JOINING TOGETHER
Striking writers and studios will meet this week to discuss restarting negotiations
The San Diego Union-Tribune
By Andrew Dalton
Aug. 2, 2023
Union leaders told striking Hollywood writers Tuesday night that they plan to meet with representatives for studios to discuss restarting negotiations after the first official communication between the two sides since the strike began three months ago. The Writers Guild of America sent an email to members saying that the head of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents major studios, streaming services and production companies in negotiations, requested a meeting on Friday to discuss the resumption of contract talks.
Hollywood Studios Signal New Strategy by Talking With Writers
The New York Times
By Brooks Barnes and John Koblin
Aug. 2, 2023
When the Writers Guild of America told its members on Tuesday night that movie and television studios had asked for “a meeting this Friday to discuss negotiations,” it was the first sign of movement in a stalemate that had begun in early May. It also signaled a shift in strategy for Hollywood executives working behind the scenes to resolve dual union strikes that have ground the vast entertainment industry to a halt. The 11,500 screenwriters represented by the Writers Guild went on strike in May after contract negotiations with the studios broke down. Last month, they were joined on the picket lines by tens of thousands of actors after their union, SAG-AFTRA, called a strike.
UMaine System ready to recognize union for graduate student workers
Sun Journal
By Kay Neufeld
Aug. 2, 2023
The University of Maine System is ready to voluntarily recognize a union for about 1,000 of its graduate student workers, sidestepping government intervention. “This is a huge step forward for our union,” the University of Maine Graduate Workers Union said in an announcement Tuesday. “Grad workers have spoken, and the message is clear: we have an incredibly strong mandate to pursue collective bargaining, and fight for a better deal for every grad worker in the UMaine System.”
Workers from Dotson Iron Castings: Strike continues
KEYC
By Sofia Martinez
Aug. 2, 2023
Around 80 workers from Dotson Iron Castings, which was recently bought by MacLean Power System (MPS), continue to strike. Steps away from the Dotson Iron Castings building, workers gathered to hear about the future of their jobs. On Tuesday, union leaders from USW 142B were planning on meeting with MPS to hopefully reach an agreement. “We were supposed to be at 9 a.m., at the time and place that the company arranged,” explained Justin Recla, a Staff Representative for United Steelworkers. “The company didn’t show up, so if they’re here, present at the building, they did not come into the bargaining room to meet with us today, so we’re very disappointed with that.”
IN THE STATES
WSLC resolutions chart course for Washington’s ‘voice of labor’
The Stand
By Staff
Aug. 2, 2023
The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, the state’s largest union organization, represents the interests of over 600 affiliated unions with more than half a million rank-and-file members. The “voice of labor” in Washington is a democratic organization where any participating union — big or small — can propose what should be the WSLC’s policies and priorities each year. That happened last month at the WSLC’s 2023 Convention, as hundreds of delegates representing affiliated unions from across the state gathered in SeaTac to debate and approve resolutions that will guide the WSLC in the coming year. Resolutions were approved on topics ranging from apprenticeship to train crew sizes.