MUST READ
Poll Shows 67% of Americans Surveyed Support the WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes
Variety
By Gene Maddaus
Aug. 18, 2023
In a statement, Liz Shuler, the president of the AFL-CIO, said that the results confirm broad national support for the striking unions and the importance of AI across industries. “Voters understand that this isn’t just about one industry — this is about all of us — and unions need to have a seat at the table to take on the existential threat AI poses to our livelihoods and economy,” Shuler said.
JOINING TOGETHER
SAG-AFTRA & WGA To Hold “National Day Of Solidarity” Rally On Tuesday
Deadline
By David Robb
Aug. 19, 2023
SAG-AFTRA’s Los Angeles Local and the Writers Guild of America will hold a “National Day of Solidarity” rally on Tuesday outside Disney Studios. “SAG-AFTRA and WGA will join forces with the AFL-CIO and its affiliates from across the nation and across industries for a National Day of Solidarity,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement today. “In this ‘Summer of Strikes,’ working Americans everywhere are fighting for fair contracts, better compensation, safe working conditions and protections from encroaching technology. Together, we are showing corporate America that when we fight, we win!”
Picket spotlights dispute between stagehand union, ISU
WGLT
By Lyndsay Jones
Aug. 18, 2023
A picket along College Avenue on Friday highlighted an ongoing dispute between Illinois State University and the union that represents stagehands and crew members who work on university productions. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 193 represents around 100 members in central Illinois, said union president Craig Chladny. Members work in various "extra help" capacities, ranging from truck unloading and lighting to sound and post-show tear down.
Hilton resort workers in Phoenix protest for better wages, new contract
12 News
By Katie Wilcox
Aug. 18, 2023
A group of protesters banging buckets and ringing bells were hoping to push forward negotiations to enact a new union contract with the Hilton Resort at the Peaks near 16th Street and Glendale Avenue Friday morning. The union members with UNITE HERE Local 11 are demanding better wages, arguing that they still feel the financial impact of the pandemic, and any wage growth they have experienced so far is too little.
Bath Iron Works union approves new contract, averting repeat strike
The Times Record
By Jason Claffey
Aug. 20, 2023
Bath Iron Works and its largest union on Sunday announced they reached an agreement on a new contract, avoiding a repeat of a strike in 2020 during the last contract talks. Machinists Union Local S6 represents about 4,250 of the shipyard’s 6,500 workers. It said 72% of its members approved the three-year contract, which includes the biggest pay raises in the union’s 68-year history.
Philadelphia Orchestra musicians have authorized a strike if negotiations don’t progress soon
The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Rita Giordano
Aug. 20, 2023
Angry and frustrated, the members of the Philadelphia Orchestra have voted to authorize a strike if they don’t see more progress in their negotiations for a new contract and better pay. In a vote that ended Saturday night and was announced Sunday morning, the musicians put their bosses with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center Inc. (POKC) on notice they are prepared to walk out after their current contract expires Sept. 10. The strike authorization, agreed to by 95% of the members who voted, doesn’t guarantee a strike but is a necessary step to calling a walkout if there is still no agreement when their contract expires.
All four BCTGM Local’s rejected Amalgamated’s latest offer on Friday
KMVT 11
By Gina Jameson
Aug. 20, 2023
Fear of a union strike is rising again for Amalgamated Sugar Company as union representatives voted down the most recent contract revision. Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union Local 282-G, as well as 283-G, 284-G and 290-G members at all four of Amalgamated facilities in Paul, Twin Falls, Nampa and Nyssa, Oregon rejected the proposal late Friday evening after a member vote. According to a post on the local union’s social media page late Saturday, company and union representatives have planned to resume talks on Tuesday, August 22nd.
IN THE STATES
The Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy provisions are already helping Wisconsin
American Independent
By Josh Israel and Oliver Willis
Aug. 18, 2023
Kevin Gundlach is president of the South Central Federation of Labor of the AFL-CIO, the umbrella organization for labor unions in south central and southwestern Wisconsin. During an Aug. 16 press conference marking the first anniversary of the law, he said that the Biden administration has been working closely with the labor movement to make sure the law benefits working families and provides “good-paying jobs for Wisconsinites,”
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
O'ahu blood drive by IBEW helps Maui fire victims
KITV
By Diane Ako
Aug. 19, 2023
A local trade union held a blood drive Saturday to help the Maui fire victims. IBEW Local 1186 organized the event at Saint Louis School. The Blood Bank of Hawaii has said there's an even more urgent need for blood because of the Maui wildfires. About 100 people donated at this event today. And in a related move, the union collected money from members nationwide - a quarter million dollars so far.