MUST READ
CEO-worker pay gap 'skyrocketing' amid pandemic: AFL-CIO Sec. Treasurer
Yahoo! Finance
By Max Zahn
July 26, 2021
Liz Shuler, the secretary-treasurer of AFL-CIO, told Yahoo Finance in a recent interview that the CEO-to-worker pay ratio has risen dramatically during the pandemic, describing the trend as a symptom of "runaway inequality." "The imbalance in our economy between the pay of CEOs and working people is skyrocketing — it's out of whack," says Shuler, the second-highest ranking officer at a coalition representing 56 unions and 12.5 million workers nationwide. "It continues to go up, up, up." "In a time where workers are making sacrifices on the front lines of this pandemic — they're being called essential — we need to make sure that we're rewarding workers by making that gap shrink, not expand," she adds.
JOINING TOGETHER
Media Unions Are Challenging the Use of NDAs
The Nation
By Indigo Olivier
July 26, 2021
On May 19, members of the Daily Beast union set a new standard for the media industry by ratifying a contract that eliminates the use of nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) in cases of workplace harassment. The provision is the first of its kind to be formally included in a collective bargaining agreement. This comes after years of grassroots organizing by the #MeToo movement, which was catalyzed by media reports breaking a culture of silence surrounding sexual harassment and assault against women. In mid-June, members of the New Yorker union announced the inclusion of a similar provision, banning NDAs in cases of both harassment and discrimination, in a tentative agreement on its first union contract after years of tense negotiations with the magazine’s parent company, Condé Nast. According to members of the NewsGuild, the nation’s largest union of communications employees, this provision has been years in the making and is well on its way to becoming a new standard of employment across the media industry.
New York will be buzzing with union jobs thanks to upcoming pot industry
New York Post
By Carl Campanile
July 25, 2021
Union jobs in New York are about to be so dope. Thousands of well-paying gigs — with great benefits to boot — are on the horizon in the state, thanks to the recent legalization of recreational marijuana, labor leaders tell The Post. The Local 338 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union — the so-called “cannabis union” whose patch is a bright green marijuana plant — is chomping at the bit to represent thousands of workers in the budding market.
NLRB
T-Mobile Loses Appeal Over Worker Reprimanded for Union E-Mails
By Brian Flood
July 23 2021
The National Labor Relations Board must reconsider its ruling that T-Mobile USA Inc. didn’t unlawfully discriminate against union activity at a Kansas call center in its response to pro-union mass emails, the D.C. Circuit said Friday.
IN THE STATES
PRO Act is needed labor law reform (Opinion)
Peninsula Clarion
By Joshua Yeh
July 24, 2021
For the first time in modern history, however, we have the chance to turn this around. The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act would hold employers accountable and institute real, enforceable penalties for violations of the law. Representative Don Young supported the PRO Act in the U.S. House earlier this year, and I am asking Senator Lisa Murkowski to vote yes when the bill comes to the floor of the U.S. Senate later this year. The PRO Act would put the decision of whether or not to form a union back where it belongs — in the hands of workers, free from employer interference. We need to rebuild our middle class. We need to pass the PRO Act.
Union Members, Supporters Call on Senators to Pass PRO Act
Iowa Starting Line
By Ty Rushing
July 26, 2021
Proponents of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act had a message for Iowa’s two Republican US Senators during a Friday rally in downtown Sioux City to support the bill. “If Senator Grassley and Senator Ernst aren’t going to support us, we can replace them,” said Charlie Wishman, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. The PRO Act makes it easier to vote in union elections, protects workers from employer retaliation for going on strike, allows union members to strike on behalf of employees in a different labor organization, and more. Wishman was part of a crowd of about 40 people who rallied outside of the Sioux City US Federal Building to urge Grassley and Ernst to support the PRO Act, which passed through the US House of Representatives with a 225-206 vote.
Kansas AFL-CIO showing support for Frito-Lay workers on strike
KSNT
By Kelli Peltier
July 24, 2021
Members of the Kansas American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, or AFL-CIO are showing their support for Frito lay strikers. AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Andy Sanchez said plant employees are working tough hours at the benefit of the company and the expense of their well-being and hope that changes. The union is also rallying for the passing of the ProAct; also known as the right to organize; it’s federal legislation that will give more power back to employees like at Frito Lay.
Indiana Unions Rally To Urge Senators' Support For Pro-Labor Legislation
Indiana Public Media
By Justin Hicks
July 23, 2021
Unions across Indiana rallied Friday to pressure Sens. Todd Young and Mike Braun into voting for pro-union legislation. The Protecting the Right to Organize, or PRO, Act has already passed a House vote, but doesn’t have enough support in the Senate. Labor leaders in Indianapolis, South Bend and Hammond gathered outside local offices for the senators to show support for the legislation. If passed, it would override “right to work” laws in states including Indiana and make it easier for workers to organize. It would also ban employers from making employees attend anti-union meetings at work.
Kansas labor unions rally in support of Frito-Lay workers, call for reform
KSNT
By Rebekah Chung
July 23, 2021
Kansas labor unions are rising up in support of the “PRO Act,” a sweeping labor reform bill that’s moving through Congress. Labor union leaders joined in an ongoing strike held by Frito-Lay workers in Topeka on Friday. The company produces popular snacks, like Doritos and Cheetos. One of its staple tag lines is “Good Fun!” but workers that are protesting long hours, or “suicide shifts,” said it’s anything but.