUGSA), which represents 750 graduate students, went on strike Tuesday for the first time in its history after more than a year of negotiations failed to produce an agreement. The students teach core undergraduate courses and assist professors with research. “It should not take a strike at an academic institution that professes it wants academic freedom and professes it wants to rise up the next generation,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. “In my world, it is hypocrisy what you are doing.”
Hundreds of Portland workers strike, marking city’s first employee walkout in decades
Oregon Live
By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh
Feb. 2, 2023
Portland’s first municipal strike in more than 20 years began Thursday as hundreds of public employees who provide essential city services walked off the job. The action comes as members of Laborers’ Local 483 and city leaders remain unable to agree on a new union contract despite months of negotiations. The stalemate stems largely over cost-of-living increases amid rising inflation as well as workplace safety concerns.
State Employees Union Ratifies New 2-Year Contract
KCSR
By John Axtell
Feb. 2, 2023
Nebraska state employees have ratified a new labor contract with the largest salary increases in at least 35 years. A majority of state workers will get wage hikes of 5% and 2% over the next two years, but there are increases of 10%-to-27% for critical and hard-to-fill positions. Those include state accountants, social services workers, drivers license examiners, and snowplow drivers – workers who are in short supply as state wages lag behind the private sector. Governor Jim Pillen and Nebraska Association of Public Employees union Executive Director Justin Hubly announced the approval of the labor agreement yesterday.
IN THE STATES
Hourly school workers want unemployment benefits
KARE 11
By John Croman
Feb. 2, 2023
Burnie Burnham, the president of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, said an entire category of workers shouldn't be left out in the cold. "As someone who taught elementary schools for 15 years, I can tell you that educators can’t do our jobs without the support staff in our schools," Burnham told reporters. "For people who do the important work that allows Minnesotans to learn, it’s an embarrassment that our state treats them differently than other workers."
Bill increasing Montana's minimum wage gets committee hearing
NBC Montana
By Joshua Margolis
Feb. 2, 2023
A bill to improve the lives of Montana’s lowest earning workers -- that’s what State Rep. Kelly Kortum (D-Bozeman) is aiming to do with House Bill 201. The bill would raise the state’s minimum wage to $11.39 an hour, excluding the value of tips received by employees and special provisions for a training wage. Supporters included the Montana AFL-CIO, the Montana Federation of Public Employees, the Associated Students of the University of Montana, Operating Engineers Local 400, IBW 233, Big Sky 55+ and Ravalli Democratic Char Linda Schmitt, who was speaking in her personal capacity as a Corvallis resident. “It stands to reason that those workforce shortages exist simply because workers cannot afford to live and work in their communities for a wage that is simply just above the poverty line,” said Amanda Frickle, political director for the Montana AFL-CIO, at Thursday's House Business and Labor Committee hearing.
UNION BUSTING
REI Workers Say Company Trying To Block Unionization In Berkeley
Patch
By Bay City News
Feb. 2, 2023
REI in Berkeley allegedly retaliated against workers over the weekend by firing 10 as contract negotiations continue with the company, the workers' union alleged. Two of the 10 fired were bargaining team members. Union workers are trying to negotiate their first union contract at the store in Berkeley. All of the non-management workers are represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5, which announced Wednesday that it has filed three unfair labor practice (ULP) charges against REI.