MUST READ
AFL-CIO: Global warming a union issue because it’s a workers’ issue
People’s World
By Blake Skylar
April 23, 2024
The ongoing story of global warming is littered with ravaged livelihoods, devastated towns, and lost lives. It chronicles a tragic plight for everyone in its path, and it’s a narrative that fossil fuel interests would prefer to sweep under the rug. Many look to Earth Day as a clarion call to take action in the wake of this crisis, and the AFL-CIO held an event on April 22 to do just that. It was the first national convening of a united coalition of labor, racial justice, and environmental justice organizations to hold a discussion on how climate change is impacting workers and their communities. Livestreamed to around 1,000 viewers, the gathering commenced with the words of AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, and she began with a bit of news, which, unlike the crisis affecting the planet, struck not the tone of tragedy, but instead highlighted a hard-fought triumph. “Something extraordinary happened 72 hours ago in Chattanooga, Tennessee,” she said. “There, Volkswagen workers – after a decade of threats, harassment, and union busting – voted to join our UAW family. Workers all over the nation are taking inspiration from this.” Shuler added that she was reminded of this year’s stunning solar eclipse, in which, “we saw something historic happen right before our eyes. That’s what this victory felt like to me.
POLITICS
Biden scores major union backing as its leaders attack Trump
CNN
By Edward-Isaac Dovere
April 23, 2024
Joe Biden will land a major union endorsement Wednesday from North America’s Building Trades Unions, whose leaders say the president has his infrastructure bill largely to thank for it. In making one of their earliest ever presidential endorsements, NABTU leaders are kickstarting an eight-figure organizing program to try to deliver their 250,000 members in the battlegrounds of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin for Biden.
White House calls on pension funds to adopt stronger labor standards
The Washington Post
By Lauren Kaori Gurley
April 23, 2024
White House officials will meet on Tuesday with leaders from five major pension funds who have committed more than $1 trillion in capital requiring robust labor standards in private-equity investments, in an effort to push more funds to follow suit. The Biden administration is touting these commitments as public pension funds amass growing holdings in private equity firms, which have been blamed for driving down wages, fighting unionization, and cutting jobs. Administration officials, including National Economic Adviser Lael Brainard and acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, have been in talks to encourage pension fund managers to adopt higher labor standards in their private equity investments.
Biden rule grants overtime pay to 4 million US workers
Reuters
By Daniel Wiessner
April 23, 2024
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a rule extending mandatory overtime pay to an estimated 4 million salaried workers, going even further than an Obama-era rule that was struck down in court. The U.S. Department of Labor rule will require employers to pay overtime premiums to workers who earn a salary of less than $1,128 per week, or about $58,600 per year, when they work more than 40 hours in a week.
Biden’s 401(k) Advice Rule Finalized Over Wall Street Objections
Bloomberg
By Austin Ramsey and Ben Miller
April 23, 2024
The US Labor Department has released a closely watched rule that will expand strict fiduciary standards of conduct to cover more retirement plan advisers, and has already drawn ire from Wall Street. The rule from the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration could equip regulators with more power to oversee Wall Street heavy hitters and require companies to comply with expensive disclosure exemptions.
Federal Trade Commission Approves Ban Of Noncompete Agreements
HuffPost
By Dave Jamieson
April 23, 2024
The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday voted 3-2 in favor of adopting a historic and far-reaching ban on noncompete agreements, potentially giving more leverage in the job market to millions of U.S. workers. The agency has said that the agreements, in which workers are forbidden from seeking a job with a competing business for a certain period of time, lead to an “unfair method of competition” and violate federal law. The vote by the agency’s five commissioners this week means the ban will move forward.
SUPREME COURT
US Supreme Court leans toward Starbucks in the case of pro-union workers
Reuters
By Andrew Chung and John Kruzel
April 23, 2024
U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday signaled support for Starbucks (SBUX.O), opens new tab in the coffee chain's challenge to a judicial order requiring it to rehire seven employees at a Memphis cafe who were fired as they pursued unionization. The justices heard arguments in the Seattle-based company's appeal of a lower court's approval of an injunction sought by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ordering reinstatement of the workers. The case could make it harder to quickly halt labor practices challenged as unfair under federal law while the NLRB resolves complaints.
