Today's AFL-CIO press clips
MUST READ
Why are Democrats sticking with Biden? Ask the unions.
The Washington Post
By Lauren Kaori Gurley and Jeff Stein
July 9, 2024
Many of the nation’s most powerful unions confirm they are continuing to back President Biden, despite faltering support among some top Democrats, pointing to his willingness to support their priorities on almost every issue during his first term. The United Steelworkers, Communications Workers of America, Laborers’ International Union of North America and Unite Here, among other unions, confirmed to The Washington Post that they plan to continue to support Biden, despite his disastrous debate performance last month. “I have not seen any indication that any of our union leaders have at all backed off from [their] support [for Biden],” said Steve Smith, a spokesperson for the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest federation of labor unions, which has affiliates representing some 12.5 million members.
POLITICS
Three Ways Project 2025 Will Impact American Workplaces
Forbes
By Janice Gassam Asare
July 8, 2024
A 922-page document, the Mandate for Leadership 2025: The Conservative Promise, also known as Project 2025, has been a big topic of conversation as the presidential election draws near. The document, which contains a detailed right-wing proposal of drastic changes for the next Republican president to implement, was drafted by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation. The leader of the Heritage Foundation, Kevin Roberts, stated in a podcast interview that Republicans are in the midst of “taking this country back” and that the U.S. is currently in a second American Revolution that will “remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.” Although several Trump administration officials contributed to the document, former president Trump has claimed to know nothing about it. Every American should understand Project 2025 and its potential long-term impacts. This article explores three major shifts that the authoritarian playbook will cause in the American workplace if implemented.
Biden Administration Makes Largest Ever Federal Grant to NY / NJ: Gateway Tunnel is Finally Funded
Insider NJ
By Staff
July 9, 2024
Yesterday, elected officials from New Jersey and New York announced that $6.88 billion in federal funding for the Hudson Tunnel Project has been obtained. The long-awaited project now has enough federal funding to begin the full construction phase. This is the largest federal funding commitment to a rail transportation project in over a decade. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO thanks the Biden Administration for delivering on their commitments to increasing the number of good paying union jobs, while investing in much needed improvements to infrastructure.
ORGANIZING
Union organizer hopes to adopt gender initiative at their convention in August
WVIK
By Brady Johnson
July 9, 2024
Director of Organizing for Painters District Council 30 Mandy Jo Ganieany is the first woman director in the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades' history. Jo Ganieany joined a union 25 years ago as a drywaller with Peoria Local 157, within District Council 30, a part of the International Union for Painters and Allied Trades. "To be honest with you, it was the money and the benefits," Jo Ganieany said in a phone interview with WVIK. "Being able to make a liveable wage on my paycheck as a single mom raising my children. That was what led me to the union trade." Jo Ganieany previously worked as a drywaller in a non-union job but disliked the lack of benefits and unstructured pay. "When I was given the opportunity to join the union, that was the first time I realized the value of your union card and the voice that it gave you," Jo Ganieany said.
Second Better Buzz store in San Diego votes to unionize
Fox5 San Diego
By Danielle Dawson
July 9, 2024
Workers at another Better Buzz location in San Diego successfully voted to unionize on Monday with the hopes of bettering wages and working conditions at the local coffee chain. The vote by workers at the Mira Mesa location came almost exactly a month after Better Buzz United, the employee coalition behind the collective bargaining push, announced it had filed the initial paperwork to join the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 135 chapter.
NEGOTIATIONS & STRIKES
The mouse gloves are off: Disney workers to vote on strike amid contract talks
Los Angeles Times
By Gabriel San Román
July 9, 2024
After filing a series of labor charges, a coalition of four major unions representing 13,000 Disney workers has scheduled a strike authorization vote next week. “We haven’t been able to move the company on the issues most important to our members,” said Andrea Zinder, president of UFCW Local 324. “The unfair labor practices that Disney has committed are so egregious that they interfere with our ability to get a fair contract.” The strike vote slated for July 19 comes as the National Labor Relations Board is investigating alleged labor violations by the company.
"They need to hire more nurses": Port Charlotte nurses protest for more staff
Fox4
By Alex Orenczuk
July 9, 2024
On Monday, in the midst of new contract negotiations, nurses and supporters stood outside the HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte to protest what they called a nursing shortage. The nurses are represented by the National Nurses United union, which said it has been in contract negotiations with the hospital since the spring, and the most recent contract expired on July 1.
