MUST READ
How Minor League Ballplayers Won a Union
The Nation
By Kelly Candaele and Peter Dreier
Feb. 6, 2023
“Organizing is clearly contagious,” says AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, referring to the recent nationwide surge of worker activism. “Workers, including minor league baseball players, are desperate for change—and the best way to achieve that change is through a union.”
POLITICS
Wyden, Merkley, colleagues introduce legislation to protect workers’ right to organize
KTVZ
By KTVZ news sources
March 6, 2023
“The PRO Act is how we level the playing field. It is how we stop the intimidation, the lies. This is how we let workers, not wealthy corporations, decide for themselves if they want the power of a union,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler.
JOINING TOGETHER
Hundreds of United Center Concessions Workers Stage 1-Day Walkout During Bulls Game
NBC 5 Chicago
By Sun-Times/ NBC Chicago
March 6, 2023
Hundreds of concessions workers at the United Center staged a one-day walkout Sunday that affected food and beverage service during the afternoon’s Chicago Bulls game. The brief strike by members of Unite Here Local 1 was designed to ratchet up pressure on their employer for this week’s Big Ten men’s basketball tournament, which runs Wednesday through next Sunday at the United Center. The workers have authorized an open-ended strike that could be called any time. Unite Here is negotiating with concessions operator Levy, part of Compass Group. A company spokesperson said fans could get food and beverages at Sunday’s game against the Indiana Pacers, but that menus were limited and no service was available in the private dining spaces Queenie’s, Stadium Club and Ketel One Club.
After 16 Months, Whitney Workers Reach First Union Contract
Hyperallergic
By Elaine Velie
March 6, 2023
Workers at the Whitney Museum of American Art voted to ratify their first union contract today, March 6. Employees and museum leadership reached the labor agreement after 16 months of bargaining. The three-and-a-half-year contract provides substantial raises, especially for the museum’s lowest-paid workers. In May 2021, 185 Whitney staff members petitioned to join UAW Local 2110, which represents employees at other New York institutions including the Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum. The decision fell amidst a wave of unionization efforts sweeping cultural centers across the country. The Whitney had laid off 20% of its staff since the onset of the pandemic. Half of the museum’s workers made less than $20 an hour and a large body of temporary workers did not receive benefits.
MedStar nurses strike deal to hire 1,350 nurses at DC hospital
Becker’s Hospital Review
By Erica Carbajal
March 6, 2023
On March 4, nurses at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., voted to ratify a new contract that includes a commitment from the hospital to hire 1,350 registered nurses by 2025. As part of the three-year contract, the hospital agreed to hiring at least 450 nurses per year, according to a news release from National Nurses United, which represents more than 1,800 nurses at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Other highlights of the agreement include 15 to 33 percent wage increases across the life of the contract; new workplace safety improvements, such as increased security in the emergency department; and compensation for nurse preceptors, according to the union.
IN THE STATES
Missouri AFL-CIO to host 7th annual Working Women’s Lobby Day March 8
Labor Tribune
March 6, 2023
The Missouri AFL-CIO is hosting a Missouri Working Women’s Lobby Day to commemorate International Women’s Day on Wednesday, March 8 at the State Capitol. The seventh annual event, which is open to all union members, will begin at Bone’s Banquet Center, 210 Commercial Blvd., in Jefferson City from 9 to 10:30 a.m. with breakfast and guest speakers. Afterward, participants will head to the Capitol for a day of lobbying to discuss the issues facing Missouri working women.
UNION BUSTING
Microsoft Construction Workers Fired for Protesting Wage Theft, Complaint Claims
Bloomberg
By Josh Eidelson
Feb. 28, 2023
Labor leaders argue the company should demand a similarly labor-friendly approach from its vendors. “They have the power to fix the situation,” said Virginia Diamond, president of the AFL-CIO’s Northern Virginia chapter. “They can’t just look away.”