MUST READ
Unions Are More Relevant Today Than Ever (Opinion)
Word in Black
By Fred Redmond
Feb. 10, 2023
This week marks 55 years since the Memphis sanitation strike began following the deaths of two sanitation workers, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, who were crushed by a faulty garbage truck. Organizers and activists rallied the community so that Black sanitation workers who had long experienced low wages and an unsafe work environment would finally gain respect on the job. The strike was a watershed moment in the struggle for economic and racial justice. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Memphis to support the workers and was assassinated 12 days before they won their union with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
POLITICS
As Federal Cash Flows to Unions, Democrats Hope to Reap the Rewards
The New York Times
By Jonathan Weisman
Feb. 10, 2023
President Biden and the Democrats who pushed those provisions are hoping that more union members will bring more political strength for unions after decades of decline. But Republicans in Congress — especially in the leadership and tax-writing committees — have for years resisted Democrats’ pro-union efforts, including writing legislation into the tax code and enacting broad policy measures.
Biden Tests 2024 Themes, and Himself at 80, in a Swing State
Yahoo! News
By Josh Wingrove
Feb. 10, 2023
“What he did in the speech last night is exactly what we want to hear,” said Stephanie Bloomingdale, president of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO. “Absolutely one of the best State of the Unions that I’ve seen. Joe Biden put workers first in the speech.”
IN THE STATES
“This is just crazy”: Iowa GOP’s child labor bill would let kids work “dangerous” jobs
Salon
By Brett Wilkins
Feb. 8, 2023
Labor advocates on Tuesday decried a business-backed bill introduced by Republican state lawmakers in Iowa that would roll back child labor laws so that teens as young as 14 could work in previously prohibited jobs including mining, logging, and animal slaughtering—a proposal one union president called dangerous and "just crazy." "This is just crazy," Charlie Wishman, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, told the Des Moines Register. "A kid can still lose an arm in a work-based learning program."
At Juneau rally, state workers call for more resources to fix food stamp backlog
KTOO
By Claire Stremple
Feb. 10, 2023
The rally was for all of the thousands of state workers in the Alaska State Employees Association/AFSCME Local 52, but its focus was on supporting those at the state’s Division of Public Assistance as they tackle a massive backlog of food stamp applications that has left thousands of Alaskans waiting months for public benefits. The union criticized the state’s plan to hire contract workers to fix the backlog. The state has blamed it on aging technology and a cyber attack in May of 2021, but employees say chronic understaffing is the cause. At the rally, union members said they also need safer workplaces and for the state to hire permanent Alaska employees — rather than contractors who could be from out of state.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Cleveland Teachers Union in Ukraine delivering generators to schools
Cleveland 19
Feb. 9, 2023
The American Federation of Teachers purchased the generators with donations from thousands of their members. “They really want to keep life as normal for the children as humanly possible. And are doing everything they can to make that happen,” said Obrenski.
Local 49 held operating engineering pathway program for students
WDIO
By William Lien
Feb. 11, 2023
The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 49 is the largest construction union in Minnesota. The Local 49 training center partnered with Minnesota Virtual Academy to offer the Operating Engineering pathway program. On Saturday Feb. 11th, they offered a hands-on learning experience with their heavy equipment for students wanting to learn more about the trades.
JOINING TOGETHER
Union leader continues to fight for workers ‘one day longer’
Las Vegas Review-Journal
By David Wilson
Feb. 3, 2023
In 1995, Leain Vashon made a cameo in Martin Scorsese’s movie “Casino.” He played a bellman and was one of a series of people in a montage who are described as mobster Nicky Santoro’s tipsters. Vashon didn’t tell anyone when he auditioned for the part that he actually worked as a bellman on the Strip. Now 70, he is vice president of the Culinary Local 226, an affiliate of the national labor union UNITE HERE. Vashon is on the Black Leadership Group for UNITE HERE. “What we try to do is we look for Black leaders all over the country to move them forward. Because eventually, I’m not going to be around anymore, I’ll retire,” he said. “So we’re always looking for someone else to take over the leadership to keep it going.” Vashon has been part of the union for more than 40 years.