Today's AFL-CIO press clips
MUST READ
The UAW reaches a tentative deal with GM, the last holdout of Detroit's Big 3
NPR
By Camila Domonoske
Oct. 30, 2023
The United Auto Workers has reached a tentative contract agreement with General Motors, meaning all three of the Detroit automakers have now clinched an agreementwith the union more than six weeks since the start of an unprecedented strike. "The UAW reached a historic tentative agreement with General Motors that paves the way for a just transition and wins record economic gains for autoworkers," the union said in a statement. The tentative deals with GM, Stellantis and Ford still need to be individually ratified by the union's membership at those companies, and workers have the ability to send their representatives back to the bargaining table.
JOINING TOGETHER
Union workers end strike at Thombert after new contract is signed
Newton Daily News
By Christopher Braunschweig
Oct. 28, 2023
Thombert, Inc. employees and members of the United Auto Workers Local 997 reached an agreement with higher-ups on Oct. 21 after almost three months of picketing. According to the union’s Facebook page, which has been posting frequent updates since August, the new contract has been signed. Representatives of the UAW Local 997 did not immediately respond to phone calls from Newton News by press time, so the contents of the contract remain unknown. When picketing first began, workers were frustrated Thombert, Inc. had grown “leaps and bounds,” but their paychecks did not reflect that.
Las Vegas hospitality workers on the brink of strike following casino negotiations
Nevada Public Radio
By Yvette Fernandez
Oct. 30, 2023
Culinary Union members have continued their negotiations with the top three largest resort companies these last couple of weeks and its members say they are still too far apart. Last week, they met with MGM International Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, and Monday with Wynn Resorts. Secretary/Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said earning a living wage is just one issue.
SAG-AFTRA, Hollywood Studios to Resume Negotiations on Tuesday
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
Oct. 30, 2023
SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood studios will be back at the negotiating table on Tuesday as both sides remain “far apart on key issues,” according to the union. As the historic 2023 performers’ strike rages on, the parties took Monday to confer amongst themselves. “The committee worked independently today. We will be meeting with the AMPTP Tuesday,” the negotiating committee told members on Monday night. “While talks over the past week have been productive, we remain far apart on key issues.”
Milk-Bone workers ratify contract; return to work
WGRZ
By WGRZ Staff
Oct. 30, 2023
Workers at Buffalo's Milk-Bone plant will return to work after their three-year-contract was ratified. 40 repair and maintenance workers had been on strike since October 16, and demanded better wages to meet the rise in inflation. Richard W. Dahn, BR, union rep for the International Association of Machinists (IAM) the represents the workers said the new deal includes raises of 8.5%, 3.5% and 2.0% in each of the three years, plus a $2,500 signing bonus.
Union Victories May Lift Biden, as U.A.W. Targets Tesla and Others
The New York Times
By Jonathan Weisman
Oct. 30, 2023
“The impact of Biden’s public support can’t be overstated,” said Steve Smith, a spokesman for the umbrella A.F.L.-C.I.O., which includes the autoworkers’ union. “There’s a lot of upside here for Biden. The contracts set a new standard for the industry that clearly show the benefit of collective bargaining.”
Columbia City Council voluntarily recognizes Laborers Local 955 as water distribution workers’ union
Labor Tribune
By Staff
Oct. 30, 2023
The Columbia City Council has voluntarily recognized water distribution workers as members of Laborers (LiUNA) Local 955, which represents around 250 workers in the city. The unanimous vote followed an Oct. 10 rally in which Local 955 members, elected officials, allied union members and community supporters rallied outside Columbia City Hall to call out city management’s refusal to bargain in good faith with the workers. Laborers Local 955 Union Representative Andrew Hutchinson says the city’s roughly 27 water distribution workers will now have a place at the negotiating table.
IN THE STATES
‘Speaker Mike Johnson does not stand with workers’
Forward Kentucky
By Berry Craig
Oct. 30, 2023
House Republicans, who unanimously elected Johnson, are all abuzz about getting back “to ‘the business of legislating,’” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement. But working folks, she added, “have a simple question: Legislating for whom?” The headline atop the statement answers the query: “AFL-CIO: Speaker Mike Johnson Does Not Stand with Workers.” “On the issues that matter most to working people, Johnson has voted consistently with the most extreme elements of the Republican Party — and been a driving force behind resolutions that would cut trillions of dollars from Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act,” Shuler’s statement also said. “He has voted against infrastructure packages to put Americans back to work, and opposed legislation that raises wages and helps workers join a union, and rejected bills time and again that would compassionately protect America’s workers, including veterans and pregnant workers. Based on his track record, his election will mean legislating against working people; against LGBTQ+ rights; against reproductive health care; and against democracy.”
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Longtime IBEW Local 1 members honored at pin ceremony
Labor Tribune
By Staff
Oct. 30, 2023
Longtime IBEW Local 1 members were recognized for their years of service in a pin presentation Oct. 11 at the union’s hall at 5850 Elizabeth Ave. in St. Louis. Members with 40 or more years of service were honored at the ceremony. They each received a service pin and a service award.
EDUCATION
Bill would provide low-income student tuition at two-year colleges, tech schools
Gazette-Tribune
By Randy Bracht
Oct. 30, 2023
A measure that would waive tuition and fees for eligible students attending two-year community colleges and technical schools in the U.S. beginning next year has been reintroduced in Congress. The bill, called “America’s College Promise Act of 2023,” was proposed on Oct. 19 by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., and co-sponsored by nine fellow Democratic senators, including Patty Murray of Washington, and seven House representatives. Sponsors say the proposed legislation is supported by the American Federation of Teachers; AFL-CIO; Association of Community College Trustees; The Education Trust; The Hope Center at Temple University; The National Education Association; The Century Foundation Higher Education Team; Higher Learning Advocates; the Center for Law and Social Policy, Asian Pacific Islander American Scholars, American Association of Community Colleges, Young Invincibles and Jobs for the Future.