MUST WATCH
Bloomberg
By Wall Street Week
July 12, 2023
"They're saying, 'We don't want you to just use ChatGPT to produce a Hollywood script and then hand it to a human to plus it up.' That's insulting," says AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler of the WGA strike
MUST READ
Civil society, labor and rights groups express concerns about AI at White House meeting
Cyberscoop
By Tonya Riley
July 12, 2023
“Workers must play a leading role in this moment of rapid tech development because – as AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler emphasized to Vice President Harris – A.I. will profoundly transform Americans’ relationship to work. For many women and workers of color, it already has: increasing digital surveillance, deskilling workers, or eliminating jobs altogether,” Amanda Ballantyne, Executive Director of the AFL-CIO’s Technology Institute said in a statement to CyberScoop about the meeting.
LABOR AND TECHNOLOGY
Harris huddles with civil rights leaders on AI
The Hill
By Rebecca Klar
July 12, 2023
Vice President Harris met with civil rights and consumer protection advocates Wednesday for a discussion on the risks of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The meeting’s attendees included Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) CEO Alexandra Reeve Givens, UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguia, AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins, and AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler.
VP Harris meets with labor and rights groups to discuss threats from A.I.
CNBC
By Lauren Feiner
July 12, 2023
The U.S. doesn’t need to make a “false choice” between artificial intelligence innovation and safety, Vice President Kamala Harris said ahead of a meeting Wednesday at the White House with civil society leaders in the space. “It is a false choice to suggest that we either can advance innovation, or we protect consumers,” Harris said. “We can do both.” Harris said rejecting that “false choice” would be a “guiding principle” for the administration.
JOINING TOGETHER
Negotiations advance between DBRL union, administration with agreements reached
Columbia Daily Tribune
By Roger McKinney
July 12, 2023
There is progress in contract negotiations between the Daniel Boone Regional Library union and administration, both sides report. Negotiations are "close to half way through," said library director Margaret Conroy in an email. Daniel Boone Regional Library Workers United is the only library union in the state. Workers voted overwhelmingly for the union in May 2022. It is part of the part of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union. "We've been negotiating for months," said Patrick Johnston, circulation assistant and union vice president. "It kind of feels like a watershed moment."
IATSE Members Vote to Ratify Theatrical Touring Agreement After Initial Impasse
The Hollywood Reporter
By Caitlin Huston
July 12, 2023
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) says it has reached and ratified an agreement with four non-union producers over a new theatrical touring agreement. The so-called Bus & Truck Touring Agreement pertains to IATSE crew members working on tours presented by Big League Productions Inc., NETworks Presentations LLC, Crossroads Live North America, LLC, and Work Light Productions, LLC, all of whom are not Broadway League producers. As part of the new agreement, IATSE said it had won the right for single occupancy housing while on the road, which had been the sticking point in negotiations..
Workers at Museum of Science and Industry Unionize
South Side Weekly
By Malik Jackson
July 12, 2023
This June, after a year and a half of organizing, workers at the Hyde Park museum voted seventy-nine to twenty-six in an election with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union—the Museum of Science and Industry Workers United (MSIWU). An affiliate of American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31, MSIWU will represent about 140 workers in the museum’s guest experience, operations and education departments.
Teamsters, IATSE, Writers Guild & DGA Express Solidarity With SAG-AFTRA
Deadline
By Greg Evans
July 12, 2023
In a joint statement today, unions IATSE, Teamsters, the DGA, and the WGA East and West extended “unwavering support and solidarity” with SAG-AFTRA in the ongoing contract negotiations with producers. “Hollywood must be a place where every worker, on-screen and off, is treated according to the value their skills and talents command,” the statement reads, in part (see the complete text below). “While the studios have collective worth of trillions of dollars, billions of viewers globally, and sky-high profits, this fight is not about actors against the studios, but rather about workers across all crafts and departments in the industry standing together to prevent mega-corporations from eroding the conditions we fought decades to achieve.”
Oʻahu Care Facility nurses go on strike
KHOH
By Sandy Harjo-Livingston
July 12, 2023
Fastforward to Oʻahu in 2023 and we have the latest strike. On Wednesday, July 12, the Nurses and certified nurse aides at Oʻahu Care Facility went on strike. The strike is planned to take place for seven days. “It’s a shame that it has come down to this,” said Daniel Ross, president of the Hawaiʻi Nurses’ Association OPEIU Local 50, AFL-CIO. “No one wants to see a strike. The past five months have been frustrating. We have negotiated in good faith, but it has not been reciprocal.”
Actors are poised to go on strike against studios and streaming services
CNN
By Chris Isidore
July 12, 2023
The current contract for the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) expires at 11:59 pm PDT Wednesday. The union faced a previous strike deadline on July 1, only to announce an 11th-hour contract extension. But nearly two weeks that followed haven’t produced any kind of breakthrough to avoid a strike. The final day of talks will include a federal mediator, which studio management and streaming services’ executives requested late Monday. The actors union agreed but made clear that it was not willing to grant another extension and that if the final day of talks does not produce a last-minute deal, it will go on strike.