MUST READ
Biden Labor Department nominee Su fends off Republican attacks
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
April 21, 2023
Unions, led by the AFL-CIO, strongly back Su. The federation mounted an online petition drive for her, too. “Julie Su’s testimony reinforced what the labor movement has always known: Su has the necessary experience, values and leadership qualities to be our Secretary of Labor,” federation President Liz Shuler said in a statement. “Her record of standing up for working people and marginalized communities is stellar and unimpeachable. She is the right person for the job. We call on the U.S. Senate to swiftly vote to confirm Julie Su.”
POLITICS
Unions pour on support for Biden’s Labor pick amid confirmation worries
Politico
By Nick Niedzwiadek and Jennifer Haberkorn
April 22, 2023
Unions are stepping in to boost President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Labor Department as Democrats seek to avert an embarrassing defeat that would set back the administration’s agenda for workers. Unified Republican opposition to the nominee, Julie Su, has the unions and the White House focused on a handful of moderate senators who have yet to make their intentions known — Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Angus King (I-Maine) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). The AFL-CIO this week began rolling out a campaign to drum up support for Su, with an emphasis on getting local affiliates to lean on undecided senators and a six-figure ad buy running in Washington, D.C. and Arizona.
The “Stand with Su” effort is a direct counterweight to some of the forces that have been lobbying against her — including the name choice, as one of the main anti-confirmation groups is called “Stand Against Su.”
LABOR AND ECONOMY
The bank crisis is the latest argument to expand Postal Service banking (Opinion)
The Hill
By Mark Dimondstein
April 20, 2023
Since the government is already in the business of supporting the banking system, the people ought to demand a system that is designed to better serve the public interest and the common good. Any debate about the future of banking in the United States should first take a page from the history of postal banking. During its 55-year existence, beginning in 1910 by an act of Congress, the U.S. Postal Savings System became one of the largest depository institutions in the country. It served as a safe harbor during the Great Depression and provided simple and reliable basic banking services, especially in rural communities.
Yahoo Entertainment
By Sharon Knolle
April 20, 2023
The AFL-CIO account updated a Drake meme to show the rapper cringing at a blue checkmark and smiling at the suggestion “form a union.” The caption read, “We’re still here, but we don’t give our money to union-busting billionaires. Bye bye blue check!”
JOINING TOGETHER
SAG-AFTRA Unanimously Votes to “Strongly” Support WGA in Its Contract Negotiations
The Hollywood Reporter
By Carly Thomas
April 22, 2023
The SAG-AFTRA National Board is speaking out in support of the Writers Guild of America amid its ongoing negotiations with studios and streamers. The performers’ union voted unanimously Saturday on a resolution expressing solidarity, saying it is time for “employers in our industry to step up and make meaningful changes.” The statement comes as the WGA, which represents more than 11,500 writers of film, television and streaming media, is just a little more than a week out from its contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers expiring on May 1.
‘Many of us are struggling’: why US universities are facing a wave of strikes
The Guardian
By Michael Sainato
April 21, 2023
This uptick in strikes coincides with a surge in union organizing at US academic institutions. Since early 2022, graduate and undergraduate workers at 20 private academic institutions, representing over 25,000 workers, have won union elections filed with the National Labor Relations Board.
Goddard College workers reach contract agreement, end strike
WCAX
By Kiana Burks
April 21, 2023
After 28 days on strike, staff at Goddard College in Plainfield have struck an agreement with the administration that union members are calling a success. After a nearly month-long strike, unionized staff at the school reached an agreement and are now back on the job. “We’re all very happy to be back, and it’s been a long month for sure,” said Trevor Utton, a union organizer.
