Today's AFL-CIO Press Clips
MUST READ
Julie Su is a champion for workers everywhere. The Senate must confirm her. (Opinion)
The Hill
By Everett Kelley
April 24, 2023
President Biden’s nomination of Julie Su for Labor secretary presents an opportunity to appoint an experienced, historic, and committed leader who has dedicated her career to advocating for workers’ rights. Her nomination comes at a crucial time, as the country emerges from the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and workers across America are exercising their constitutional right to form a union in the face of corporate opposition and union-busting. At this critical juncture, workers need a strong advocate in the Department of Labor.
JOINING TOGETHER
UFCW picket continues in Wilmington; gains support of local lawmakers
Delaware Public Media
By Quinn Kirkpatrick
April 24, 2023
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 27’s picket of Kentmere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center continues as contract negotiations drag on. The UFCW hosted a rally Sunday as it seeks a new deal. Workers’ previous contract expired in February.
Sega of America workers announce plans to form a union
Axios
By Stephen Totilo
April 24, 2023
Workers from Sega of America announced today that they plan to unionize and have filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board. The group consists of 144 workers from marketing, ocalization, testing, product development and other disciplines, making it one of the broader unionization efforts in the industry. The workers say they have a supermajority in favor, signaling that an election would be likely to succeed. They're organizing though the Communication Workers of America, which has represented similar efforts in the industry in recent years. The workers are calling their group the Allied Employees Guild Improving SEGA, or AEGIS-CWA.
Paper mill, union workers agree on labor contract
WWNYTV
By Jeff Cole
April 24, 2023
There’s a new labor contract for workers at a Lyons Falls paper mill. Twin Rivers paper company and the United Steelworkers Local 956 have agreed on a new 3-year deal. There are 44 union workers at the mill. Twin Rivers bought the facility in 2016. It was the Burrows Paper Corporation.
Salt Lake City Public Library workers announce formation of union
KJZZ
By Victoria Hill
April 24, 2023
Workers of the Salt Lake City Public Library have announced their intent to form a union. As members of the community, we stand by workers who are forming their union, SLCPL Workers United, with AFSCME Local 1004. The Salt Lake City Public Library system is the cornerstone of our neighborhoods, and we recognize how valuable library workers are in providing vital services to our communities every day.
UAW president Shawn Fain promises union members will get their ‘fair share’ from automakers
WDET
By Quinn Klinefelter
April 24, 2023
The new president of the United Auto Workers says union members already have a list of demands for upcoming contract talks with Detroit’s “Big 3.” The UAW opens national contract negotiations this summer, and new union president Shawn Fain told the Automotive Press Association he wants to have a good working relationship with automakers. But Fain argues the union has not received a fair share of the money car companies made since the government bailed them out in 2009. “I want to work with the companies. I want to have a good relationship,” Fain said. “But if they’re not going to treat our members with respect and not give them their due, then we’re going to have issues.”
The Animation Guild Attempts Expansion Into Texas With Latest Organizing Drive
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
April 24, 2023
The Animation Guild is attempting an expansion into the Lone Star State. The IATSE Local is seeking to organize around 137 workers at Powerhouse Animation Studios, the Castlevania and Masters of the Universe: Revelation producer based in Austin, it announced on Monday. This group of workers, which consists primarily of artists and some production workers, requested voluntary recognition from management and filed for a National Labor Relations Board election on Monday. While The Animation Guild has been unionizing animation studios outside of L.A. County since 2022, the Powerhouse Animation Studios drive is TAG’s first in a so-called “right-to-work” state, according to the union.
LA Progressive
By Andrew Moss
April 24, 2023
Workers for the Flying Food Group (FFG) plant in Inglewood, California are on strike, demanding a living wage, a decent pension, the retention of their health benefits, and their dignity as workers. Represented by UNITE HERE Local 11, the 350 workers at the plant voted overwhelmingly (99 percent) on March 15 to authorize a strike action against their employer, and they went out on strike on April 11.
IN THE STATES
Missouri AFL-CIO’s John Gaal addresses suicide prevention in construction
Labor Tribune
By Staff
April 24, 2023
Dr. John Gaal, director for the Missouri AFL-CIO’s Missouri Works Initiative’s Worker Wellness Program, recently addressed suicide prevention – particularly suicide in the construction industry – at the Second Annual National Construction Suicide Prevention Summit in Kansas City on March 28. Gaal was part of the “Innovations in Suicide Prevention” panel, presented at the summit, an event that has doubled in size since May of 2022.
Maine could crack down on employer intimidation during union drives
Maine Beacon
By Dan Neumann
April 24, 2023
A Maine lawmaker has submitted legislation that would ban employers from retaliating against employees who refuse to attend anti-union meetings. If successful, Maine would become just the third state, following Oregon and Connecticut, to crack down on “captive audience” meetings during union drives. “Employers routinely break the law and also routinely, legally, intimidate and harass and scare workers out of being able to truly exercise what should be a right,” said Matt Schlobohm, executive director of the Maine AFL-CIO. “We’ve seen a huge uptick in organizing at the same time we’ve seen employers time after time pull workers into mandatory meetings on company time and force them to listen to manipulative, dishonest information.”
On heels of Rutgers strike, strikers in NJ will now have faster access to these benefits
North Jersey.com
By Katie Sobko
April 24, 2023
One of the bill’s sponsors, Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo, D-Mercer, said in a statement that “union workers who face an employer lockout or take part in a strike should not be penalized financially.” That sentiment was echoed by New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech, who noted that “going on strike is a very difficult decision, but it is sometimes necessary when workers are pushed to their limits” and that the law will “help ease that financial hardship.”
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Transit Union: 'We need accountability for individuals assaulting our operators'
KMTR
By Zach Bruhl and NBC16.com Staff
April 24, 2023
Amalgamated Transit Union, which supports transit employees in the U.S. and Canada, has been working for years to attempt to increase protections for Oregon’s transit workers. “We first tried a bill in twenty seventeen that didn't quite make it all the way through," said Executive Board Officer Bill Bradley. The focus of the bill was to redefine charges for assaults on transit workers, which currently only includes assaults that occur when an employee is driving.
TRANSPORTATION
Concern Over Rail Safety After Recent Train Accidents (Video)
April 23, 2023
One hundred and forty thousand miles of track are used to carry freight across the U.S. The trains and track are largely operated by private companies, which are facing increased scrutiny after three recent derailments. In the last decade the industry has had between 10 and 20 train derailments every year, involving hazardous materials. Correspondent Dan Lieberman is in Pittsburgh to talk to safety advocates, rail workers, and residents to find out what it will take to keep our rail lines safe.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Plumbers & Pipefitters 101 apprentices lend hand on two Habitat for Humanity homes
Labor Tribune
By Staff
April 24, 2023
In a true showing of what union members do for the community, a group of Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 101 apprentices volunteered their time working on plumbing at two Habitat for Humanity homes here.
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