ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND CLIMATE
Regional labor, energy leaders call for union-powered offshore wind advancements
Providence Business News
By Jacquelyn Voghel
March 15, 2024
In just over 10 days, this coalition “will be closing bids on a massive, 6-gigawatt offshore wind proposal,” said Patrick Crowley, secretary-treasurer for the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, calling this action “a massive step forward” in a national initiative to create 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. “In southern New England, we were the home of the nation’s first Industrial Revolution,” Crowley said — a movement that gave rise to rapid mechanical and manufacturing advancements, but at the cost of “massive exploitation of workers and the environment.” With offshore wind, Crowley continued, the northeast now has an opportunity to once again lead the nation, but without these past failures. “This time, we’re going to get it right,” Crowley continued. “It’s going to be worker-led and committed to healing the environment.” Crowley was joined by Michael Sabitoni, general secretary treasurer of the Laborers’ International Union of North America and president of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council; Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO; and other Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut officials and workers. The industry has endured some announcements over the past year, with Shuler calling last year “challenging … for offshore wind.”
JOINING TOGETHER
Kansas City nurses kick off contract talks saying they’re prepared to strike
Kansas City Beacon
By Suzanne King
March 16, 2024
About 1,000 nurses at the two hospitals are working under a contract that will expire May 31. Their union, National Nurses United (NNU), said 150 nurses left jobs at Research last year, while 89 left Menorah. The union wants HCA to improve nurse retention and schedule more nurses to work each shift. The union said nurses are “prepared to make demands for their new agreements that will improve patient care by addressing critical issues with staffing and safety, and services at their hospitals.”
Hormel workers picket central Iowa plant after union unanimously rejects first offer
Des Moines Register
By Kevin Baskins
March 15, 2024
Hormel workers in Knoxville displayed their frustration with ongoing contract talks by picketing the plant there Thursday, carrying signs with slogans such as “We Keep Hormel Running.” Negotiations between United Food and Commercial Workers Local 431 and the company will resume next week, said Mark McRoberts, a business agent with the union. If a deal isn’t reached then, McRoberts said, the union is prepared for a strike at the Marion County facility, one of Knoxville's largest employers.
WGA East Members at Spotify and The Ringer Ratify New Contracts
The Wrap
By Stephanie Kaloi
March 15, 2024
Writers Guild of America East members at Spotify Studios and The Ringer have ratified new union contracts with. The move will raise base salaries at the latter from $57,000 to $65,000 and employees will also receive 2% raises beginning in the second year of employment. Union employees at Spotify Studios will receive a $5,000 increase to their base salaries. The Ringer Union said of the contract, “We are thrilled to ratify a new contract that addresses our members’ highest priorities. Thanks to the solidarity of our unit, we were able to negotiate meaningful raises and industry-leading protections against the creep of artificial intelligence into our work.”
B&N Workers on Upper West Side Vote to Join RWDSU
Publishers Weekly
By Staff
March 15, 2024
Workers at the Barnes & Noble 82nd Street store on the Upper West Side of Manhattan have voted to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), with 85% of eligible workers voting in favor of joining. Workers at the store had filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board on February 20. The store is the third B&N location to unionize in New York City in the past year, and the sixth location nationwide to vote to join the RWDSU—in Manhattan, at the chain’s flagship Union Square location, and Brooklyn, at the Park Slope neighborhood location.; Hadley, Mass.; San Jose, Calif.; and Bloomington, Ill.
IATSE, Studios Set to Negotiate Craft-Specific Issues Next Week
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
March 15, 2024
After nearly a week of internal conversations on both sides, IATSE and Hollywood’s major studios and streamers will be resuming their ongoing negotiations on Monday by covering craft-specific issues. The International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600) will be discussing its proposals with management at the headquarters of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in Sherman Oaks on March 18-20, a tentative schedule for the week provided to The Hollywood Reporter from a union source stated. Meanwhile, simultaneous discussions will occur for the Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) during those same days at the IATSE West Coast headquarters in Burbank.
