MUST READ
Playbook: What Trump wants from Capitol Hill
Politico Playbook
By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels And Ryan Lizza
June 13, 2024
The battle over college athletics heads to the House Education and Workforce Committee this morning, where the Protecting Student Athletes’ Economic Freedom Act is among several bills being marked up. The measure from Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) would prevent student-athletes from being classified as employees — and thus being eligible to unionize. That is drawing objections from the AFL-CIO and eight pro sports unions, who say the bill would only “protect the big business of collegiate sports from the voices of the young people who generate its revenues.” Read the letter from AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler.
POLITICS
Why scientists fear a second Trump term, and what they are doing about it
The Washington Post
By Maxine Joselow and Scott Dance
June 12, 2024
When the union representing nearly half of Environmental Protection Agency employees approved a new contract with the federal government this month, it included an unusual provision that had nothing to do with pay, benefits or workplace flexibility: protections from political meddling into their work. The protections, which ensure workers can report any meddling without fear of “retribution, reprisal, or retaliation,” are “a way for us to get in front of a second Trump administration and protect our workers,” said Marie Owens Powell, an EPA gas station storage tank inspector and president of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 238.
Democrats in Congress say federal mediators should let airline workers strike when it's 'necessary'
ABC News
By The Associated Press
June 12, 2024
A group of 32 senators say federal mediators should speed up labor negotiations between airlines and their flight attendants and other workers, even granting them permission to go on strike “as necessary.” The lawmakers said Wednesday that airlines feel no pressure to reach contract agreements quickly because federal law makes it difficult for airline workers to strike. That causes talks to drag on for years, they said. The senators — 31 Democrats and independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont — joined House Democrats by weighing in while flight attendants at American Airlines and United Airlines are trying to gain more leverage at the bargaining table.
OSHA Worker Heat Stress Proposal Goes to White House for Review
Bloomberg Law
By Bruce Rolfsen
June 12, 2024
A proposed federal rule to protect indoor and outdoor workers from heat stress is now under review at the White House. The agency has been working on a national heat stress standard (RIN:1218-AD39) since 2021 amid rising global temperatures that have led to some of the hottest summers on record. Text of the proposal, sent Tuesday to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, hasn’t been made public. But the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration previously said protection mandates could kick in any time the heat index reaches 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
ORGANIZING
Workers at National Sawdust Successfully Vote to Unionize
Green Pointers
By Emma Davey
June 12, 2024
Unionization fights have swept New York City over the past couple of years, and now another local establishment is joining the movement. “17 ushers at Brooklyn’s National Sawdust venue will join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 306 after voting to unionize in a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election last week,” Broadway World reports. The election overwhelmingly favored unionization, with 90% of votes in approval. The ushers will join other unionized workers at Radio City Music Hall, Richard Rogers Theatre, and Madison Square Garden.
UMWA Officials Call For Meeting With Commissioners In Mon County
WAJR
By Staff
June 12, 2024
Members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) continue their dialog with the Monongalia County Commission on behalf of employees in the county assessor’s office. On WAJR’s “Talk of the Town,” UMWA Director of Communications Erin Bates said in recent weeks the back and forth has included questions about pay, benefits, and a perception of favoritism in the assessor’s office. Bates said union representation would allow each side to negotiate a contract that could be implemented to address the issues concerning the employees. “There’s a lot of he said, she said with the commissioner’s office,” Bates said.” The employees are saying you’re doing this, and the commissioners are saying we’re doing that, and at the end of the day, a contract is going to rectify a lot of those issues.”
JOINING TOGETHER
‘We’re not backing down’: US grocery workers take on Kroger with strike vote
The Guardian
By Michael Sainato
June 12, 2024
About 6,000 grocery store workers are set to vote on strike action after the expiration of their union contract with the Kroger-owned Food 4 Less chain. The contract with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) expired on Saturday. Members are voting on whether to authorize an unfair labor practice strike if a new deal is not reached, and results expected late on Friday.
