Today's AFL-CIO Press Clips
JOINING TOGETHER
Las Vegas food service workers demanding better pay and benefits are set to rally on Strip
Fox5 Las Vegas
By The Associated Press and Rio Yamat
Aug. 10, 2023
Food service workers at a Las Vegas Strip arena demanding higher pay and better benefits are set to rally Thursday evening beneath the glittery lights of the famed tourist corridor amid ongoing negotiations for a union contract. The Culinary Workers Union, a political powerhouse in Nevada, said in a statement ahead of the rally that servers, dishwashers, cooks and bartenders who work at T-Mobile Arena have been locked in contract negotiations for nearly a year with their employer, Levy Premium Food Service. The workers say they want a fair contract that will ensure “one job is enough to provide for their families.” The union represents 60,000 hospitality workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including 200 Levy employees who work at the arena, the home stadium of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Striking Writers and Studios Agree to Restart Negotiations
The New York Times
By Brooks Barnes and John Koblin
Aug. 10, 2023
As television and movie writers started their 101st day on strike on Thursday, the leaders of their union said they had agreed to formally restart negotiations with studios for a new three-year contract. “Our committee returns to the bargaining table ready to make a fair deal, knowing the unified W.G.A. membership stands behind us and buoyed by the ongoing support of our union allies,” the Writers Guild of America negotiating committee said in a statement. The session will take place in Los Angeles on Friday.
Kissimmee firefighters, officials still at impasse over contract
Osceola News-Gazette
By Ken Jackson
Aug. 10, 2023
After another bargaining session Thursday, the Kissimmee Fire Department and the city remain at the impasse on a new compensation contract. The Kissimmee Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 4208 union declared an impasse in the negotiations back in July. “We were at the table for about three hours, it was positive for us to come back and meet,” said Kissimmee Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 4208 President Steven Gonnella, a KFD lieutenant, said this week. “We’ve moved closer (to an agreement).”
MARTA approves raises for workers in three-year union contract
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Davis Giangiulio
Aug. 10, 2023
The MARTA board of directors approved a new labor agreement that’s set to give workers a series of raises over the next three years. Under the deal negotiated with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 732, which represents 63% of MARTA employees, workers will see a 10% raise in the first year, with a 3% boost in pay in each of the following two years. New benefits in the contract include paid parental leave and aid to pay for education costs. It also includes extending longevity bonuses to those who have worked for MARTA for more than 15 years and increases already-existing premiums for 20-year veterans.
Will reality TV stars unionize? SAG-AFTRA throws support behind Bethenny Frankel
Los Angeles Times
By Wendy Lee
Aug. 10, 2023
“The Real Housewives of New York City” veteran Bethenny Frankel‘s push to gain union protections for reality television stars has taken a step forward. Hollywood actors guild SAG-AFTRA on Thursday said it has engaged in discussions with Frankel’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, “around the subject of treatment of reality performers,” some of whom say they have been exploited and faced unfair treatment by the entertainment industry. Frankel, inspired by the writers’ and actors’ work stoppages that have ground Hollywood to a halt this summer, recently floated the idea that performers on reality shows should go on strike as well. She has brought on heavyweight attorneys to help with her cause of demanding reality star protections, including pay minimums.
IN THE STATES
News 5 Cleveland
By Morgan Trau
Aug. 9, 2023
"Ohioans of all walks of life — Democrat, Republican, independent, labor, business, rural, urban — said 'why are you doing this?'" said union leader and president of AFL-CIO Tim Burga.Burga was thrilled by the breakdown of votes. Twenty-two of Ohio's 88 counties voted no against Issue 1, making up nearly 60% of the vote.
Feds bolster public construction wage rules as billions pour into Indiana infrastructure projects
WBOI
By Adam Yahya Rayes
Aug. 9, 2023
Proponents of the prevailing wage include worker advocacy and union groups like the AFL-CIO and the Indiana State Building & Construction Trades Council. They say use of the prevailing wage ensures fairer pay across the industry, stimulates local economies by helping more local workers get jobs and secures safer, higher-quality work on taxpayer-funded projects.
PAYWATCH/CEO PAY
Report: Alabama CEOs make 226 times more than the average worker
Alabama Political Reporter
By Patrick Darrington
Aug. 10, 2023
According to a new report by the AFL-CIO, Alabama’s average CEO salary was 226 times more than the average worker’s pay in the state. Last week the AFL-CIO released its annual Executive Paywatch report analyzing the disparity between CEO and worker pay ratios. The report is national but also breaks down the data for each state. In Alabama, the average pay for S&P 500 CEOs was $12,821,75 but the average worker pay was $56,770. This makes the average worker-to-pay ratio 226 to 1 or that CEOs were paid 226 times more than average workers in the state. The national average for CEO pay was $16,694,194 resulting in a 272 to 1 CEO-to-worker pay disparity.
Corporate greed on steroids: Hedge fund chief earned $253M last year
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Aug. 10, 2023
What can one corporate honcho do with a quarter of a billion dollars? That’s the question about Steve Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone Holdings, who topped all poohbahs last year in the AFL-CIO’s annual Executive Paywatch list. Schwarzman “took home almost a quarter of a billion dollars in just one year. It’s almost inconceivable,” said federation Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond, who hosted a telephone press conference on the report on corporate compensation. Schwarzman’s actual compensation from Blackstone: $253,122,146. Bloomberg Business reported his net worth last year was $32 billion.