POLITICS
Lies and distractions are hallmarks of Trump’s debate performance
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
June 28, 2024
Reaction fell along predictable lines. The first two union leaders to comment on the debate, AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, trashed Trump. The Republican “offered the same stale lies in a pathetic attempt to hide the truth that as president, he betrayed workers and families to govern for the wealthy,” said Shuler. “Under the Biden administration, union members are winning record contracts in every part of the country, millions of workers are receiving double-digit raises, worker organizing is surging, and millions of pensions are being saved,” Shuler argued. “Trump’s legacy is chaos and division—and his greatest accomplishment in office was a bloated tax giveaway for the wealthy at the expense of working people who make our country run.”
US miners' union head calls House Republican effort to block silica dust rule an 'attack' on workers
ABC News
By Leah Willingham
June 28, 2024
The head of the national mine workers’ union on Friday condemned what he characterized as an effort by House Republicans to block enforcement of a long-awaited federal rule directed at curbing workers' exposure to poisonous, deadly rock dust, calling it “a direct attack on the health and safety of coal miners.” United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil E. Roberts said a budget provision — approved by a U.S. House subcommittee Thursday — prohibiting the Department of Labor from using funding to enforce a silica dust rule operators must be in compliance with next year is “morally reprehensible” and that the action "undermines the principles of fairness and justice that our country stands for.”
SUPREME COURT
Regulatory Agencies Suffered Their Latest Blow in Chevron Ruling
The New York Times
By Charlie Savage
June 28, 2024
Overturning the Chevron deference precedent is just the latest in a series of ringing blows the Supreme Court’s Republican-appointed conservative bloc has delivered to the ability of regulatory agencies to impose rules on powerful business interests, advancing a longstanding goal of the conservative legal movement and the donors who have funded its rise.
US Supreme Court Ruling Curbing Agency Powers Could Hobble Labor Board
US News & World Report
By Daniel Wiessner
June 28, 2024
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling eliminating the deference that courts owe to federal agencies in interpreting the laws they administer could sharply limit the National Labor Relations Board's ability to enforce federal labor law, experts said. Most federal agencies craft policies through traditional rulemaking, and Friday's decision is expected to have a widespread impact on every corner of the federal government. The case is part of a broader effort by conservative groups to rein in the powers of administrative agencies. The NLRB rarely adopts broad rules, and instead interprets laws protecting workers' rights to organize and join unions through decisions issued in individual cases. The agency has for decades relied on courts to uphold its decisions by largely deferring to the board's unique expertise in the complexities of labor law. But the Supreme Court in Friday's 6-3 ruling nixed a doctrine it adopted 40 years ago known as "Chevron deference", in a case involving oil company Chevron, which had required courts to defer to agencies' interpretations of ambiguous laws as long as they are reasonable.
Most Americans have no idea how anti-worker the US supreme court has become
The Guardian
By Steven Greenhouse
June 28, 2024
Under Chief Justice John Roberts, the supreme court has been supremely pro-corporate – one study even called the Roberts court “the most pro-business court in history”. Not only have many justices been groomed and vetted by the business-backed Federalist Society, but Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have taken lavish favors from billionaire corporate titans. Thomas has even spoken at two Koch network fundraising “donor summits”, gatherings of rightwing, ultra-wealthy business barons. While the court is decidedly pro-corporate, most Americans probably don’t know just how anti-worker and anti-union it really is. The justices have often shown a stunning callousness toward workers, and that means a callousness toward average Americans.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
How Unions Can Help Shrink The Gender Wage Gap
Forbes
By Holly Corbett
June 28, 2024
Women in particular may experience benefits from joining unions: According to data from the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), unionized women who work full time are typically paid 19% more than women who are not in a union, resulting in them making roughly $10,000 more a year. (Unionized men who work full time are typically paid 14% more than men workers who are not in a union, or the equivalent of roughly an extra $8,000 a year.) Women currently make up nearly half of union members.
JOINING TOGETHER
Kroger union workers ratify new contract with increased wages, better benefits
CBS News
By Sara Powers
June 28, 2024
Kroger union employees in Michigan ratified a new contract, which increases wages and improves paid time off and improves benefits. Member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 951 ratified a new three-year contract, which goes into effect on June 30, according to a release. The union represents 30,000 workers, and more than 1,000 are Kroger employees.
