POLITICS
Biden takes a victory lap in Wisconsin to highlight ‘good union jobs’ from his first two years
Wisconsin Examiner
By Erik Gunn
Feb. 9, 2023
“I think that not enough people know about what is happening on the ground,” said Stephanie Bloomingdale, Wisconsin AFL-CIO president, who sat in the VIP section and joined the cheers for Biden’s talk. “They haven’t been able to see the outcomes of the legislation” such as the bipartisan infrastructure bill enacted in late 2021. “But they will,” she added, citing clean water projects in urban and rural areas and plans to remove lead pipes. Unions, she said, are engaged in “talking with our members and making sure that they have the right information in terms of what’s happening in our country.”
JOINING TOGETHER
HarperCollins and striking union reach tentative agreement
The Seattle Times
By Hillel Italie
Feb. 9, 2023
HarperCollins Publishers and the union representing around 250 striking employees reached a tentative agreement providing increases to entry level salaries. If union members ratify the contract, it will run through the end of 2025 and end a walkout that began nearly three months ago. HarperCollins and Local 2110 of the United Auto Workers released separate, identical statements Thursday night, announcing “increases to minimum salaries across levels throughout the term of the agreement, as well as a one time $1,500 lump sum bonus to be paid to bargaining unit employees following ratification.”
Workers At 28 D.C.-Area Farmers Markets Vote To Unionize
DCist
By Margaret Barthel
Feb. 9, 2023
The workers at more than two dozen local farmers markets run by the nonprofit FRESHFARM have unionized with United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400. “With our union, we will have a greater voice in the workplace and the opportunity to collectively address our working conditions, pay and benefits,” the organizing committee said in a statement. “We look forward to negotiating our first union contract with the same energy, unity and camaraderie that made our union possible in the first place.” Roughly 25 workers who run the markets themselves, not the individual vendor booths, will be included in the new union. The group’s union card drive concluded in December, with a majority of workers calling for a union election, which was conducted last month.
TRANSPORTATION
Bernie Sanders, White House pressure railroads on paid sick leave for union workers
CNBC
By Lori Ann LaRocco
Feb. 9, 2023
In a joint press conference, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, and Senator Mike Braun (R-Ind.) a member of the committee, demanded railroad carriers offer workers at least seven paid sick days. Sanders mentioned the record profits of the railroad carriers and urged the companies to “do the right thing.” Braun and Sanders were joined by representatives from major rail unions SMART-TD, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department, and the National Association of Chemical Distributors.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Fiery Ohio derailment raises railroad safety questions
Los Angeles Times
By Josh Funk
Feb. 9, 2023
Rail unions believe the industry has gotten riskier in recent years after widespread job cuts left workers spread thin. Greg Regan, president of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department coalition, said he worries the chances of a catastrophic derailment are increasing because major freight railroads have eliminated roughly one-third of their workers over the past six years. Companies have shifted to running fewer, longer trains and say they don’t need as many crews, mechanics and locomotives. Before those operating changes, Regan said inspectors used to have about two minutes to inspect every rail car. Now they only get roughly 30 to 45 seconds to check each car. Signalmen who maintain crossing guards and safety signals along the tracks also have bigger territories, making it harder to keep up with preventative maintenance. “They’re really just trying to squeeze as much productivity out of these workers as they can,” Regan said. “And when you’re focused on timing and rushing, unfortunately sometimes things can fall through the cracks.”