Nurses at Kansas City-area hospitals are prepared to strike as they kick off contract talks
KCUR
By Suzanne King
March 16, 2024
When nurses rallied outside Research Medical Center this week to kick off contract negotiations, the refrain rang familiar. “Hey HCA,” the nurses’ signs read. “Put patients over profits.” In an increasingly unionized health care industry, still recovering from the pandemic, nurses across the country demand that hospitals beef up staffing and improve working conditions. And, when bargaining doesn’t work, they insist they’re ready to walk off the job.
STATE LEGISLATION
North Carolina labor chief rejects infectious disease rule petitions for workplaces
AP
By Staff
March 14, 2024
State AFL-CIO President MaryBe McMillan said her group is “deeply disappointed by the decision” and urged the department to reconsider, citing worker deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We relied on farm workers, grocery clerks, nurses, letter carriers, and so many other essential workers to provide critical goods and services,” she said. “We cannot call workers ‘essential’ and continue to treat them as expendable.”
Virginia AFL-CIO Appalled at Governor Youngkin’s Vetoes on Pro-Worker Legislation
Blue Virginia
By Blue Virginia
March 16, 2024
The Virginia AFL-CIO remains utterly appalled at Governor Youngkin’s first set of vetoes from the 2024 General Assembly session on pro-worker legislation. These pro-worker pieces of legislation had overwhelming support in the General Assembly and many of the bills which were the first of its kind to pass both chambers and head to the Governor’s desk. In response, Doris Crouse-Mays, President of Virginia AFL-CIO stated, “Governor Youngkin’s explanations for the vetoes on these critical worker-safety legislation comes as no surprise but remains appalling, nonetheless. With these vetoes, he continues to demonstrate his lack of support for working Virginians and their rights to non-discriminatory practices and on the job safety. His veto ‘explanations,’ to me, are no more than excuses for businesses to undercut workers. His decisions lead me to believe that he does not seek to make Virginia the best place to live, work, or raise a family – but in fact, that he rather make Virginia number 1 for business at the expense of workers. Reconvene session is coming, and the Virginia AFL-CIO remains committed to building power for working people by coming together to make workplace improvements and advocating for a safer, healthier, and higher quality of life for all working families across Virginia.”
Public Radio East
By Annette Weston-Riggs
March 15, 2024
Now NC State AFL-CIO President MaryBe McMillan is asking North Carolina Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson to reconsider that decision. She said,” We cannot call workers ‘essential’ and continue to treat them as expendable.”
IN THE STATES
Laborers’ Local 242 breaks ground for new labor training facility in Des Moines
Waterland
By Editor
March 15, 2024
On Friday, Mar. 15, 2024, Laborers’ Local 242 – an affiliate of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) – held a groundbreaking ceremony in Des Moines to commemorate the construction of a new training facility. Ground was broken on the expansion of their current training facility due to increased demand for construction craft Laborers in King County through City, County, State and Federal funding. This includes funding for new projects under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Inflation Reduction Act, and the new PLA Executive order from the Biden Administration.
RAISING WAGES
Long Beach Hotel Workers on Track to Earn the Highest Minimum Wage in the Nation
Capital & Main
By Mark Kreidler
March 15, 2024
Measure RW, on which Long Beach residents voted during last week’s primary, significantly raises the minimum wage for workers at Long Beach hotels with more than 100 rooms. Election results are not final, but according to the latest Los Angeles County returns, the measure will pass with 53% approval. It’s a major win for those hotel workers and the groups that pushed for the measure. “Long Beach is leading the way,” said Ada Briceño, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11, which also campaigned for the measure. “When workers in Long Beach do better, the whole city thrives.”
EDUCATION
Rethinking public high schools would help us fill important STEM jobs locally (Opinion)
Up North News
By Gay Henson and Randi Weingarten
March 15, 2024
Before the first shovel hits the ground on any major construction project, however, well-trained, highly-educated STEM professionals need to engineer, plan, schedule and track every step of the process. But today, we simply have not made the investments to provide the workforce by helping students find work in these in-demand occupations. That’s a problem we can fix, by starting at the school level to remove three key barriers to entry for those seeking a career in the STEM sector: policy, price, and perception.