Today's AFL-CIO press clips
POLITICS
Shuler slams GOP anti-worker ticket and their platform
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Aug. 1, 2024
Expanding on her prior attack on the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, and its extremist platform, formally Project 2025, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler directly contrasted the duo and the document with Democratic achievements for workers and labor’s strong support for the new Democratic front-runner, Vice President Kamala Harris. Shuler spoke against the background of increasing enthusiasm among union leaders and rank-and-file voters—union and non-union–for the substitution of Harris for incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden atop the party’s ticket this election year. The nation’s largest union, the independent 3-million-member National Education Association, endorsed Harris on July 31, the same day Shuler spoke. So did the United Auto Workers. Both endorsements free up union people power and voluntary campaign contributions for Harris. Shuler’s speech to the Illinois AFL-CIO Convention, at a unionized Crown Plaza Hotel in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, drew frequent applause. She praised Illinois as a national model for workers’ rights legislation, notably for inserting the right to organize and bargain into the state constitution.
Unions stage massive, enthusiastic zoom pep rally for Harris
People’s World
By Press Associates
Aug. 1, 2024
In what was advertised as a working session on labor’s plans for Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, union leaders turned a massive zoom call on election plans into an enthusiastic pep rally for the presumed Democratic presidential nominee instead. All reported not just their own endorsement of Harris but high enthusiasm and unity from the rank-and-file. “Our unity gives me a lot of optimism,” said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond. Harris “shares our values,” added AFSCME President Lee Saunders. Virtually every speaker advocated good old-fashioned precinct work. Shoe leather, door-knocking, phone-banking and one-on-one contacts—the tried and true campaign tactics labor does best—will win the election for Harris. Even if, as one speaker admitted, it means “difficult conversations” with often-skeptical colleagues and other voters.
LABOR AND TECHNOLOGY
Video game performers protest unregulated AI use at Warner Bros. Studios
The Washington Post
By Sarah Parvini and Kaitlyn Huamani
Aug. 1, 2024
More than 300 video game performers and Hollywood actors picketed in front of the Warner Bros. Studios building on Thursday to protest against what they call an unwillingness from top gaming companies to protect union voice actors and motion capture workers equally against the unregulated use of artificial intelligence. Standing before the crowd, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, said that AI has become the most challenging issue in many of the union’s negotiations. “We’ve made deals with the studios and streamers. We’ve made deals without a strike with the major record labels and with countless other employers, which provide for informed consent and fair compensation for our members,” he told The Associated Press. “And yet, for some reason, the video game companies refuse to do that and that’s what’s going to be their undoing.”
Striking video game actors hit picket lines over AI: ‘The human element is irreplaceable’
Los Angeles Times
By Christi Carras
Aug. 1, 2024
It was déjà vu in Burbank on Thursday as hundreds of striking video game actors carried picket signs and marched outside the Warner Bros. studio lot roughly a year after their film and TV colleagues did the same. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists held its first picket this week since calling a strike on behalf of some 2,600 performers doing voice acting and motion-capture work in the video game industry. The walkout began Friday after negotiations between the union and the video game companies broke down over concerns about artificial intelligence.
ORGANIZING
Philadelphia musicians aim to unionize at Arden Theatre
The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Peter Dobrin
Aug. 1, 2024
A group of musicians who perform at the Arden Theatre are seeking union representation. Philadelphia’s local 77 of the American Federation of Musicians has filed a request with the National Labor Relations Board for a union vote following a nod from a “supermajority” of musicians signing union cards, according to local 77 officials.
Detroit Webasto workers file for union election
Michigan Advance
By Jon King
Aug. 1, 2024
The United Auto Workers (UAW) said an “overwhelming majority” of the approximately 500 workers at the Webasto-Detroit plant have signed union authorization cards indicating their desire to form a union. “We know we need a voice at Webasto,” said Trina Towns, a Webasto worker who works in the Final Assembly department at the Detroit facility. “Webasto might try to scare us, but we are ready to stand strong. It’s time for us to have fairness and equality in our plant.”
Nurse case managers at St. Charles’ four hospitals vote to unionize, join Oregon Nurses Association
KTVZ
By KTVZ news sources
Aug. 1, 2024
Nurse case managers at St. Charles’ hospitals in Bend, Madras, Prineville and Redmond overwhelmingly voted to join the Oregon Nurses Association this week, the union announced Thursday. The 19 registered nurse case managers are joining ONA’s bargaining unit at St. Charles Bend, which currently represents more than 1,100 frontline nurses at St. Charles’ flagship hospital. The National Labor Relations Board, which oversees private sector union elections, certified RN case managers’ vote results on Monday.