Providence hospital nurses prepare to strike across Oregon
Oregon Capital Chronicle
By Ben Botkin
June 11, 2024
In a week, thousands of nurses at six Providence hospitals in Oregon will go on a three-day strike that could be the largest in the state’s history. The Oregon Nurses Association, which represents more than 3,000 nurses at the six hospitals, has delivered a 10-day notice to the management at the nonprofit Providence Health & Services, Oregon’s largest hospital group. The group intends for the strike to start at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, June 18.
Trade union holds rally for Agent Davis Martinez killed during home visit
WMAR 2 News
By Xavier Wherry
June 11, 2024
Back on May 31, Davis Martinez, a Maryland probation officer was conducting a welfare check in Chevy Chase on 54-year old Emmanuel Sewer, a registered sex offender. This resident check-in turned into an unthinkable homicide. One that American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) representatives feel could've been avoided.
Penn resident advisors union unanimously ratifies first contract
The Daily Pennsylvanian
By Jessica Wu
June 11, 2024
Penn undergraduate and graduate resident advisor union members voted unanimously to ratify their first contract on Friday, one of the first RA union contracts in the country. The new two-year contract will provide RAs with 150 meals, a $3,000 stipend — which will increase to $3,100 in the second year — and a $750 contract ratification payment for RAs who worked during the most recent spring semester. Prior to this contract, RAs received only a partial meal plan of 130 meals and a free room in exchange for 20 hours of work per week.
Flight Attendant Day of Action June 13
The Stand
By Staff
June 12, 2024
Flight attendants will picket at dozens of airports across the US, Europe and Asia on Thursday. The pickets are being organized by two unions – the Association of Professional Flight Attendants and Association of Flight Attendants-Communications Workers of America – to support flight attendants at a number of airlines. Union flight attendants at several airline companies have been negotiating for a fair contract since 2022, including Alaska AFA (you can learn more about their fight for a fair contract on their contract website).
Workers at Denver’s small, Live Nation concert venues move to unionize
Denverite
By Lauren Antonoff Hart
June 12, 2024
Many employees at Live Nation’s small, local music venues have had it. They’re tired of clubs that pay the lowest rates of any of the small venues in Denver. They’re tired of staffing requests that ask them to come in and send them home after only a few hours of work – or fail to tell them that shows have been canceled until minutes before their shift. As a result, a majority of stage crew and production workers employed at Summit Music Hall and the Marquis Theater have filed with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 7.
You might see picketers today outside a Tacoma hospital. Here’s what’s happening
The News Tribune
By Debbie Cockrell
June 12, 2024
A union representing MultiCare workers announced an informational picket Wednesday (June 12) in Tacoma amid contract talks launched earlier this year. The picket was scheduled from 4-6 p.m. outside MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital, 315 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The action, organized by UFCW 3000 members, comes amid bargaining talks involving more than 2,000 MultiCare employees across nine bargaining units. The talks started in February.
NLRB
NLRB General Counsel Abruzzo spreads awareness of key labor law precedent
Alabama Political Reporter
By Chance Phillips
June 12, 2024
In a Tuesday webinar on “Organizing, Collective Action, and the National Labor Relations Board” hosted by the Economic Policy Institute, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo shared her perspective on the current state of American labor law. Abruzzo primarily spoke extensively about the NLRB’s recent decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC. The Cemex precedent allows the NLRB to order employers found guilty of breaching the National Labor Relations Act to begin bargaining with a union “if majority support in an appropriate unit is demonstrated.” The NLRB’s ruling in Cemex was a partial return to the Joy Silk doctrine which required employers presented with union cards signed by a majority of workers to begin bargaining with that union unless they had a “good faith doubt.”
Gaming QA Workers Say They Were Laid Off For Trying To Unionize
Game Spot
By Steven T. Wright
June 12, 2024
The CWA--the largest media labor union in the US--recently filed a claim with the National Labor Relations Board against what it describes as a "Microsoft supplier," stating that the company laid off an entire team of QA workers for trying to unionize. According to a CWA news post announcing the claim, the Idaho-based team included 160 workers that were all let go by the company, Lionbridge Technologies. The company allegedly told workers that their project had ended, necessitating the layoffs. The news post claims that teams assigned to the same project in Mexico and Poland continued to work on it after the Idaho team's dissolution. The project was specifically associated with Activision, which is owned by Microsoft.
