CORONAVIRUS
E.E.O.C. Says Companies Can Mandate Vaccines, but Few Push Ahead
The New York Times
By Lauren Hirsch
June 1, 2021
The agency that enforces workplace discrimination laws has said — twice — that companies can make their employees who are returning to the job get vaccinated against Covid-19. But so far, few companies have decided to move forward, as many are still engaging in internal debates about how to safely restore their offices to operations that resemble what they were before the pandemic.
AMAZON
Injury Data Shows Amazon Jobs Are More Dangerous Than Walmart and UPS
Vice
By Lauren Kaori Gurley
June 1, 2021
In 2020, Amazon workers were severely injured more than 24,000 times, at twice the rate of the rest of the warehouse industry nationwide, according to federal data analyzed in the report. The report, which analyzes data submitted by Amazon to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) between 2017 and 2020, found that Amazon significantly outpaces its biggest competitors in terms of workplace injuries, including Walmart and UPS.
JOINING TOGETHER
Striking coalminers in Alabama energize support across the south
The Guardian
By Michael Sainato
June 1, 2021
About 1,100 coalminers represented by the United Mine Workers of America in Brookwood, Alabama, have been on strike since the start of April against Warrior Met Coal amid new union contract negotiations. Last month supporters held a concert to raise money for striking miners that included Mike Cooley of the Drive-By Truckers and comedian Drew Morgan. Labor leaders from around the US, including the AFA-CWA president, Sara Nelson, and the AFL-CIO secretary treasurer, Liz Shuler, have visited the striking miners to lend their support. “Warrior Met still refuses to engage in meaningful negotiations with the UMWA at the bargaining table,” the UMWA international president, Cecil E Roberts, said in a recent press release. “But they are clearly on the wrong side of history. Community support for the strikers is growing, and now their struggle is gaining nationwide attention.”
Pavement Coffeehouse Employees Move To Unionize; Would Be First Union Café In Mass.
WGBH
By Tori Bedford
June 1, 2021
Employees at Pavement Coffeehouse, a local chain with locations around Greater Boston, have begun the process of forming a union — hoping to become the first coffee shop in the state with a unionized workforce. Eleven members of the Pavement Coffee Organizing Committee, represented by the New England Joint Board UNITE HERE union, delivered a letter to Pavement Coffee Roasters owner Larry Margulies Tuesday morning that declared their intent to form a union. In the letter, employees asked Margulies to voluntarily recognize the union, not engage in “any union busting activity” and enter into a good faith contract negotiation.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Deadline
By David Robb
June 1, 2021
“We are excited to see the Biden administration take a promising step towards the big bold action needed to put creative professionals back to work and build the arts back better,” said DPE president Jennifer Dorning. “In proposing $201 million in funding for the NEA, President Biden has provided a path for the agency to quickly get to a funding level of $331 million, which amounts to one dollar per capita and, adjusted for inflation, is the high water mark for funding historically. Additionally, we are also excited to see a proposed increase in funding for the NEH and commend the continued full funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.” The DPE is a coalition of 24 unions, including SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, Actors’ Equity, the American Federation of Musicians, the WGA East, the American Guild of Musical Artists, the American Guild of Variety Artists, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and the Guild of Italian American Actors. “This past year showed that the federal arts agencies have the capacity to distribute a high level of funding effectively and we should utilize that capacity as we build a more prosperous, sustainable economy for all,” Dorning said. She also applauded the Biden administration’s “commitment to racial equity and justice, which can be seen throughout the fiscal year 2022 budget.”
Actors’ Equity Executive Director Mary McColl Announces Planned Departure
Deadline
By Greg Evans
June 1, 2021
Mary McColl, the current executive director of Actors’ Equity Association, has announced that she will not seek a new contract when her current agreement expires in January 2022. McColl made the announcement to staff and officers of the union today. “When I took this job in 2011, I was the first woman to be hired as executive director of the union,” McColl said in a statement. “My hope is that Equity will cast a wide net for their next executive director so that historically marginalized members will see themselves reflected in staff leadership. “While the search is ongoing, there is much work left to do,” she continued. “The staff and I are committed to working through re-opening to make sure that members return to a workplace where they not only feel safe, but that the culture begins to change so everyone feels they belong.”