JOINING TOGETHER
Conn Community Rallies Against Chartwells Firings
The College Voice
By Theo Andres
Aug. 1, 2024
In December of 2023, Connecticut College Dining workers began a campaign to unionize with Local 217 Unite Here, Connecticut’s hospitality workers union, citing concerns with low pay, overworking, expensive insurance, and low job security as conversations on outsourcing heightened at the end of the semester. After a petition demanding Interim President Leslie Wong to recognize the union gained over a thousand signatures, dining staff and union organizers held a rally on campus attended by hundreds of Conn students, staff, and community members. In January, Dining Services workers voted nearly unanimously to unionize.
NEGOTIATIONS & STRIKES
Hollywood Basic Crafts Overwhelmingly Ratify New Deal With Studios and Streamers
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny and Winston Cho
Aug. 1, 2024
Quelling fears of another strike in entertainment, Hollywood Basic Crafts coalition members on Thursday voted to ratify their unions’ new three-year deal with major studios and streamers. Each of the Basic Craft Locals saw overwhelming ratification by their respective memberships: LiUNA! Local 724 with 96 percent; IBEW Local 40 with 92 percent; OPCMIA Local 755 with 97 percent; UA Local 78 with 97 percent; Teamsters Local 399 with 96 percent of the Black Book Agreement (covering drivers, dispatchers, dot admins, chef assistants, animal trainers/ ranglers, mechanics); and Teamsters Local 399 with 98 percent of the Location Manager Agreement (covering location managers, key assistant location manager and assistant location managers).
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Announces New Labor Agreement with Union
City Beat
By Madeline Fening
Aug. 1, 2024
Musicians and management at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) announced a new five-year labor agreement on Thursday. Starting Sept. 9, the new agreement provides salary increases of 23% over the life of the contract, more flexible scheduling and “industry-leading audition and tenure practices,” according to a news release from the CSO. CSO president and CEO Jonathan Martin said in the release that the agreement with the American Federation of Musicians Local 1 reinforces CSO’s dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Boeing workers vote to authorize a strike
Northwest Labor Press
By Staff
Aug. 1, 2024
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) held a preliminary strike vote July 17 among workers at Boeing factories in the Puget Sound and Gresham, Oregon. The union contract with Boeing expires Sept. 12, at which point an estimated 34,000 workers could strike if a majority rejects a final company offer and two-thirds vote again to strike once they’ve seen the offer.
Minneapolis park workers vote 'overwhelmingly' to approve new contract
KARE 11
By David Griswold
Aug. 1, 2024
Minneapolis park workers approved a new contract Thursday, seemingly ending a contentious dispute between the workers' union and the park board. Workers with LIUNA Local 363, which represents more than 300 full-time and seasonal workers, voted "overwhelmingly" to approve the new contract. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) is now expected to approve the contract at its Aug. 7 meeting, closing the book on a strike that spanned 22 days.
How We Won a Historic Contract for Hotel Workers
Zocalo Public Square
By Alaink Kemple
Aug. 1, 2024
I work as a personal concierge at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, one of the most luxurious hotels in the world. The title that I hold—the first of its kind in the hotel industry and one that required special training—does not fully explain my job responsibilities. Unlike a typical concierge, I perform a wide range of tasks, including check-ins and check-outs but not limited to accounting, making special reservations and suggesting points of interest, helping guests with luggage, assisting with package and food deliveries, setting up room decor to celebrate special occasions, answering phones, and fulfilling all kinds of guest requests. Despite the different duties and training of the job, I was still compensated as a regular front desk agent.
Unionized Workers at Airport Businesses Could Strike Next Month
The Austin Chronicle
By Austin Sanders
Aug. 2, 2024
Yesenia Cornejo hoped she could take her two daughters to the beach this summer. A modest vacation that would give Cornejo, a single mother, relaxing time with her children – time she struggles to find working the long hours she needs to pay her family’s bills. But that vacation didn’t happen this year. Cornejo simply couldn’t afford it, despite regularly working overtime at her job at the Peached Tortilla located across from gate 16 at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. “I had to tell them we can’t go because I’m short on bills,” Cornejo said. “It’s hard working the whole time to support my family,” Cornejo added. “Sometimes I feel like I am losing my tie to my daughters. It’s hard on my heart.” That feeling – like she is constantly working but barely able to keep up with bills – is exhausting, Cornejo said. Without a pay increase, which Cornejo and her 400 co-workers who staff the concessions operated by Delaware North at the Austin airport are demanding, that situation is unlikely to change. Thus far, the company has not complied. That’s why, on Aug. 8, Cornejo and her unionized colleagues will take a vote to authorize a strike.
