MUST READ
African American labor trailblazers honored at luncheon hosted by A. Philip Randolph Institute
ABC24
By Gus Carrington and Devin Wood
Feb. 25, 2023
Several African American union and labor trailblazers were honored on Saturday as the Memphis A. Philip Randolph institute held their annual awards luncheon. National AFL-CIO secretary treasurer Fredrick Redmond is the first African American to be elected to the second highest office of the AFL-CIO. Mr. Redmond said the city of Memphis holds "so much history" and importance in the labor movement that he felt it was right to be here celebrating.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Child labor violations are on the rise as some states look to loosen their rules
NPR
By Kaitlyn Radde
Feb. 26, 2023
Child labor violations have been on the rise since 2015 after declining for years, according to data from the U.S. Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division. The total number of violations is much lower than it was two decades ago, but experts are still troubled. In 2015 — the low point in the data — the Wage and Hour Division found 1,012 minors employed in violation of child labor laws, with an average of 1.9 per case. In 2022, that number more than tripled to 3,876, averaging 4.6 per case.
Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S.
The New York Times
By Hannah Dreier
Feb. 25, 2023
These workers are part of a new economy of exploitation: Migrant children, who have been coming into the United States without their parents in record numbers, are ending up in some of the most punishing jobs in the country, a New York Times investigation found. This shadow work force extends across industries in every state, flouting child labor laws that have been in place for nearly a century. Twelve-year-old roofers in Florida and Tennessee. Underage slaughterhouse workers in Delaware, Mississippi and North Carolina. Children sawing planks of wood on overnight shifts in South Dakota.
JOINING TOGETHER
Lightfoot, AFSCME announce tentative agreement, averting pre-election strike
Chicago Sun-Times
By Fran Spielman
Feb. 24, 2023
A joint statement from Lightfoot and Roberta Lynch, executive director of AFSCME Council 31, said the agreement would “improve the economic security and working lives of thousands of dedicated frontline” employees in roughly a dozen city departments. “These workers are critically important to our city and impact every major department of city government. We have all worked together diligently to ensure that their efforts to help keep our city moving forward are recognized and valued,” the joint statement said. “Terms of the agreement will be released after union members have the opportunity to review and vote on its ratification.”
Unionized Pitt faculty members protest pace of contract talks
TribLive
By Bill Schackner
Feb. 24, 2023
About 200 University of Pittsburgh faculty members represented by the United Steelworkers rallied outside Friday’s board of trustees meeting to protest the pace of negotiations aimed at securing the union’s first labor pact there. Chanting at times as they held up signs that read “Fair Pay = Emotional Well-Being,” the crowd filled a lobby inside the William Pitt Union, where the board was meeting, as well as a staircase and balcony overlooking the room. The Union of Pitt Faculty, part of the United Steelworkers, represents more than 3,000 full- and part-time faculty on the Oakland main campus and branches at Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown and Titusville. They voted overwhelmingly to unionize in an election whose results were announced in October 2021. But almost 15 months later, negotiations have not led to a contract.
Students at Rollins College rally in support of dining workers’ union rights
Orlando Weekly
By McKenna Schueler
Feb. 24, 2023
Dozens of students and faculty at Rollins College, a private liberal arts college near Orlando, on Friday rallied in support of the college’s dining workers, who are seeking a fair process for union representation with the labor union Unite Here.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
A look at the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
Safety + Health Magazine
By Barry Bottino
Feb. 26, 2023
“The passage of this act really just provides basic decency for pregnant workers,” AFL-CIO safety and health specialist M.K. Fletcher said. Under the law – set to go into effect June 27 – all employers with at least 15 employees will be required to extend to pregnant workers “reasonable accommodations.” These can include a chair or stool to sit on, additional bathroom breaks, and limits on how much they can lift.
IN THE STATES Proposed law would ban LGBTQ job discrimination
KALB By Piper Hutchinson Feb. 24, 2023 A bill the Louisiana Legislature will consider would prohibit employment discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. House Bill 40, sponsored by Rep. Delisha Boyd, D-New Orleans, would add protections for gender identity and sexual orientation to Louisiana’s employment discrimination law. The list currently includes race, color, religion, sex, national origin and hairstyle. Boyd’s proposal would exempt religious organizations, which include some of Louisiana’s largest employers. The bill includes identical language to one Boyd introduced in 2022. House Bill 439 was shot down after a brief discussion in the House Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, its first stop in the law-making process. That bill was supported by the ACLU of Louisiana, Louisiana AFL-CIO and several progressive organizations.