POLITICS
Under Biden, U.S. sees unions as key ally in democracy agenda
The Washington Post
By Ishaan Tharoor
March 31, 2023
“Unions are the largest civil society organizations in any country, they are membership-based, sustainable, and are themselves examples of democratic practice,” said Shawna Bader-Blau, the executive director of the Solidarity Center, a nonprofit aligned with the AFL-CIO, the biggest grouping of American unions. “Weak or strong, they have elections.” Their capacity to mobilize, act collectively, strike and force political change far outweighs whatever smaller nongovernmental organizations can muster, she said. The focus on organized labor comes at a moment of political and economic crisis. Studies point to years of democratic decline, including in the West, while the coronavirus pandemic reversed decades in global progress in fighting poverty. Economic inequality has further ballooned.
APPRENTICESHIPS
Northwest Area students tour IBEW 163 facility to learn career options
Times Leader
By Bill O’Boyle
April 1, 2023
Northwest Area teacher Vito Malacari Friday said bringing 14 students to the IBEW 163 Joint Apprentice Training Center offers them the opportunity to learn about opportunities other than going to college. The students toured the IBEW 163 facility to learn first-hand the different options after high school that are afforded to students. “The need for skilled labor has grown in our region and I want to expose students to various labor unions to show them there are other opportunities than college,” Malacari said. “The union’s apprenticeship programs offer students a way to earn and learn while helping rebuild our state. This is coupled with the governor’s budget that invests in our workforce development.” John T. Nadolny, IBEW 163’s Training Director, talked to the students, answered their questions, showed them videos and then gave them a tour of the facility.
JOINING TOGETHER
Chicago REI workers file for union election in latest retail organizing effort
Chicago Tribune
By Talia Soglin
March 31, 2023
Workers at REI’s only Chicago location filed for a union election on Friday. The REI staff include about 70 employees who work at the store selling outdoor gear and apparel, handling inventory and repairing products, including bikes and skis. The workers are seeking representation with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Members of the Chicago staff presented store management with a letter announcing their intent to unionize at a Friday morning meeting at the store, which is located along the banks of the Chicago River at 905 W. Eastman St. The workers asked REI to voluntarily recognize their union; RWDSU communications director Chelsea Connor said the company declined to immediately do so. Workers proceeded to file for a union election at the National Labor Relations Board offices in downtown Chicago, she said.
MLB, Minor Leaguers Reach Tentative Deal on First-Ever Collective Bargaining Agreement
The Wall Street Journal
March 30, 2023
Minor-league baseball players reached a tentative agreement with Major League Baseball on the collective bargaining agreement for minor leaguers who formed a union last year, MLB Players Association officials said Wednesday night. The five-year deal—which will go to a ratification vote by players on Thursday and to MLB owners for a vote in coming days—will at least double the pay of minor-league players and provide other benefits. Last September, MLB voluntarily recognized the union, which made the MLB Players Association the bargaining agent for minor-league players.
Nevada Gold Mines, union agree to new three-year contract
The Nevada Independent
By Daniel Rothberg
March 31, 2023
Nearly three years after the National Labor Relations Board sued Nevada’s largest gold mining business for not recognizing a union that had been in place for decades, a collective bargaining committee reached an agreement with the company this week for a new three-year contract. The contract provides more than a thousand workers at Nevada Gold Mines with an 8.5 percent increase in wages over the contract’s term, along with other protections, as the mega-company continues to hold a large amount of influence over a local economy dominated by its operations. “The greatest highlight to note is that in December of 2019, we could not receive recognition… and our members faced a large amount of uncertainty and insecurity,” Scott Fullerton, a district representative for Operating Engineers Local 3, said in a press release Tuesday. Negotiating a new three-year contract, Fullerton said, “says a lot about the dedication of the membership, the determination of Local 3 and the importance of both parties communicating effectively.”
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Local 21 United Steel Workers raise money for sick Billerud Paper Mill employees
NBC6
By Justin Van't Hof
April 2, 2023
A Delta County union raised $28,000 to help Billerud Paper Mill workers. The Escanaba Local 21 Women of Steel organized a breakfast fundraiser Sunday to help support sick mill workers. The efforts are in response to a blastomycosis outbreak at the mill. Right now, there are 19 confirmed and 62 probable cases. The event had a 50/50 raffle and bake sale with all money raised going to the mill workers. “I always say sharing is caring, that is my motto and helping others is what I love to do,” Local 21 Women of Steel Coordinator Donna Dams said. “I am glad I am a part of this our community is so generous it is overwhelming.”