JOINING TOGETHER
IBEW Local 4 reaches tentative agreement with KSDK Channel 5
Labor Tribune
By Staff
July 31, 2023
IBEW Local 4, representing television technicians at KSDK Channel 5, has reached a tentative agreement with the station following a months-long boycott supported by Labor and Labor allies. Local 4 will have a ratification meeting, where members will review and vote on the contract, starting at 11 a.m. this Saturday, July 29,at IBEW Local 1 Hall, 5850 Elizabeth Ave. in St. Louis. Local 4 represents St. Louis television and radio workers not only at Channel 5, but all other stations as well as video production studios and remote sports and entertainment productions in the St. Louis market. The union’s current three-year pact with KSDK expired Jan. 31.
San Jose city workers union strike vote looms, could create disruption to services
ABC 7 News
By Dustin Dorsey
July 31, 2023
A sticking point in back-and-forth labor negotiations between the City of San Jose and its employees may come to a head this week. Despite rallies and mediation, two unions - MEF-AFSCME Local 101 and IFPTE Local 21 - that account for 4,500 city employees may vote for a strike that would impact many city services. Tuesday, city employees with the Municipal Employees Federation Local 101 and The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21 will vote on a strike that would be the largest San Jose has seen in 40 years.
Saint Louis University Hospital nurses hold informational picket to protest staffing crisis
Labor Tribune
By Tim Rowden
July 31, 2023
Registered nurses at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital (SLUH) held an informational picket July 19 to demand that management address the staffing crisis at the facility and its impact on patient safety. The nurses, represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), say chronic short staffing of nurses and ancillary staff, high turnover rates, and a failure to recruit and retain experienced nurses is putting patients and staff members at risk. “If nurses are outside, something is wrong,” said Marchelle Vernell, a registered nurse in interventional radiology and chief nurse representative for NNOC representative. “We are in an acute crisis of care right now. Things are difficult, they’re challenging. St. Louis University has the most critical patients in the nation, not just in the city, not just in the state, but in the nation. So we need the best nurses taking care of our patients in the inner city.
AFSCME Council 31 reaches tentative agreement with state of Illinois
Labor Tribune
By Elizabeth Donald
July 31, 2023
AFSCME Council 31, the largest union in the state representing state workers, has reached a tentative agreement with the state of Illinois. AFSCME reports they reached an agreement early in the morning on July 1, but did not release details of the settlement. The specifics are being presented to members at upcoming ratification meetings across the state and offered for their vote. A month ago, negotiations were slow with demonstrations throughout the state calling for a fair contract to replace the current contract, which expired June 30. Initial rounds of negotiations focused on expanding job rights and addressing understaffing, the impact of inflation on take-home pay, the state’s proposal to drastically increase health insurance costs, and increased overtime requirements.
Sappi Westbrook Workers Ratify New Contract with Pay Raises & Pension Improvements
Paper Advance
By Staff
July 31, 2023
About 100 unionized workers with United Steelworkers Local 1069 at the SAPPI paper mill in Westbrook have approved a new three-year contract with pay raises and improvements to pensions and disability insurance. Local 1069 members voted 95 percent on July 11 to accept the agreement, which will go into effect on August 21. USW 1069 represents 100 workers at the Sappi Westbrook mill.“It’s a pretty a decent contract and the negotiations went quickly and fairly smoothly. I’ve been at the bargaining table when there’s been some table pounding in the past, but this one went fairly well,” said USW Local 1069 President Ron Rondeau.
IN THE STATES
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signs executive order creating workforce training program
WGAL
By Staff
July 31, 2023
"The Commonwealth Workforce Transformation Program will help train the next generation of skilled workers in Pennsylvania and break down barriers that shut too many workers out of real opportunity," Shapiro said. "We're going to build Pennsylvania’s infrastructure with the best, most highly-trained workforce in the country – and this initiative will be a model for other states to follow."
Alabama’s only union talk show, podcast sees surge amid national labor movement
Alabama Political Reporter
By Patrick Darrington
July 31, 2023
Amid a summer of ongoing labor struggles across the country Alabama’s only union talk radio show and podcast, The Valley Labor Report, has seen an increase in views and interaction. The Valley Labor Report (TVLR) is co-hosted by Jacob Morrison and Adam Keller. Keller is a union stagehand with the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 900 and a union activist. Morrison serves as Assistant Vice President of his local union union the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) 1858 and is the Secretary-Treasurer of the North Alabama Area Labor Council. In a press release, TVLR, mentioned the striking actors and writers in Hollywood as well as UPS workers on the verge of striking as major influences driving working-class people to their programming. While Morrison and Keller are excited about the new viewership they say it’s because they’re happy to see more people interested in issues facing the working class.
State leaders head to D.C. to develop young apprenticeship chances, strategies
WIBW
By Sarah Motter
July 31, 2023
The Governor indicated that the academy will officially kick off in Washington, D.C., in August as teams from six states meet for a day of learning and action-planning with peers, federal leaders and national experts. “From my perspective, this collaboration between unions, industries and educators across multiple sectors to engage young people in Registered Apprenticeship opportunities is exciting,” John Nave, Executive Vice-President of Kansas AFL-CIO, said. “I believe this strengthens the economic prosperity in Kansas now and for generations to come.” According to Kelly, the team from the Sunflower State will include officials from her office, the Kansas Office of Apprenticeship, the Kansas Apprenticeship Council, Kansas Department of Education, Wichita Plumbers and Pipefitters Union, IBEW 304, Kansa AFL-CIO and other stakeholders.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Labor leader, Democratic politician and World War II veteran from Penn Hills turns 100
CBS Pittsburgh
By Jon Delano
July 31, 2023
He was a top labor leader in Pennsylvania, a leading Democratic politician and a World War II veteran who co-chaired building the World War II memorial on the North Shore. John Vento of Penn Hills turned 100 years old on Monday. He says he's met every Democratic president since Harry Truman except LBJ. Vento's support was often sought as a political director and later secretary-treasurer of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO and he was no stranger to grassroots politics. At age 29, Vento took over the Penn Hills Democratic Party -- outnumbered four to one by Republicans. "I was gung-ho. I wanted to change that. It took me fifteen years to change it," Vento said.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
How federal law can protect all workers on sweltering summer days (Opinion)
Labor Tribune
By Tom Conway
July 31, 2023
The heat index soared to 111 degrees in Houston, Texas, but the real-feel temperature climbed even higher than that inside the heavy personal protective equipment (PPE) that John Hayes and his colleagues at Ecoservices wear on the job. Sweat poured from the workers clad in full-body hazardous materials suits, heavy gloves, splash hoods, and steel-toed boots as they sampled and processed chemicals from huge metal containers under a searing sun. Fortunately, as members of the United Steelworkers (USW), these workers negotiated a policy requiring the chemical treatment company to provide shade, cool-down periods, and other measures to protect them during sweltering days. But unless all Americans have commonsense safeguards like these, workers across the country will continue to get sick and die during ever-worsening heat waves. The USW, other unions, and advocacy groups are calling on the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to speedily enact a national standard specifying the minimum steps all employers need to take to safeguard workers from unprecedented and deadly bouts of heat.