SUPREME COURT
Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Weaken Public-Sector Labor Unions
Bloomberg
By Greg Stohr
June 7, 2021
The U.S. Supreme Court turned away a bid to weaken the power of public-sector unions, refusing to reconsider a 1984 ruling that lets them serve as the exclusive bargaining agent for workers. The justices without comment rejected an appeal by Jade Thompson, an Ohio high school teacher who said she has a First Amendment right not to be represented by a union. The appeal was one of the first to test the court’s appetite for labor issues since Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation in October created a 6-3 conservative majority.
IN THE STATES
Biden's American Jobs Plan builds back better for Michigan
News-Herald
By Ron Bieber and Lisa Wozniak
June 7, 2021
Michigan sits at a transformational moment as we take steps to emerge from this terrible pandemic — not just in winning the battle against COVID-19, but using our recovery to recharge the state’s economy and put people to work as we begin to heal. As leaders with the Michigan AFL-CIO and Michigan League of Conservation Voters, we acknowledge that the labor and environmental movements haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. But one thing we can agree on: Michigan has an incredible, once-in-a-generation opportunity to build back better together.
Labor Talks Escalate at South Dakota Smithfield Pork Plant
Manufacturing.net
By Stephen Groves
June 7, 2021
The Sioux Falls chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union said 99% of union members who voted on the new contract offered from Virginia-based Smithfield Foods rejected it. The escalating labor negotiations are a sign of what might be a renewed boldness among workers in the physically demanding meatpacking industry. Through the pandemic, workers have organized around pushes for workplace safety and are now navigating an economy where some slaughterhouses, desperate for employees, have suddenly boosted wages.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Altoona Mirror
By William Kibler
June 8, 2021
As it did last year to minimize risk from COVID-19, local union members this spring collected money to give to area food banks, rather than relying on letter carriers to pick up donated canned and boxed food door-to-door, as they’d done for the previous 28 years. More than 20 unions and more than 30 individuals combined to give the $10,000, Kutz said recently — prior to a check presentation to food bank representatives at the council hall, attended by Rick Bloomingdale, president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.
JOINING TOGETHER
Oregon legislative employees' historic union vote could pave way for nation
ABC News
By Ivan Pereira
June 8, 2021
Oregon's state legislative employees made history by becoming the first in the nation to unionize, and labor experts are predicting it will have major ripple effects across the country. With a vote of 75-31 on May 28, staffers for state legislators, employees who work at the state Capitol offices in Salem and other public employees joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 89. According to the state employees who spoke with ABC News, they will now negotiate a contract on various issues, including wages and scheduling for 180 staff members.
Journalists at The Atlantic unionize, the latest in a wave of media organizing.
The New York Times
By Katie Robertson
June 7, 2021
The Atlantic intends to voluntarily recognize a newly formed union of editorial workers, the magazine’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, said Monday. Staff members announced on Monday morning that they were forming a union affiliated with the NewsGuild, which also represents employees at The New York Times and many other outlets. The union will cover about 85 employees, including writers, editors, fact checkers and producers.
INFRASTRUCTURE
AFL-CIO building trades unions back Biden’s full infrastructure plan
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
June 7, 2021
Aware that the pressure must be raised for passage of President Biden’s proposed infrastructure plan, the AFL-CIO’s building trades unions, at a 1-day virtual legislative conference, backed the president’s original $2.2 trillion plan. “This year has been unlike any other,” National Association Building Trades Unions President Sean McGarvey declared on June 5, referring to the coronavirus pandemic, which sent unemployment soaring, hampered construction work, and forced the conference itself, like so much else, onto Zoom.