ORGANIZING
Wesleyan graduate student workers appeal to university for union recognition
The Middletown Press
By Cassandra Day
April 23, 2024
Members of the newly formed Wesleyan University Graduate Labor Union are asking the college for voluntary recognition by Friday at noon. Workers delivered a letter to President Michael Roth Monday, saying that 76 percent of graduate workers have signed union authorization cards in support of forming a union with OPEIU Local 153. The Wesleyan Graduate Labor Union includes all graduate employees who teach or do research at Wesleyan, according to OPEIU Local 153 organizer Scott Williams. OPEIU Local 153 is an affiliated local of the Office and Professional Employees International Union.
The anti-union South is starting to crack
CNN
By Nathaniel Meyersohn
April 23, 2024
For five decades, the southern United States has been an attractive location for foreign automakers to open plants thanks to generous tax breaks and cheaper, non-union labor. Now, the United Auto Workers has dealt a serious blow to that model: winning a landslide union victory after decades of failing to unionize automakers in the South. The UAW easily won a historic victory Friday at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with 73% of workers voting in favor of the union. It’s the UAW’s first win in trying to represent workers at a foreign car manufacturing plant in the South.
JOINING TOGETHER
El Paso nurses rally, begin union negotiations with HCA
KTSM
By Jocelyn Flores
April 23, 2024
Nurses in El Paso will hold a rally as they begin contract negotiations with the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). Nurses from Las Palmas Medical Center and Del Sol Medical Center will have a rally with the National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC) at 8 a.m. on Thursday, April 25 at Las Palmas Medical Center, located at 1804 N. Oregon St. “People in El Paso look out for each other, and for us as nurses, that means speaking out for our patients at the bedside and at the bargaining table. We’re ready to fight for a strong contract that improves our hospital, and we’re not alone here in El Paso or across the country,” said Ariana Lucio, an registered nurse at Del Sol Medical Center.
Union: Hyatt Place Pasadena Reaches Tentative Contract Agreement, Hilton Pasadena Holds Out
Pasadena Now
By Staff
April 23, 2024
UNITE HERE Local 11, the union representing hotel workers, announced that the Hyatt Place Pasadena and several other hotels signed a tentative contract agreement on Tuesday, guaranteeing pay increases and better working conditions. The Pasadena Hilton, however, has not yet signed the agreement. The union announced Tuesday tat in the past week, seven new hotels, including the Hyatt Place Pasadena, Proper Santa Monica, Proper Downtown Los Angeles, Westdrift Manhattan Beach, Hotel June West LA, and Hotel Maya Long Beach, signed the historic accord.
STATE LEGISLATION
Bill trying to limit voluntary recognition of unions passes in House
ABC 3340
By Erin Wise
April 23, 2024
The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill to make employers who voluntarily recognize unions ineligible for state and local economic incentives. Voluntary recognition is when an employer recognizes the union once a majority of workers have signed cards authorizing the union to represent them, instead of going through a National Labor Relations Board-supervised election.
IN THE STATES
Steelworkers union files unfair labor practice charges against Pitt
WPXI News
By WPXI.com News Staff
April 23, 2024
The United Steelworkers union (USW) filed unfair labor practice charges against the University of Pittsburgh administration on Monday. The charges were filed with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) and come after the University of Pittsburgh administration failed to respond to the union’s requests of information for their contract bargaining, according to a press release. The union has represented about 3,400 members of the Pitt facility since they unionized in 2021. Union members and the administration have been bargaining for more than a year to reach a first contract, but the union says they have been dealing with delayed responses from the administration.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Labor Council to honor workplace fatalities in Memorial Day Observance
KXNET
By Brendan Rodenberg
April 23, 2024
On Friday, April 26, North Dakota’s workers, union officials, and community leaders will gather at the state’s capitol building as part of the Missouri Slope Labor Council’s Workers Memorial Day Observance. During the event, the names of workers who have died on the job in North Dakota during the past year will be printed on ribbons, and wrapped around trees on the capitol’s lawn. The gathering is an opportunity to share stories, honor the fallen, and call for more protection in the workplace. The ribbons will remain in view until Sunday, April 28.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Transit union says assaults on bus drivers growing more violent in Saskatoon
CKOM
By Mia Holowaychuk
April 23, 2024
The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) is sounding the alarm after alleged assaults on bus drivers have become increasingly violent in recent days. Darcy Pederson, the president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 615, said there have been six incidents reported in the past two weeks with an uptick in altercations involving bear spray, punching, kicking and spitting. He noted areas such as downtown and Confederation are hot spots for these incidents.