MUST READ
U.S. Rep. Pocan: To bring AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler to State of the Union
WIS Politics
By Staff
March 6, 2024
Today, U.S. Representative Mark Pocan (WI-02), co-chair and co-founder of the Congressional Labor Caucus, announced he was bringing Liz Shuler, President of the AFL-CIO, as his guest to this year’s State of the Union. President Shuler represents more than 12 million workers nationwide, including thousands of Wisconsinites. “Congressman Pocan is a champion for working people and I’m honored he invited me to view the State of the Union with him,” said Shuler. “Too often in DC the State of the Union gets looked at through what boxes get checked or how many times a word is said – and those details matter of course – but it’s also important to step back and realize that the sum of President Biden’s actions have resulted in launching another industrial revolution with transformational policies for workers and communities that will last for generations.”
LABOR AND TECHNOLOGY
State officials hear from industry, labor on embracing AI without leaving workers behind
Wisconsin Public Radio
By Joe Schulz
March 5, 2024
On Monday, the task force heard from Oshkosh Corp. Chief Information Officer Anupam Khare and AFL-CIO Technology Institute Executive Director Amanda Ballantyne. Ballantyne with the AFL-CIO focused her comments on how government and industry can embrace AI in a way that doesn’t harm workers. She said the labor movement sees AI as both a potential and a challenge. In general, she said, labor leaders like technology that makes work safer and more efficient, but they are concerned AI could degrade work or automate jobs away. She said the government and private industries need to work with organized labor to ensure AI is a net positive for working people. Ballantyne said including provisions related to artificial intelligence in collective bargaining contracts is one way to achieve that, pointing to AI provisions negotiated by the screen writers‘ and actors‘ unions. She also said the AFL-CIO is advocating for more education and workforce development programs at the local level to help train workers on artificial intelligence, so they are not left behind in the transition.
ORGANIZING
A transformative training for union organizers
The Stand
By Staff
March 5, 2024
The AFL-CIO Organizing Institute (OI) partnered with the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO last week to offer a three-day training for organizers to learn the skills they need to win and to move the labor movement forward. Nearly 40 organizers participated in this dynamic training, including representatives of the IBEW, IAM, OPEIU, AFGE, UFCW, AFSCME, SPEEA, IFPTE, NALC, IUPAT, MLK Labor Council, NEA, and SEIU.
After a historic union vote at Dartmouth, what’s next for college sports?
The Washington Post
By Jesse Dougherty
March 5, 2024
When the ballots were counted Tuesday, Dartmouth’s men’s basketball team had voted to unionize, 13-2, in a historic election on campus in Hanover, N.H. And while this means a ton — for college sports, for athletes’ rights, for the NCAA’s limp grip on amateurism — the process is still far from over. By voting to unionize, the basketball players are now represented by Service Employees International Union Local 560, which already represents some workers employed by the school. For now, with at least one appeal on the immediate horizon, this enables the players to collectively bargain with Dartmouth over pay, practice hours and other working conditions. All players are in the unit, even the two who voted against unionizing. The vote came a month after Laura A. Sacks, a regional director for the National Labor Relations Board, ruled the players are employees of Dartmouth under the National Labor Relations Act and could therefore hold an election.
Bucknell University RAs form union with OPEIU
Local 21 News
By Isaac Embry
March 5, 2024
Bucknell University’s Residential Advisers have submitted a petition to unionize with OPEIU Local 153. The union announced their formation on March 4th and includes over 77% of the 110 RAs at the university. The union is citing inadequate financial support, demanding hours, unpaid training and several other issues for the cause of their formation.
Dartmouth men's basketball team votes 13-2 in favor of first labor union for college athletes
NBC News
By Natalie Kainz
March 5, 2024
The Dartmouth Men's Basketball team voted 13-2 in favor of becoming the first-ever labor union for college athletes on Tuesday afternoon. The vote could present a huge shakeup to the National Collegiate Athletics Association's (NCAA) model, which currently only allows college athletes to financially benefit from their role on teams through name, image and likeness.
