MUST READ
Let's go, Julie Su: 'Modern-day Frances Perkins' tapped to lead U.S. Dept. of Labor
Daily Kos
By Daily Kos Staff
April 17, 2023
"If you’ve been paying attention the past 18 months, you know workers across America are having a moment," writes Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO. "Julie Su will help workers at the highest levels of power, too—the same way 90 years ago, the country’s first female labor secretary, Francis Perkins, did pioneering work under Franklin Delano Roosevelt to define the New Deal."
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Economy stumbled after banking crisis, stirring renewed recession fears
The Washington Post
By David J. Lynch
April 16, 2023
“If we get a recession, it is the Fed’s fault,” said William Spriggs, chief economist for the AFL-CIO. “There is nothing else on the horizon that gets us a recession.”
Saunders: AFSCME working its way back from COVID’s impact
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
April 17, 2023
The State, County and Municipal Employees union is working its way back from the huge cuts in local and state jobs the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic imposed, union President Lee Saunders says. And, he adds, the governors, mayors and county officials he regularly talks with and works with desperately seek workers to fill thousands of vacancies. If they find them, that could benefit AFSCME. Saunders reviewed that state of his union, which now has 1.4 million members, in an informal walk-and-talk with several reporters at a small reception on the top, private floor of a D.C. bar. He explained that when the five-justice Republican-named majority ruled in the Janus case that every single state and local worker in the country could become a “free rider,” commentators expected AFSCME and other public worker unions to take a big hit or worse. The right-wing foes of unions, of course, rooted for a collapse in worker power. It didn’t happen. If anything, at least in the private sector, union numbers are growing as workers used newfound strength to fight back against exploitation by unionizing, leaving for better jobs, or both.Saunders said AFSCME weathered Janus because the union prepared in advance, going to a million members on a nationwide listening tour. It used responses to adjust its goals and tactics.
JOINING TOGETHER
Actors' Equity Members and League of Resident Theatres Ratify New Agreement
Broadway World
By Chloe Rabinowitz
April 17, 2023
Actors' Equity Association and the League of Resident Theatres have ratified a new four-and-a-half-year agreement. Key provisions of the contract include meaningful salary increases and growth in all three job categories: chorus, principals and stage managers. The new agreement also widens equity, diversity and inclusion protections, including regarding hair styling and costuming, and expands protection surrounding bullying, discrimination and harassment. The contract also expands flexibility in media and community outreach, enabling theatres to rebuild and grow audiences. The contract also creates additional opportunities for the development of new artistic work at LORT houses.
Eugene REI store could be among first in the nation to unionize
KLCC
By Nathan Wilk
April 17, 2023
The REI store in Eugene could become one of the first of the chain’s locations with unionized employees. Workers there filed a petition last week to set the process in motion. Employees will choose whether to join the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), which represents over a million workers nationwide. In a written statement, union member Forrest Houldin said the goal is to ensure higher wages, more equitable hours and accountability from management. Eugene is one of four REI locations to file for an election so far this month. Currently, only three out of the more than 180 REI stores in the country are unionized, according to UFCW.
Writers Guild members vote to authorize strike by record margin as contract deadline nears
Los Angeles Times
By Anousha Sakoui
April 17, 2023
Leaders of the Writers Guild of America secured a strong showing of support from members on Monday, moving the union closer to a possible work stoppage that would disrupt Hollywood production and ripple across Southern California’s economy. WGA members voted by a historic margin — 98% to 2% — (among 9,218 ballots cast) in favor of a strike authorization, which allows union leaders to call a walkout if they are unable to negotiate a new film and TV contract.
Negotiations underway between MTA and transit worker union amid state budget uncertainty
New York Daily News
By Evan Simko-Bednarski
April 17, 2023
With the state budget still in flux, union negotiations started in earnest Monday between the MTA and Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents some 40,000 bus and subway workers. The union is demanding higher wages, better health benefits, and an improved pension.
Hollywood Writers Authorize Strike Against Studios
HuffPost
By Dave Jamieson
April 17, 2023
Writers for the U.S. film and television industries have given their unions the green light to declare a strike if they can’t reach a satisfactory deal on a new contract with the major studios. On Monday the two affiliated unions, the Writers Guild of America West and the Writers Guild of America East, released the results of a strike authorization vote held among their members amid contract talks. Nearly 98% voted in favor of authorizing a work stoppage, and nearly 80% of eligible members participated in the vote — figures that the unions said were record highs.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
USW calls on paper industry to institute safeguards against deadly fungal infection
WNMU
By Nicole Walton
April 17, 2023
The United Steelworkers Union is calling for testing and cleaning in paper mills across the country, after a fungal infection killed a worker at the Billerud mill in Escanaba. United Steelworkers International President Tom Conway says rather than waiting to see if cases develop at other mills, officials need to be proactive and institute safeguards now. The union says it’s working with management and national health and safety officials to determine the precise source of the outbreak and ensure workers receive appropriate treatment.
UNION BUSTING
Fortune
By Josh Eidelson and Bloomberg
April 17, 2023
Wells Fargo & Co. leaders are privately expressing increased concern that a years-long effort to unionize the bank’s employees could soon start notching victories — and have made plans to spend millions addressing the “pain points” that can fuel organizing efforts. The lender has seen “an increase in organizing activity” by employees working with the Communications Workers of America, according to an internal PowerPoint presentation viewed by Bloomberg News. That comes amid what it called a broader “resurgence” of US union activity. “Wells Fargo believes our employees are best served by working directly with the company and its leadership – not a third-party group like a union – to address matters of concern,” the bank said. The company is investing in employees through training and education, is boosting minimum pay and health benefits, and now has a Diverse Segments, Representation, and Inclusion leader who reports directly to its chief executive officer. While US law allows companies to campaign against unionization, employees working with CWA have accused Wells Fargo of illegally interfering. In one complaint filed with the US National Labor Relations Board, Oregon-based call center worker Meghan Merez said she was punished for union advocacy with altered working conditions.