Nurses at Rocky Mountain VA rally for more staffing to serve Colorado veterans
CBS News
By Gabriela Vidal
June 28, 2024
It is that trust that nurses say they are pushing to protect, in the wake of what they say has been an ongoing hiring freeze from nationwide budget cuts to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. "We have 57 open vacancies that are frontline," said Sharda Fornnarino, who is the director of the local National Nurses United at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA. "That basically entails the ICU, med surge, the OR, some of our surgical areas as far as the outpatient surgeries, SCI and our mental health area."
Union, studios reach contract deal for Georgia film and TV workers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Savannah Sicurella
June 28, 2024
The labor union representing behind-the-scenes crews on film and television productions in Georgia and several other states has reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) that, if approved by members, will avert a feared strike. The contract, called the Area Standards Agreement, includes improvements in wages, living allowances and health and retirement benefits, along with guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence, among other provisions. The contract still has to be approved by a ratification vote, which will be held at a forthcoming date, according to a news release from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).
Workers at Kim's in Minneapolis vote to unionize
KARE 11
By Dana Thiede
June 28, 2024
About 60 workers at Kim's restaurant in Uptown Minneapolis are now members of a union after a historic vote Thursday. The cooks, dishwashers, servers, bartenders and support staff are now preparing to negotiate a new work agreement after 65% of them voted to unionize under UNITE HERE Local 17, Minnesota's hospitality and craft beverage workers union. They will push owner Ann Kim to provide better pay and benefits, along with more respectful treatment and stability.
WGA Congratulates IATSE on Tentative Agreement With AMPTP: ‘Important Gains and Protections’
The Wrap
By Raquel ‘Rocky’ Harris
June 28, 2024
The east and west factions of Writers Guild of America congratulated IATSE for landing a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), touting the deal’s multifactor gains. “Congratulations to the IATSE Negotiating Committee for reaching tentative agreements with the AMPTP and winning important gains and protections for IATSE members,” the guild said in a Friday statement.
BMW workers at Nazareth area warehouse reach tentative contract, avoid strike
Lehigh Valley Live
By Rudy Miller
June 30, 2024
Workers at a BMW regional distribution center have a tentative deal in place to avoid a strike, according to a news release Saturday evening from the United Auto Workers.
New President of Top Hotel Union Warns of Labor Showdown: ‘We Want Increased Wages’
Skift
By Sean O'Neill
June 30, 2024
After the labor union Unite Here elected Gwen Mills its president on June 20, Mills said she expected a showdown over worker contracts with major hotel groups over the next year. Mills said about 40,000 hotel workers in 22 markets in the U.S. and Canada have union contracts that might expire. The union may strike or take other organized action in the next year as they negotiate with Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, and other major brands.
IN THE STATES
Uber, Lyft to pay Mass. drivers $32 minimum wage during rides under $175 million settlement
WBUR
By Chris Lisinski
June 27, 2024
Labor leaders celebrated the agreement. In a statement provided by Campbell's office, Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Chrissy Lynch declared, "Uber and Lyft's free ride is over."
"This settlement includes a comprehensive package of strong wages, benefits and protections for the drivers that these corporations have been exploiting for years. We deeply appreciate AG Campbell's hard work holding these corporations rightfully accountable to Massachusetts employment laws," Lynch said.
APPRENTICESHIPS/TRAINING
Helping more Las Vegas women get jobs in construction and trades
Fox5 Vegas
By Jaclyn Schultz
June 29, 2024
Tens of thousands of union workers with construction and trades are behind the massive construction projects throughout the Las Vegas Valley, and there’s an effort from women workers to help recruit even more people to join unions and find good jobs. The Southern Nevada Building Trades Unions represents 30,000 workers across 15 unions. They’re behind the major and high-profile projects in the Valley like Allegiant Stadium, to most recently, Fontainebleau, the Sphere and Durango Station.
VETERANS
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Veterans Only Open House
WESA
By Staff
June 29, 2024
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 5 chapter, representing Pittsburgh, is holding a Veterans Only Open House on Saturday, June 29 at the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) Training Center in South Side. The IBEW invites local veterans from Pittsburgh and surrounding counties in Western Pennsylvania to come tour the training facility, to aid them in transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce or supporting them in finding new employment opportunities.