MUST LISTEN
Bloomberg
June 11, 2021
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka joined Bloomberg Radio to discuss the benefits of the USTR’s new worker-centered trade policy.
JOINING TOGETHER
LGBTQ rights and labor rights are intrinsically linked (Opinion)
The Hill
By Randi Weingarten, Mary Kay Henry and Lee Saunders
June 12, 2021
The core principle of organized labor in America has always been a commitment to fairness and opportunity for all working people — it’s why collective bargaining agreements have long included robust and durable protections that reflect a commitment not only to union members, but to the common good of all our communities and the people who live and work in them. And it’s why our unions — on behalf of 4.9 million workers — are announcing the Labor for Equality Council, a group of unions dedicated to these issues, and to passing the Equality Act to ensure all LGBTQ workers and their families feel safe and welcome in their neighborhoods, on the job, and beyond.
ME: Southern Maine public transit workers vote to unionize
Mass Transit
By Nick Schroeder
June 11, 2021
Bus drivers and other public transit workers in three southern Maine municipalities have formed a union to help them negotiate higher wages. Thirty-two drivers, mechanics and other workers in the Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach transit service, or BSOOB Transit, have voted to join the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 714 this week, according to a press release. The union will soon begin negotiating its first contract.
NLRB
What are you legally allowed to say at work? A group of fired Googlers could change the rules.
Vox
By Shirin Ghaffary
June 11, 2021
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the US’s top enforcer of labor rights, just expanded its complaint against Google to include three more fired Google workers. Those former employees say the company retaliated against them for protesting its work with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Now that these workers have been added to the complaint, which will be heard before an administrative judge in August, the outcome of the case could result in a shift in what employees can talk about at work without fear of repercussions from their employer.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Labor Leaders Accuse Long-Favored Hotel Of Using Non-Union Labor, Ignoring Permit Requirement
WESA
By Chris Potter
June 11, 2021
Local unions are no stranger to the Sheraton Station Square: The hotel has long hosted union banquets and other events, and it’s served as the backdrop for campaign kickoff and other events for local politicians. But on Friday morning, dozens of workers were standing outside the hotel instead, accusing its management of hiring non-union out-of-state workers, and of failing to obtain proper permits for renovation work. “We cannot sit back and let the public be subjected to cheap labor and dangerous work conditions,” Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council President Darrin Kelly told the workers, who represented unions ranging from the Steamfitters to the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers.
TRADE
Biden official says trade deal is pro-worker
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
June 11, 2021
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who introduced Tai, praised the administration’s plans. “Tai values workers’ voices and believes in workers’ rights,” he said. Labor knows “trade is a vital part of a modern global economy. But the global economy must work for working people. “Our choice is not whether trade and economic globalization are inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ The choice is this: Are U.S. trade policies ensuring workers share in the prosperity we generate? Or, are we making the same decisions that have created a race to the bottom?”