EDITOR'S NOTE: Bill Londrigan made today's press clips. Scroll down to the In The States section.
JOINING TOGETHER
UAW Remain on Strike at GM Distribution Center North of Reno
2 News
By Staff
Sept. 25, 2023
Dozens of UAW workers remain on strike at the GM Stead distribution center. UAW President Shawn Fain called for expanded strikes last Friday at 38 new locations across 20 states, including the Reno Parts Distribution Center. This expanded strike affects GM’s and Stellantis’s distribution centers. Ford was spared from the latest walkouts because of progress that company has made in negotiations with the union, said UAW President Shawn Fain. Only about 12% of the union’s total membership is so far taking part in the walkout. The UAW began its walkout more than a week ago by striking three assembly plants — one each at GM, Ford and Stellantis. In expanding the strike on Friday, the UAW struck only the parts-distribution centers of GM and Stellantis.
Nurses at Saint Louis University Hospital organize for 1-day strike
Fox2Now
By Chris Regnier
Sept. 25, 2023
Labor issues at Saint Louis University Hospital are intensifying as nurses at the hospital take part in a 24-hour strike that is underway. The strike is happening outside SLU Hospital on Grand in Midtown. It started at 7:00 a.m. Monday morning and is slated to end at 6:59 a.m. Tuesday. The union for the SLU nurses, National Nurses United, says the nurses are striking to protest what they call “the refusal of the hospital administration to address the RN’s deep concerns about patient care, safe staffing, and workplace violence.”
Northeastern U Grad Workers Overwhelmingly Unionize
Inside Higher Ed
By Ryan Quinn
Sept. 25, 2023
Graduate student workers at Northeastern University have voted 1,130 to 70 to unionize, the National Labor Relations Board says. There were 179 challenged ballots. Either side can challenge ballots in union elections, but the NLRB said those ballots “were not counted because they are not determinative to the outcome.” The vote to join a United Autoworkers–affiliated union took place Tuesday through Thursday in Boston. The union will represent grad workers who provide instruction or research at the Boston campus and two others in Massachusetts, in Burlington and Nahant.
Hollywood's video game performers authorize strike if labor talks fail
Reuters
By Danielle Broadway
Sept. 26, 2023
Video game voice actors and motion capture performers have voted to authorize a strike if negotiations on a new labor contract fail, setting the stage for another possible work stoppage in Hollywood. After voting closed on Monday, the SAG-AFTRA union said 98.32% of those who cast ballots had voted in favor of authorizing a strike. The union is scheduled to begin contract talks with gaming companies on Tuesday.
POLITICS
Republican Shutdown Warning Issued by Union Leader
Newsweek
By Nick Mordowanec
Sept .25, 2023
Everett Kelley is the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)—the largest union representing federal and D.C. government employees, totaling about 750,000 workers. Kelley said he is worried about the economic effects on federal workers and their families, comparing the current deliberations to the 35-day shutdown in December 2018-January 2019 that resulted in 800,000 workers either required to work without pay or furloughed from their jobs without pay. It also cost the American economy about $11 billion. "I don't think [House Republicans' concerns about spending] have any merit at all," Kelley told Newsweek via phone. "What this tells me is we've got to really go to the polls and vote for people sensitive to the American need. These individuals are not sensitive to the American need. I think they came in with an intent but don't realize how it impacts the rest of America."
IN THE STATES
Longtime Kentucky labor leader will not seek reelection as state AFL-CIO president
Forward Kentucky
By Kentucky Lantern
Sept. 25, 2023
A longtime leader of the Kentucky State AFL-CIO, a prominent union federation, is not seeking reelection as president after serving more than two decades in the position. Kentucky State AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan — who also served in roles with the Greater Louisville Building and Construction Trades Council and the Greater Louisville Central Labor Council — in a blog post said he believed “Kentucky’s labor family will rise to the occasion” to choose a new union president at the union federation’s upcoming convention in December. “I have always been aware of the long, storied and powerful history of Kentucky’s labor movement and have felt a deep respect and gratitude for the service and sacrifice of those who have toiled in the fields to build Kentucky’s labor movement which has bettered the lives of millions of workers and their families,” Londrigan said in the blog post. “While I will be leaving my position as President, I will never leave the labor movement which I have cherished being a part of for the past forty years,” he said.