IMMIGRATION
How the Biden administration is helping protect the most vulnerable and exploited workers
Fast Company
By Kristin Toussaint
Feb. 17, 2023
“One of the things that perpetuates unsafe conditions in the workplace is that workers are intimidated into staying quiet,” says Shannon Lederer, director of immigration policy for the AFL-CIO. “And one of the most potent threats that employers use is the threat of immigration enforcement.” Now, with recent changes from the Biden administration, those workers have a few more protections. This week, the Department of Labor announced that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be able to issue certifications for special visas that allow victims of certain crimes—including trafficking, extortion, forced labor, and others—to come forward and help law enforcement investigate and prosecute those crimes, without the fear of retaliation based on their immigration status.
JOINING TOGETHER
Temple University and striking graduate students reach tentative agreement
The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Susan Snyder
Feb. 18, 2023
Temple University has reached a tentative agreement with the union representing its 750 graduate student teaching and research assistants after an 18-day strike that began Jan. 31. The agreement includes wage increases in all four years of the contract and a one-time payment effective this month, according to an announcement on the university’s website. Graduate students will retain free health insurance for themselves, the university said, but it made no mention of insurance for dependents, which the union was seeking.
Union nurses reach agreement with Maine Medical Center on paid leave, other benefits
News Center Maine
By Meaghan Bellavance
Feb. 17, 2023
Union nurses at Maine Medical Center have reached an agreement with the hospital on paid leave and other benefits. The announcement comes after the hospital confirmed in December 2022 union nurses lost benefits, including paid leave for bereavement, jury duty, and military service. MMC said in December the benefits were lost because it was not included in contract negotiations and required an amendment to be reinstated.
Peoria Public Library union employees working under expired contract as negotiations continue
WCBU
By Tim Shelley
Feb. 18, 2023
Peoria Public Library employees unionized under AFSCME are working under an expired contract since the start of this year. Anthony Walraven is vice president of AFSCME Local 3464, which includes about 65 employees of the library, as well as workers with the city of Peoria, Peoria Civic Center, and Peoria Housing Authority. Walraven says pay remains the biggest sticking point in the ongoing negotiations. "We have a large number of our members that are making minimum wage or close to minimum wage, and a lot of them have post secondary education in one way or another," he said. "This is not teenagers working in the summers, or part time or something like that. These are adults who are trying to raise families, or trying to support themselves."
Southington firefighters’ union, town at impasse over staffing
My Record Journal
By Jesse Buchanan
Feb. 17, 2023
Unable to agree on a new contract, town leaders and the firefighters’ union will head to binding arbitration. Edwin Crandall, a fire department captain and union president, cited minimum staffing requirements as one of the unresolved issues. Town Manager Mark Sciota didn’t comment on the contract issue other than to say it would be resolved through the impasse resolution procedures in which both sides present their case to a labor panel. The firefighters’ previous contract expired in 2021. The Southington Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 2033 represents the town’s paid firefighters.
Temple, striking grad students reach tentative agreement
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
By John L. Micek
Feb. 20, 2023
More than two weeks after they walked off the job, officials at Temple University and striking graduate teaching and research assistants have reached a tentative agreement that could end the work stoppage. The deal now on the table includes wage increases in all four years and a one-time payment effective this month, according to the Associated Press.\
Local 51 union in Morgan Local School District issues 10-day strike notice
WTAP
By Chase Campbell
Feb. 20, 2023
Members of the Local 51 union of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees filed a 10 day strike notice with the State Employment Relations Board (SERB) on February 17. The union represents 100100 bus drivers, classroom aides, health aides, mechanics, maintenance workers, custodians, food service employees and secretaries in Morgan County. Local 51 president, bus driver Tom Quaintance, told WTAP that the dispute is primarily over wages. “What they’re offering right now is not up to what is, according to SERBS, the current rates, Quaintance said. “We’re just looking to get a livable wage in this economic situation.”
IN THE STATES
Labor, lawmakers want infrastructure contractors to hire locally
WPXI
By Paul J. Gough
Feb. 17, 2023
“This conversation needs to be had. We’re still in front of the work that is going to be coming as part of the infrastructure bill here in Pennsylvania,” said Angela Ferritto, president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. “Pennsylvania has an opportunity right now to get it right. This state needs to lean into its local union workforce.”
Local lawmakers react to Evers' budget address
Kenosha News
By Jillian Craig
Feb. 17, 2023
The Wisconsin AFL-CIO said Evers’ proposal was “thoughtfully and boldly designed to support working Wisconsinites and our families in order to bolster a robust middle-class economy.” “The Governor’s proposed Budget reflects his genuine understanding of what we and our local communities need,” said Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale. “
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Thomas Donahue, powerful labor envoy in Washington, dies at 94
The Washington Post
By Brian Murphy
Feb. 19, 2023
Thomas Donahue, a labor organizer groomed by powerful AFL-CIO chief George Meany as a top political strategist and who for decades pressed union priorities in White House meetings, congressional races and trade policies, including a failed push to block a free-trade pact with Mexico and Canada, died Feb. 18 at a hospital in Washington. He was 94. His wife, Rachelle Horowitz, said Mr. Donahue had several health issues and was hospitalized after a fall last week. Until losing a leadership fight in 1995, Mr. Donahue was among the most feared and courted labor power brokers in Washington in an era before union clout in politics began to wane. He was only briefly the top figure at the AFL-CIO, but he was often the main envoy representing its dozens of unions and more than 12 million members from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s.
Labor Tribune
By Tim Rowden
Feb. 20, 2023
When Jeff Schobernd collapsed from a heart attack in January while working on the Wedge Innovation Center at the former Wedge Bank building in Alton, Ill., it was the training and quick thinking of his union brothers with Laborers Local 42 that allowed him to make it home to his family. Journeyman Zachary Hurt, a four-year member of Local 42 and a veteran, and Kevin (Austin) Kent, a first-year apprentice, were on the job that day doing demolition work and knew what to do. “Our apprentices all receive CPR instruction as part of their training,” said Brandon Flinn, business manager of The Missouri-Kansas Laborers’ District Council (MKLDC) and business manager/secretary-treasurer of Local 42. “It’s part of what we do to ensure our members are prepared to work safely and provide medical assistance if necessary on the jobsite. We’re proud of Zach and Austin for their quick thinking and putting their training to use to save their co-worker. Their actions exemplify the meaning of union Brotherhood. Jeff’s family and the paramedics have told us he wouldn’t have made it if his union brothers hadn’t been there to help him.”
EQUAL PAY
Canada’s Women Escalate Equal Pay Fight and Find Ally in U.S. Team
The New York Times
By Juliet Macur
Feb. 16, 2023
Before the start of the United States women’s soccer match with Canada on Thursday, the teams put aside their ferocious rivalry and acted like colleagues, all for the good of their sport. In a show of solidarity in the pursuit of equal rights in soccer, the players gathered at midfield before their SheBelieves Cup match to form what looked like a giant heart. In one way or another, they all wore the color purple after coordinating the effort the previous day. The Canadians explained on their players’ union Twitter account that purple “has historically been associated with efforts to achieve gender equality.”