Wildcat Materials employees rally after five-day strike
Columbia Missourian
By Amelia Hurley
April 21, 2023
After protesting all day, Wildcat Materials employees closed out their first work week of strikes with a rally on Friday. The workers, along with at least 50 supporters, rallied outside the Daniel Boone City Building. They have been protesting for higher wages, more comprehensive insurance and better overtime scheduling. The three employees of Wildcat Materials went on strike starting early Monday morning in front of the company's office. They have been accompanied by members of the Laborers' International Union of North America Local 955, who joined them in the rally. They plan to continue striking until bargaining ends in an agreement that is fair for employees, said Andrew Hutchinson, LiUNA Local 955 representative.
Variety
By William Earl
April 22, 2023
SAG-AFTRA’s national board has lent its support to the WGA as the latter guild buckles down for a last sprint of negotiations in the days leading up to the May 1 expiration of film and TV writers’ master contract with Hollywood’s major employers. “SAG-AFTRA stands strongly in support and solidarity with the members of the Writers Guild of America who are engaged in contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. It is long past time for the studios, streamers, and other employers in the entertainment industry to remove roadblocks to fair and equitable wages and working conditions, and to agree to terms that reflect the unique worth and contribution of creative talent and workers, without whom the industry would not exist,” read a resolution passed Saturday by a unanimous vote of SAG-AFTRA’s national board.
SAG-AFTRA Board Votes Unanimously To “Strongly” Support The WGA In Its Contract Talks With AMPTP
Deadline
By David Robb
April 22, 2023
“History shows that fairness and equity to the workers who power the creativity of the entertainment industry has only been achieved through solidarity and the efforts of those workers working within their labor unions and guilds,” the SAG-AFTRA resolution says. “Changes in the economics of the entertainment industry have worked to the great benefit of large corporate employers and in many cases to the detriment of the creators who make their businesses possible. “Workers are stronger when they stand together united, and the unions that represent them are more powerful working and collaborating together. After weeks of bargaining, it is time for the employers in our industry to step up and make meaningful changes to fairly compensate writers and to acknowledge their unique needs and concerns, along with the concerns shared by all artists and workers in the industry.”
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Electricians repair more than a dozen homes to those in need in St. Louis City, County
KMOV
By Shoshana Stahl
April 22, 2023
For the 20th year, a group of IBEW/NECA Electrical Connection volunteers repaired electrical hazards and made improvements to low-income homes in St. Louis and St. Louis County. On Saturday morning, 150 electricians and more than 20 electrical contractors improved 17 low-income homes for the non-profit Rebuilding Together St. Louis.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Workers' Memorial Day: Honoring Those Who Lost Their Lives, Suffered Injuries, Illnesses from Work
Occupational Health & Safety
By Alex Saurman
April 21, 2023
Workers’ Memorial Day, held on April 28, is a time to remember and honor workers who lost their lives or whose health was negatively impacted due to work-related incidents and their loved ones as well as discuss changes that can be made to create safer worksites. Across the country, many companies and organization will host events in honor of the day. On April 27, at 1 p.m., OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) will be hosting a Workers' Memorial Day Ceremony online and in person at the U.S. Department of Labor Frances Perkins Building in Washington DC. Liz Shuler, President of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), and Wanda Engracia, United Support & Memorial for Workplace Fatalities Vice President, will also be at the event, per a news release. In 2005, an industrial explosion claimed the life of Engracia's husband, Pablo Morillo. Morillo was 29 years old at the time of the incident, the New York Times reported.
UNION BUSTING
Apple Store Workers Want to Unionize. Apple Is Union Busting.
Jacobin
By Peter Lucas
April 23, 2023
Several workers at an Apple retail store in Kansas City, Missouri, say they were recently fired for attempting to organize a union. Now the Communication Workers of America (CWA) has filed unfair labor practice (ULP) charges against the company for wrongful termination and intimidation on the job. The charges also allege that some of the terminated workers were forced to sign a “Release of All Claims” in exchange for severance, which was recently deemed unlawful by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). According to the CWA, Apple has also engaged in anti-union retaliation and intimidation at one of its stores in Houston, Texas. Apple is now working with notorious anti-union firm Littler Mendelson — employed for similar purposes by Starbucks — and has been instructing management on how to curb union efforts.