Today's AFL-CIO Press Clips
JOINING TOGETHER
New contract announced between Continental Cement Co., United Steelworkers Local 11-205
Courier Post
By Trevor MDonald
March 2, 2023
A new contract between Continental Cement Co. and United Steelworkers (USW) Local 11-205 was announced Thursday, marking a resolution to months of negotiations and an eight-day strike that began last Wednesday. The five-year contract approved by both parties be active through April 2027. Key features of the agreement include annual salary increases for employees of five percent for the first three years followed by four-percent increases for the last two years, a "once off" ratification bonus to offset lost wages since the last increase, establishment of a "streamlined job classification category structure for all new employees", an option for employees to "grandfather into the previous structure" or transition to the new structure — providing most employees with a pay increase above the contractual wage increase and a new call out system designed to reduce dependence on third-party contractors and boost overall plant reliability.
Caterpillar workers to vote on tentative labor agreement - union
Reuters
By Bianca Flowers
March 2, 2023
Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) workers are scheduled to vote on a tentative agreement with the construction and mining equipment maker on March 12, the United Auto Workers union told members on Thursday in a notice seen by Reuters. The company said on Wednesday it had reached a six-year agreement with UAW members, warding off a strike at three central Illinois manufacturing facilities and a parts and distribution center in York, Pennsylvania.
IN THE STATES
The future of labor advocacy is as diverse as workforce
The Charlotte Post
By Herbert L. White
March 2, 2023
“When I looked at my pay history, the amounts had been declining, not my hours. I thought that to be a situation that I needed to speak up.” Worker awareness and willingness to push for change is good, said MaryBe McMillan, president of the North Carolina AFL-CIO, which represents 100,000 members in industries ranging from delivery truck drivers to professional athletes. “Among workers generally right now, we see a lot more interest in organizing,” she said. “After the pandemic, working people are tired of being taken for granted after they risked their own health and safety to make sure that everybody had the food, the medication, the products that we needed during the pandemic. Certainly, a lot of the organizing that we see in the South is being led by workers of color, particularly women of color and younger workers, especially in the service sector.”
Michigan Matters: Focus on jobs and tree trimming in Motor City
CBS Detroit
March 2, 2023
With most power outages caused by trees hitting power lines, DTE Energy president and CEO Jerry Norcia is working with the city of Detroit, Focus: HOPE, and IBEW Local 17 as they run the unique Tree Trimming Academy to train Detroiters for these much-in-demand jobs. IBEW has a long history of training tree trimmers for over 100 years and is doing so at the academy.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
AFT launches ‘code red’ campaign to pass hospital staffing ratios
Labor Press
By Don Mcintosh
March 2, 2023
Nurse staffing is at crisis levels nationwide, and one leading national health care union says it’s serious about legislation to address it. On Feb. 24, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) announced it will spend half a million dollars on a radio, Pandora, Facebook and Instagram ad buy asking the public to put pressure on policymakers. Two Oregon AFT affiliates—Oregon Federation of Nurses and Healthcare Professionals and the Oregon Nurses Association—are asking state legislators to passHouse Bill 2697 to mandate safe staffing standards. AFT national president Randi Weingarten was in Portland to announce the national campaign, but the event was moved online after Portland’s record snowfall.