UC healthcare and service workers demand wage hike and housing aid
Los Angeles Times
By Veronica Roseborough
Aug. 1, 2024
Hundreds of UC healthcare and campus service workers converged in front of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center to picket during their lunch break Wednesday, demanding higher wages and investment in affordable housing solutions. The informational picket was one of five across the UC campuses organized by AFSCME Local 3299, which represents more than 30,000 workers, who are among the lowest-paid in the UC system. These union members are patient care technical workers, custodians, food service employees, security guards, secretaries and others who keep hospitals and campuses running behind the scenes.
Teamsters and Basic Crafts Unions Ratify Contracts
Variety
By Gene Maddaus
Aug. 1, 2024
The Teamsters and other Hollywood Basic Crafts unions announced Thursday that they have ratified their new contracts, which provide 7% wage increases across the board. The five unions — which collectively represent about 8,000 workers — reached a tentative deal on Saturday night with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
Majority of Aramark workers in Philadelphia reject latest contract proposal
6 ABC
By 6abc Digital Staff
July 31, 2024
Food service workers at the stadium complex in South Philadelphia were voting all day on Wednesday over Aramark's latest contract proposal. The union representing those workers says it does not expect the new proposal to pass, however. The union, Unite Here 274, says the latest offer is for a raise of 10 cents more per year than the company's last proposal. As of 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, officials say 98% of Aramark workers at Citizens Bank Park rejected the proposal. Another 98% of Aramark workers at Lincoln Financial Field also rejected it.
How World of Warcraft Devs Launched One of the Biggest Unions in Video Games
Wired
By Megan Farokhmanesh
Aug. 1, 2024
They started with fliers. The group of World of Warcraft developers at Activision Blizzard, determined to unionize, were testing the waters after Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition. Microsoft had pledged to honor a labor neutrality agreement, active 60 days after the deal’s close, that would allow workers to explore collective bargaining without fear. Even with that agreement on their side, developers were still nervous about even showing interest in a union, says Paul Cox, a senior quest designer who served on the union’s organizing committee. “Prior to [the agreement], we had a lot of people who were like, ‘I'm interested, but I'm really worried about retaliation. I am terrified about getting my name put anywhere.’” he adds.
IN THE STATES
Pittsburgh strikers’ right to picket affirmed, again, in court ruling
Pittsburgh Union Progress
By Ed Blazina
Aug. 1, 2024
The Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled that striking union workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette were legally allowed to picket on company property and did not violate labor law by conducting pickets on Pittsburgh’s South Side. The decision by a three-judge panel filed Wednesday is the latest in a string of legal losses by the company, which has been cited by the National Labor Relations Board for a series of unfair labor practices before and during a strike by five unions that began in October 2022.
Firefighters' union gets enough signatures to put collective bargaining to WF voters
Times Record News
By Lynn Walker
Aug. 1, 2024
Wichita Falls voters are likely to have the final word on collective bargaining for local firefighters. The Wichita Falls Professional Firefighters Association got enough valid signatures on petitions to put two related questions to voters. On Tuesday, Wichita Falls City Council members will vote on whether to authorize the measures for inclusion on the ballot for the Nov. 5 election.
Sens. Schumer and Gillibrand Announce Protections for DFAS Employees in Rome
WKTV
By Zach Lewis
Aug. 1, 2024
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand have secured protections for Defense Finance and Accounting Services employees in Rome against job displacement due to automation. The American Federation of Government Employees said that no job loss will occur because of automation. "The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union received a commitment from DFAS management that no DFAS employees in Rome will lose their jobs because of automation and that, as automation and the threat of job displacement accelerate, management will adopt 19 workforce training recommendations made by the AFGE president to retrain and upskill employees for new roles," according to a release from the Schumer's office.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
IBEW Local 43 volunteers at McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center for United Way Day of Caring
WSYR
By Laura Koch
Aug. 1, 2024
Statistics may paint a dark story for kids affected by abuse. Estimates say more than one in 10 kids will be abused before their 18th birthday. However, here in Syracuse, the McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center is working to do something about that, and hopefully turn the story around. Kate Thornton paid a visit to the center where folks from IBEW Local 43 spent the day volunteering. She spoke with Laura Serway, board president for the McMahon Ryan Center, as well as Patrick Harrington of IBEW Local 43.