JOINING TOGETHER
Yahoo! Sports
By Jason Owens
March 6, 2024
The AFL-CIO released a joint statement Monday alongside the labor unions representing seven U.S. sports leagues that are backing members of the Sports Illustrated Union. "On behalf of our thousands of player members, we stand in solidarity with the unionized workers of Sports Illustrated," the statement reads. "We were shocked to see that these journalists — who have worked tirelessly to uphold the integrity and standards at Sports Illustrated — were laid off as the result of a licensing dispute between The Arena Group, which publishes SI, and Authentic Brands Group, its owner."\
Fairfax Connector workers’ union reaches agreement with Transdev that would end 2-week strike
WTOP
By Thomas Robertson
March 5, 2024
The union representing Fairfax Connector bus operators and mechanics, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, said Tuesday night that it has reached an agreement with Transdev for a new contract. The tentative agreement still needs to be approved by the rank and file. The deal would end the Fairfax Connector workers’ strike, which entered its 13th day Tuesday.
IBEW members join striking Post-Gazette workers on the North Shore
Pittsburgh Union Progress
By Steve Mellon
March 5, 2024
Workers represented by Local 29 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers finished their shifts on Monday and made their way to the North Shore, where they joined striking Pittsburgh Post-Gazette workers on a picket in front of the newspaper’s offices. The IBEW members were motivated to show solidarity after two members heard striking PG reporter Ed Blazina speak at a recent meeting of the Allegheny/Fayette Central Labor Council. Blazina discussed the challenges of striking for an extended period of time and the importance of support from other unions. Post-Gazette unions went on strike in October 2022.
Teamsters, IATSE contract negotiations begin for Hollywood crew members
ABC 7
By Rob Hayes
March 5, 2024
The latest round of Hollywood union negotiations started Monday as the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and the Hollywood Basic Crafts group, which includes the Teamsters, began what could end up being months of talks. The contracts for the unions are set to expire July 31, leaving about four months to reach new deals -- something experts say most in Hollywood would like to see.
Ascension Seton nurses ratify 3-year union contract after holding strikes
KXAN
By Erica Pauda
March 5, 2024
As a way to improve patient care and boost nurse recruitment and retention, registered nurses at Ascension Seton Medical Center (ASMCA) in Austin voted in favor of ratifying a three-year contract, the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU) announced Monday. The first-ever union contract goes into effect immediately and will expire in March 2027, a news release from ASMCA said. The contract covers 1,100 registered nurses including nursing residents and fellows who were initially not included in the contract, according to ASMCA.
Boeing, machinists kick off high-stakes contract talks on Friday
KFGO
By Allison Lampert and David Shepardson
March 5, 2024
Boeing and its largest union open talks on Friday seeking the first new contract in 16 years as the U.S. planemaker grapples with its ongoing 737 MAX safety crisis and after big gains by workers in other sectors of the economy. U.S. unions have capitalized on tight labor markets to win hefty contracts at the bargaining table, with mainline pilots, autoworkers and others scoring big raises in 2023. Unlike auto workers who were able to leverage strong industry profits, Boeing is losing ground to rival Airbus and trying to manage a crisis that erupted after a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX jet in mid-air on Jan. 5. Boeing reported a net loss of $2.2 billion in 2023 after losing $5 billion in 2022. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which represents over 30,000 Washington state workers building Boeing’s 737 MAX jets, wants better retirement benefits and wage increases exceeding 40% over three to four years after what it termed years of stagnant earnings.
Minneapolis Public Works employees vote strongly in favor of new contract
Star Tribune
By Zoë Jackson
March 5, 2024
Minneapolis Public Works employees responsible for water treatment, sewage, trash collection and other public works duties have overwhelmingly voted to accept a new labor contract. The 400 employees, represented by the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA Local 363), won a wage increase of nearly 30% over the next three years, a historic bump for the workers, the union said in a statement. The vote took place Monday.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Retail workers want employers to improve safety on the job
Times Union
By Joshua Solomon
March 5, 2024
Organized labor is seeking a non-punitive option to improve safety for retail workers, amid high rates of theft in stores in New York. A rally in the state Capitol on Tuesday for the legislative proposal, the Retail Worker Safety Act, comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul continues to seek support from lawmakers for increasing criminal penalties for assaulting a retail worker.