Alaska Airlines flight attendants win tentative agreement to boost pay, avert strike
Anchorage Daily News
By Elliot Njus
July 8, 2024
Alaska Airlines flight attendants say they’ve reached a tentative agreement with the airline for a new contract that would boost pay 32% and compensate flight attendants for boarding time before the plane takes off. The three-year contract, if ratified by the Association of Flight Attendants’ Alaska members, would avert strikes authorized in February. The union said the agreement is the result of 20 months of negotiations. It would be the first U.S. airline union contact to include pay for flight attendants while passengers are boarding the plane, the union said. Historically airlines have paid cabin crew members only after the cabin door is closed. Delta Air Lines, whose flight attendants are not unionized, began paying for boarding time in 2022.
Menard Correctional officers picket for safer working conditions
The Southern Illinoisan
By Brandyn Wilcoxen
July 8, 2024
On all accounts, everyone on the picket line at Menard Correctional Center on Monday agreed that “Safety Matters.” Menard employees, represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1175, picketed across the street from the facility for the safety of employees, individuals in custody and public safety of the community, according to Rick Hepp, AFSCME Local 1175 president.
Cleveland Clinic hospital nurses approve 3-year labor deal
Becker’s Hospital Review
By Kelly Gooch
July 9, 2024
Nurses at Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital in Dover, Ohio, have approved a new three-year labor contract. The contract covers 200 nurses represented by the Ohio Nurses Association, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, according to a July 8 union news release shared with Becker's. According to the ONA, it includes: A commitment from the hospital to work with union members to address staffing levels and guidelines across patient care units.
Wage scale improvements. Two retirement plans that are available to more union members in the bargaining unit.
RAICES union contract includes major wins for workers at the immigration nonprofit
Texas Public Radio
By Josh Peck
July 8, 2024
The union contract at the largest immigration services provider in Texas, RAICES, went into effect at the end of June after being ratified in May. The contract, which took two years to negotiate, includes raises, more paid parental leave, more employer support for health insurance, professional development pay, and more. Kate Richardson is a senior staff attorney at RAICES who sat on the union’s bargaining team. She said she’s proud of the raise the union won for workers.
'We know our value': Disneyland workers to vote on strike following slow negotiations
USA Today
By Anthony Robledo
July 9, 2024
A coalition of labor unions representing thousands of Disneyland workers will vote next week on whether to authorize a strike following unsuccessful negotiations with Disney. The vote comes after the coalition recently filed labor violation complaints against the company with the National Labor Relations Board. The group represents around 14,000 employees at both the Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks, as well as Disney hotels and the Downtown Disney shopping center.
As Hollywood Cuts Back, IATSE Members Size Up Pros and Cons of Their Tentative Deal With Studios
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
July 9, 2024
The last time West Coast IATSE crewmembers — including cinematographers, editors, costume designers and gaffers, among many other craftspeople — voted on a Basic Agreement contract deal, they narrowly rejected it in the popular vote. Amid an outcry over working conditions in 2021, 50.4 percent of voting members of IATSE’s West Coast Locals voted down their union’s tentative agreement. Still, the pact passed in a delegate vote, averting a strike. Tens of thousands of crewmembers have been working under its provisions ever since, with some unhappy with the 2021 ratification process, believing it undermined the will of the members.
STATE LEGISLATION
Collective bargaining measure for Denver employees delayed
Axios Denver
By Esteban L. Hernandez
July 9, 2024
A measure extending collective bargaining rights to thousands of city employees was delayed Monday after changes were made to the proposal's language. The big picture: Denver City Council members amended a measure they're seeking to place on the November ballot that, if approved by voters, would change the city charter to allow most city staff to collectively bargain for wages and other benefits. Why it matters: Approving the measure would give more city staff more ability to negotiate pay, benefits and working conditions.
IN THE STATES
Area labor leaders show their support as "Workers for Sherrod" tour comes to Lima
Hometown Stations
By Bethany Ulrick
July 8, 2024
As part of the statewide "Workers for Sherrod" tour, Lima UA Local 776 hosted labor leaders to talk about how Senator Brown's policies have helped families. He often works with Republicans on legislation aimed at improving the quality of life for Ohioans.
TV Ventriloquist April Brucker to Join "March on the RNC" Protest
WATE
By EIN Newswire
July 8, 2024
As a SAG-AFTRA member, Brucker was invited to march with the AFL-CIO Milwaukee Area Labor Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing education, legislative advocacy, publications, and labor activities for local union affiliates and their members.
EDUCATION
WHYY
By Stephen Williams
July 9, 2024
About a decade ago, Gemayel Keyes started his career as a bus attendant in the Philadelphia School District and later became a paraprofessional in the classroom. Today, Keyes is a special education teacher at Gilbert Spruance Elementary School in the city’s Northeast section. “I stumbled upon what I would find as my calling,” Keyes said.