MUST READ
With COVID-19 Behind Us, Now Is the Moment To Rebuild the Public Service Workforce (Opinion)
Newsweek
By Lee Saunders
July 17, 2023
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is working to address the staffing crisis head on with a new initiative called Staff the Front Lines, designed to recruit and retain qualified people to public service. And we are launching a nationwide summer bus tour beginning today, visiting approximately 20 cities and state capitals across the country—including Hartford, Conn., a short drive from Marilyn's hospital—to raise awareness about what is both an urgent need and a promising opportunity.
TRANSPORTATION
MTA Metro-North workers threaten strike as Transport Workers Union presses contract fight
New York Daily News
July 13, 2023
Metro-North Railroad train mechanics and cleaners say they’re gearing up for a strike, claiming the MTA isn’t sending “decision makers” to ongoing mediation talks. But the MTA says there is “absolutely no threat” of a walkout. Members of Transport Workers Union Locals 2001 and 2055, which represent around 600 car inspectors, cleaners and carpenters on the Metro-North Railroad, have been without a contract since August 2019. The talks are now in federally-mandated mediation, which union leaders claim the MTA isn’t taking seriously. “They’re sending lightweights to the mediation,” TWU international president John Samuelsen told the Daily News Thursday. “If they want to avoid a strike, they need to send a decision maker.”
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Black Star News
By Staff
July 17, 2023
States, cities, towns and schools are facing an unprecedented staffing crisis, as hiring for public sector jobs has not kept pace with the private sector. In April, there were 833,000 job openings in state and local governments nationwide. In response, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is kicking off a national bus tour this summer to recruit talented, diverse and dedicated people to staff the front lines. “We all deserve to live in thriving communities with clean drinking water, safe roads, strong public schools, and good health care. But right now, our nurses, school bus drivers, 911 dispatchers, corrections officers and other public service workers are on the front lines of a staffing crisis that is threatening their ability to do their jobs,”said AFSCME President Lee Saunders (below). “AFSCME members know our communities best, and that’s why we’re launching the ‘Staff the Front Lines’ bus tour. By working together, we can fix this problem.”
JOINING TOGETHER
Actors and writers want fans to help their Hollywood strike. Here’s how.
The Washington Post
By Tamia Fowlkes
July 17, 2023
On Thursday, the Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) joined the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in bringing Hollywood productions to a screeching halt — their first dual strike since 1960. Shortly after the SAG-AFTRA strike was announced, actors, writers, production teams and allied union organizations took to the streets to make their demands and increase visibility for what they say are shortcomings exacerbated by a culture of underpay and marginalization of writers and actors.
Newburgh firefighters get new contract
Mid Hudson News
By Staff
July 17, 2023
Local 589 of the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) has secured a new five-year contract with the City of Newburgh. The previous agreement expired at the end of 2021.
Rockford Public Schools, bus drivers have a tentative new deal. Here's what it entails
Rockford Register Star
By Chris Green
July 17, 2023
Rockford Public Schools bus drivers will see their starting wage go up by several dollars if the Rockford School Board approves a tentative three-year pact negotiated earlier this month. AFSCME Local 1275, which represents the school district's 184 bus drivers, has agreed to a deal that brings new bus drivers in at $19 an hour, $20 an hour once they pass a three-month probationary period, followed by a 25-cent cost of living wage increase each year for the next three years.
Essentia Employees With United Steelworkers To Hold Picket Friday
Fox21
By Dan Hanger
July 17, 2023
Essentia Health coworkers with United Steelworkers Local 9460 will be holding an informational picket Friday along with Essentia workers with the Minnesota Nurses Association. “Our union is locked in tough contract negotiations with Essentia Health for our Red Book contract, as well as a Year 3 wage re-opener for our Green Book contract. We are currently so far apart in negotiations, that we have decided to hold an informational rally in front of the new Vision Northland hospital. The rally will be on July 21, and will run from 7am to 7pm.
How Americans, by voting, created a wave of pro-worker laws (Opinion)
Labor Tribune
By Tom Conway
July 17, 2023
Dave Smith launched a union drive many years ago that generated enthusiastic support among his coworkers, but the effort died after management hired union-busting consultants and went on the attack. Bosses at the Minnesota electric cooperative forced his colleagues into “captive audience” meetings, where they lied about unions, threatened the workers and sowed so much fear that the group ultimately voted down a chance at a better life. Now, thanks to legislation that Smith supported, Minnesota employers won’t be able to subject workers to that kind of bullying any longer. Democratic Governor Tim Walz just signed a bill that not only bans the mandatory anti-union meetings employers regularly hold to try to suppress organizing drives but also enables workers to sue bosses who try to get away with holding the meetings anyway. Even better, that measure is one of a growing number of pro-worker laws enacted around the country in early 2023 as workers, fed up with corporate greed and exploitative bosses, fight back against a system rigged against them.
IN THE STATES
Alabama Power’s ‘Connectivity Crew’ is first in nation
Alabama News Center
Mark Kelly
July 17, 2023
Putting the new crew to work also involved a new agreement between Alabama Power and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), of which all the company’s linemen are members. Casey Shelton, business manager for IBEW System Council U-19, credited Alabama Power for taking action to address the need for greater connectivity and the benefits it will bring to Alabama. “Our industry and the work we do changes daily,” Shelton said. “We don’t want to just keep up, we want to stay ahead. What Alabama Power is doing is going to provide work to support a lot of people and families, and it’s going to bring growth to our state.”