POLITICS
Senate may work into August to pass infrastructure plan, set the stage for huge spending bill
CNBC
By Jacob Pramuk
July 9, 2021
About two dozen business and labor groups backed the infrastructure proposal Thursday, potentially giving it a boost as the Senate tries to bring it to a vote. The organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce and AFL-CIO, said they “urge Congress to turn this framework into legislation that will be signed into law,” adding they are “committed to helping see this cross the finish line.”
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
AFL-CIO wants workers ‘front and center’ in battling global warming
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
July 9, 2021
Workers, especially union workers, should be “front and center” in the battle to reverse global warming, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler says. That especially includes unionists who build and repair energy infrastructure, such as members of her home union, the Electrical Workers (IBEW), she adds. Shuler outlined what should be the central role of workers in battling global warming in a one-on-one zoom discussion with Tony Podesta, the longtime Democratic heavyweight and founder of the Center for American Progress, a noted D.C. think tank.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Business, labor groups endorse bipartisan infrastructure deal
The Hill
By Alexander Bolton
July 8, 2021
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO and a group of other prominent business groups on Thursday endorsed a $1.2 trillion, eight-year bipartisan infrastructure framework endorsed by President Biden and a group of Senate moderates.
JOINING TOGETHER
U.S. senators call for Cascades to reach labor contract at Niagara Falls plant
Buffalo News
By Matt Glynn
July 11, 2021
New York's two U.S. senators are calling for the owner of Cascades Containerboard's Niagara Falls manufacturing plant to reach agreement on a first labor contract, more than two years after workers there voted to join a union. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer wrote a joint letter to Mario Plourde, president and CEO of Quebec-based Cascades, saying "the contractual negotiations must be done in good faith in the effort to forge a fair contract and working conditions." "The men and women of the (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union) and Cascades Containerboard management, as well as customers, will only mutually benefit from a new labor agreement, and we urge both sides to come to a fair and equitable agreement as soon as possible," the senators wrote.
IN THE STATES
Indiana Labor Sees American Jobs Plan As A Way To Get Rid Of Right To Work
WIBC
By Chris Davis
July 9, 2021
For the past month Democrats have been on tour around the state, drumming up support for the American Jobs Plan. The federal legislation could mean the end of “Right to Work” laws, which is still a sore point with Democrats in Indiana. Hooker was one of several speakers at a gather Thursday night that included Indianapolis City-County Councilor Ali Brown, AFL-CIO Pres. Brett Voorhies and Rep. Andre Carson (D). Voorhies challenged Congress to fulfill the promises of the Jobs Plan. “They need to step up and deliver the funding that we need to tackle climate change, to tackle racial injustice, to tackle economic injustice that are facing working families on a daily basis, while creating a new generation of union jobs,” he said. Those points are part of the Plan, according to the White House website. Voohies said he believes that there is a hunger for stronger unions, especially after the pandemic. He said the phones at the AFL-CIO have been jammed with non-union workers asking for help because their employers had not been taking care of them properly with PPE, contact tracing and other concerns.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
TV news crews are increasingly threatened with violence on the job
The Washington Post
By Paul Farhi
July 9, 2021
In recent months, local TV news crews have faced verbal and physical abuse while on the job. A few reporters have been injured. Some have been robbed or had equipment damaged. The episodes continued the trend of 2020, which may have been the most dangerous year in history for TV reporters in the United States. One in five TV news directors surveyed by the Radio Television Digital News Directors Association said their crews had been attacked at some point last year. About half of the episodes stemmed from covering mass gatherings, such as the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd and demonstrations protesting pandemic lockdowns.
VOTING RIGHTS
Voting rights rally to take place Sunday in Denver at 1 p.m.
Fox31
Jenny Ivy
July 11, 2021
A coalition of rallygoers said Sunday the For the People Act is legislation that represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to protect the freedom to vote, hold politicians accountable, set national standards for election administration, and end the grip of big money in politics in all 50 states. Participating organizations include Common Cause Colorado, Colorado Sierra Club, AFSCME Council 18, ProgressNow Colorado, Colorado AFL-CIO, Colorado Latino Forum, Colorado People’s Action, Denver Area Labor Federation, Women’s Lobby of Colorado, Indivisible Colorado, and many more.
GIG ECONOMY
Uber and Lyft Can’t Find Drivers Because Gig Work Sucks
Vice
By Edward Ongweso Jr
July 8, 2021
While Uber and Lyft are reportedly thinking about offering new perks such as education, career, and expense programs, analysts admit these don’t strike at core problems with the gig economy that were driving workers away before COVID-19 hit and are making it difficult to attract them now. In conversations with Motherboard, former and current ride-hail drivers pointed to a major factor for not returning: how horrible it is to work for Uber and Lyft.