NLRB asks judge to reinstate two fired union organizers at struggling EV maker Lucid
The Detroit News
By Grant Schwab
June 11, 2024
An attorney for the National Labor Relations Board is asking an Arizona judge to reinstate two former workers for electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors who were allegedly fired for trying to organize workers at the EV maker's plant there. A hearing before the judge is already scheduled for Oct. 9. But Tucker Bingham, an attorney for the NLRB, said in a new filing that inaction from the court will unduly halt the workers' effort to join the United Auto Workers.
Labor charges claim Disney retaliated against workers for wearing union buttons
LA Times Daily Pilot
By Gabriel San Román
June 12, 2024
Daniel Rodriguez fastened a union button on his custodial uniform during a recent shift at Disneyland in a display of solidarity with other co-workers fighting for a new contract. As he recalled, two managers followed him through the theme park that day until he reached a “backstage” area off-limits to guests. “I see you’re wearing your union button, but, unfortunately, it’s not ‘Disney Look,’” one manager said in reference to the company’s dress code. “If I don’t take the button off, will this lead to a discipline?” Rodriguez asked. Rodriguez recalled being told that if he didn’t unpin it from his uniform, his shift would end early. He promptly took the button off, which showed a Mickey Mouse-styled white glove clenched in a fist, and was advised that he could only wear it during breaks and lunches. Encounters like Rodriguez’s led the Master Services Council, which is comprised of four major Disney unions, to file an unfair labor practice charge on Monday with the National Labor Relations Board. The union coalition, which represents 13,000 theme park ride operators, candy makers, custodians and cashiers, claimed that more than 500 workers have faced similar instances of unlawful intimidation, surveillance and disciplinary threats, all for wearing the same buttons to work as Rodriguez did.
IN THE STATES
Minneapolis council member privately encouraged Ann Kim to recognize union at her Uptown restaurant
Axios Twin Cities
By Kyle Stokes
June 10, 2024
Minneapolis City Council member Katie Cashman privately encouraged chef Ann Kim to voluntarily recognize an employee union at her Uptown restaurant, according to a voicemail Axios has obtained. Why it matters: Cashman made this call in a delicate moment for the council's left-wing majority, which is attempting to notch a big win for the labor community while also building trust with local business owners — including Kim, one of Uptown's most prominent boosters.
Connecticut governor vetoes bill that could lead to $3 million in assistance to striking workers
AP News
By Staff
June 11, 2024
Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont on Tuesday vetoed a vaguely written bill to create a $3 million fund that could have financially helped striking workers in Connecticut. Calling it commendable to provide assistance to low-wage workers, as the bill was described on the final night of the 2024 legislative session, Lamont said he was concerned about how the legislation lacked clarity, financial accountability and oversight.
OU lands $80M contract to oversee USPS workforce development training
Yahoo! News
By Dale Denwalt
June 12, 2024
The University of Oklahoma has been awarded a contract worth nearly $80 million to provide workforce development training services to U.S. Postal Service employees. As part of the eight-year contract, OU's College of Continuing Education will employ over 100 people at Norman's National Center for Employment Development, many of whom are former postal workers or military personnel. They will perform training services in a wide variety of subjects, like technology, machinery and professional development.
NYC Broker Fee Bill Will Get Committee Hearing This Week: Here's When
Patch
By Nicole Rosenthal
June 11, 2024
A New York City Council bill set to ease the burden of expensive broker’s fees for renters is slated to get a hearing this week. The bill, dubbed the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses Act (Intro 0360), would amend the city’s administrative code and require the individual hiring a broker, be it tenant or landlord, to foot the broker’s fee.
EDUCATION
Why Jay-Z Is a Key Figure in the School Voucher Debate
Education Week
By Brooke Schultz
June 11, 2024
Randi Weingarten, president for the American Federation of Teachers, also highlighted concerns about discrimination, student achievement, and who ultimately attends private school. “Instead of spending billions on vouchers in Philly, we should be strengthening and investing in public schools so all kids can thrive,” she said in a statement. “Jay-Z has released some killer albums, but when it comes to promoting a state funded voucher programs, we agree with our Pennsylvania affiliates in saying ‘this ain’t it.’”