LABOR AND TECHNOLOGY
Video game workers need to further unionize in 2024
The Manitoban
By Ezra Taves
Jan. 9, 2024
2023 was great for gamers. An incredible amount of fantastic new video games were released, like Baldur’s Gate 3, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and far too many more to list. Many have called it the best year for video games in over a decade. However, as several media commentators have already pointed out, the year was also a terrible one for the people who make video games. Over 10,000 people were estimated to have been laid off in the video game industry over the past year, about 10 times the amount of layoffs in 2022.
POLITICS
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Jan. 10, 2024
The AFL-CIO praised the new curbs on independent contractors when DOL issued its draft of this new rule this past October. “By restoring commonsense rules to determine who is an employee, and making it harder for employers to intentionally misclassify their employees as independent contractors, DOL’s announcement will increase protections and expand benefits to so many working people who have been subjected to corporate work-arounds,” federation President Liz Shuler said then.
JOINING TOGETHER
Ascension Union Now More Than 1,000 Nurses Strong
The Austin Chronicle
By Lina Fisher
Jan. 10, 2024
National Nurses United grew this week after 96% of nurses voted in 225 new members to the Ascension Seton nurses’ union. Those 225 join 825 already unionized nurses who have been negotiating a contract with Ascension since they unionized with 72% of nurses voting in favor in the fall of 2022. Crucially, the new members are residents and fellows, who were previously barred from joining.
Pierce County Prosecutor’s support staff seek fair contract
The Stand
By Staff
Jan. 9, 2024
The following is from the AFSCME Council 28/Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE):
When someone suffers a crime, WFSE members at the Prosecutor’s Office — legal assistants, legal interviewers, and victim advocates — are the victim’s first point of contact. They are the ones who spring the gears of our justice system into action. “We know our work is important,” said Laura Devereaux, a legal assistant with the prosecutor’s office for the past 27 years. “We just want to be treated like it is.”
Wells Fargo workers in Delaware file for union election
Banking Dive
By Gabrielle Saulsbery
Jan. 4, 2024
Wells Fargo workers in Wilmington, Delaware, have filed for a union election, soon after employees at a Wells branch in Albuquerque, New Mexico, became the first employees at a major U.S. bank to unionize in decades. Employees of Wilmington’s Fairfax branch filed their intention with the National Labor Relations Board to join the Communications Workers of America’s Wells Fargo Workers United, according to a Committee for Better Banks announcement Thursday.
SPORTS UNIONIZATION
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh suggests college athletes unionize after championship win
The Hill
By Tara Suter
Jan. 9, 2024
University of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh suggested that college athletes should unionize after his team won the national championship on Monday night. “The thing I would change about college football is, to let the talent share in the ever-increasing revenues,” Harbaugh said at a press conference Tuesday. “We’re all robbing the same train and the ones that are in the position to do the heavy lifting, the ones that risk life and limb out there on a football field are the players and not just, not just football players, student athletes.”
STATE LEGISLATION
Alaska advocates submit petition signatures to put minimum wage increase on ballot
Alaska Beacon
By Yereth Rosen
Jan. 10, 2024
Joelle Hall, president of the Alaska AFL-CIO and another leader of the campaign, said the initiative campaign is a necessity for this issue. “This is the only way the minimum wage gets raised in this state,” she said at the news conference. An increase in the minimum wage would affect more than those at the lowest pay levels, Hall said.
Washington state lawmakers look at providing unemployment benefits to striking workers
Alaska Beacon
By Grace Deng
Jan. 9, 2024
Washington may become one of a few states that allow striking workers to qualify for unemployment benefits under certain conditions. Under House Bill 5777, workers who walk off the job will qualify for unemployment if employers lock them out of their place of employment. Lockouts are one way management can pressure a striking workforce during contract negotiations. Workers experiencing lockouts would still have to wait a week before being eligible for unemployment insurance. The proposal follows a year of notable walkouts across the country and in Washington. There were more U.S. strikes involving a thousand workers or more in 2023 than in any year since 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Milwaukee Area Labor Council Kicks Off Blanket Drive
Shepherd Express
By Ben Slowey
Jan. 10, 2024
Milwaukee Area Labor Council has officially launched their ninth annual Blanket Drive. It kicked off on Jan. 8 and runs through Feb. 16, with the mission to help provide warmth and comfort to those in need this winter. The drive is co-sponsored by United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County, AFL-CIO Community Services and Village of Sussex Fire & Rescue. The drive started in 2016 after AFL-CIO Community Services learned of a successful blanket drive carried out the previous year by Green Bay Labor Council and Brown County United Way.
The American Cancer Society and IAFF Join Forces to Combat Cancer Among Firefighters
Medriva
By Anthony Raphael
Jan. 9, 2024
In a significant stride towards combating the alarming rates of cancer among firefighters, the American Cancer Society and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) have joined forces. This collaboration aims to deliver targeted education and best practices to prevent and reduce cancer among firefighters, emphasizing early detection and regular screenings.