MUST READ
William Spriggs, economist who highlighted racial disparities, dies at 68
The Washington Post
By Steven Greenhouse
June 9, 2023
Spurred by the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May 2020, economist William E. Spriggs wrote an open letter to his peers castigating them for making too many assumptions to explain racial disparities in America’s economy. Dr. Spriggs, an economics professor at Howard University and chief economist for the AFL-CIO labor federation, noted that far too many economists assume “that African Americans are inferior until proven otherwise.”
LABOR AND ECONOMY
William E. Spriggs, Economist Who Pushed for Racial Justice, Dies at 68
The New York Times
By Ben Casselman
June 9, 2023
William E. Spriggs, who in a four-decade career in economics sought to root out racial injustice in society and in his own profession, died on Tuesday in Reston, Va. He was 68. The A.F.L.-C.I.O., for which Dr. Spriggs had been chief economist for more than a decade, announced his death. His wife of 38 years, Jennifer Spriggs, said the cause was a stroke.
JOINING TOGETHER
Allegiant Air, flight attendants reach tentative contract agreement
Las Vegas Review-Journal
By Richard N. Velotta
June 9, 2023
Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air and its nearly 1.900 flight attendants have reached a tentative agreement on a five-year contract extension, the company and its union announced Friday. The tentative agreement will be considered in a ratification vote this month by members of Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO Local 577. “The tentative agreement will catapult our workgroup to the top of the low-cost carriers and greatly improve the quality of life for everyone,” said Christa Gifford, president of TWU Local 577. “The TWU 577 negotiating team is proud of the work that has been done by both sides to reach this historic second contract.”
Thousands of Southern California workers authorize the largest hotel strike in modern U.S. history
Los Angeles Times
By Helen Li and Suhauna Hussain
June 9, 2023
The authorization was approved by 96% of those who voted, Unite Here Local 11 said Thursday night. If a contract agreement isn’t reached, a strike could begin as early as the Fourth of July weekend and would be the largest in modern U.S. history, the union said. The previous record holder happened in 2018 when nearly 8,000 housekeepers, bartenders and other workers walked off the job at 23 Marriott hotels in eight U.S. cities, including San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. That strike lasted more than two months before final contract agreements were reached.
Broadway Musical ‘Here Lies Love’ Reaches Agreement With Musicians’ Union Over Live Music
The Hollywood Reporter
By Caitlin Huston
June 9, 2023
Producers of Here Lies Love say they have reached an agreement with the musicians’ union, Local 802, over the use of pre-recorded music in the show. Per the agreement, the musical, which had previously planned to use pre-recorded tracks, will use 12 musicians, which include three actor-musicians. All are Local 802 members. This comes after the two sides were nearing potential arbitration to solve the matter.
1,800 nurses warn of strike starting June 19 at Providence Portland, two other facilities
KGW8
By Anthony Macuk
June 9, 2023
Roughly 1,800 nurses at Providence Portland Medical Center and two other Providence facilities will stage a five-day strike starting June 19 unless progress is made in contract bargaining, the Oregon Nurses Association announced Friday. Providence told KGW on Friday that it will not bargain with the union while the strike is pending or in progress, but will resume bargaining after the strike ends.
Local labor unions show their solidarity during writers strike
WGRZ
By WGRZ Staff
June 10, 2023
As Hollywood's writer strike continues, a rally of support was held on Saturday in Buffalo. Local labor unions, in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America, gathered in front of the production studio that's under construction at the corner of Niagara and West Ferry. Organizers say there are no stories to tell without writers.
IN THE STATES
San Jose city workers ask for raises amid vacancies
CBS Bay Area
By CBS/Bay City News Service
June 10, 2023
More than 4,000 San Jose employees are asking for a raise -- but the city has yet to come close to meeting their demands. For the past 13 weeks, a coalition of two unions representing more than half of the city's employees -- MEF-AFSCME Local 101 and IFPTE Local 21 -- have been in salary negotiations, to adjust for cost of living and to make up for no raises in 2020 when the pandemic first struck.