Today's AFL-CIO Press Clips
MUST WATCH
C-SPAN
Aug. 19, 2024
This Election Is About Two Economic Visions. One Where Families Live Paycheck-To-Paycheck, Where People Have No Right To Join A Union, A C.E.O.'s Dream. But A Worker's Nightmare. Or, An Opportunity Economy. Where We Lower The Costs Of Groceries, Prescriptions And Housing. Where We Go After Big Pharma, Corporate Landlords And Price Gougers. Where There's No Such Thing As A Man's Job Or A Woman's Job Or Like Donald Trump Would Say A Black Job. Just A Good Union Job. That's The Future. Our President Joe Biden Has Fought For. And That's The Future Kamala Harris And Tim Walz Will Keep Fighting For. Let's Build It Together.
Union leaders say they are 'all-in' for Harris at the DNC
MSNBC
Aug. 19, 2024
Leaders from several unions, including IBEW, AFSCME, AFL-CIO and others, spoke at the Democratic National Convention to voice their support for Vice President Harris and her support for workers in America.
MUST READ
Presidents from 6 labor unions throw support behind Kamala Harris at DNC: Watch speech (Watch)
USA Today
By JJ Hensley
Aug. 19, 2024
Leaders from six of the largest labor unions in the U.S. were part of the group of speakers kicking off the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday. Most of the labor leaders spoke of their experiences working with Vice President Kamala Harris and the support their groups have enjoyed during the Biden-Harris administration. The Democratic National Committee convention is in Chicago through Thursday and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday is scheduled to formally accept the party's nomination for the 2024 Election. Who are they: Leaders from six different labor groups: Lee Saunders, President of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), April Verrett, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Brent Booker, General President of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), Kenneth W. Cooper, International President of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Claude Cummings Jr., President of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), Elizabeth H. Shuler, President of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).
POLITICS
Union leaders frame Harris as champion of the working class in Night 1 of DNC
ABC45
By Cory Smith
Aug. 20, 2024
Union leaders championed Vice President Kamala Harris as the choice for working class folks in a series of speeches on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention. “This election is about two economic visions,” said Liz Shuler, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, or AFL-CIO. Her union represents nearly 13 million American workers, she said.
Union Leaders Say Harris, Not Trump, Would Benefit Workers
The Wall Street Journal
By Staff
Aug. 20, 2024
A group of leaders representing some of the nation’s largest unions collectively appeared onstage in a show of support for Vice President Kamala Harris to chants of “Union yes.” As they took turns speaking, the leaders described Harris as a candidate who would be more friendly to unions than former President Donald Trump. Referring to Trump as “a president who didn’t care one bit what working people were going through,” AFSCME President Lee Saunders touted the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package that was designed to help lift the nation out of the Covid-19 pandemic. Others highlighted Harris’s role in unveiling policies to expand affordable broadband access to U.S. households. “She shares our vision for a modern-day labor movement,” said April Verrett, the president of SEIU, while adding that electing Harris would “usher in a new era of worker power.”
DNC Day 1: Harris makes surprise appearance on stage; Biden delivers speech uniting party
WCVB
By Matt Cudahy
Aug. 20, 2024
The crowd waved “UNION YES!” signs as the leaders spoke. Most union households have backed Democrats, helping the party win in key states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in 2020. Liz Shuler, head of the AFL-CIO, said that Trump’s plans were “a CEO’s dream, but a worker’s nightmare.”
Labor rallies around Walz as Harris’ VP pick
Labor Tribune
By Tim Rowden
Aug. 19, 2024
Following Vice President Kamala Harris’ selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, the AFL-CIO announced its enthusiastic support for the Harris–Walz ticket. Other unions quickly followed suit. “By selecting Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, Kamala Harris chose a principled fighter and Labor champion who will stand up for working people and strengthen this historic ticket,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “We know that Gov. Walz will be a strong partner in the Harris White House, fighting every day to improve the lives of workers in communities across America. Gov. Walz isn’t only an ally to the Labor Movement, but also our union brother with a deep commitment to a pro-worker agenda. “The Labor Movement stands united behind the Harris–Walz ticket, and we are ready to help lead the effort to defeat Donald Trump, JD Vance, and their anti-worker Project 2025 agenda in November.”
Union leaders speak at 2024 Democratic National Convention (Watch)
PBS
By Associated Press
Aug. 19, 2024
The crowd waved “UNION YES!” signs as the leaders spoke. Most union households have backed Democrats, helping the party win in key states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in 2020. Liz Shuler, head of the AFL-CIO, said that Trump’s plans were “a CEO’s dream, but a worker’s nightmare.”
Kamala Harris heads to DNC in Chicago with momentum and a big opportunity
USA Today
By Joey Garrison
Aug. 19, 2024
Riding a wave of momentum since announcing her candidacy, Vice President Kamala Harris heads to Chicago this week for the Democratic National Convention with an opportunity to reintroduce herself to unsure Americans and push Donald Trump further on defense less than three months before the election. More than any major party nominee in recent history, Harris' biography remains an unknown to many voters, having accepted the Democratic nomination without receiving a single primary vote or enduring the rigors of a long campaign.
Monday DNC speaker schedule released, as Dems look toward future with Kamala Harris
ABC 7 News
By ABC7 Chicago Digital Team
Aug. 19, 2024
The Democratic National Convention officially got underway Monday. The opening day of the convention is one where Democrats are clearly excited, as they gather together, focused on the task ahead, working to help Kamala Harris become the next president of the United States.
'Trump's a Scab' Chants Ring Out at DNC as Shawn Fain Rips Republican Nominee
Common Dreams
By Jake Johnson
Aug. 20, 2024
Fain was one of a number of union leaders who took the stage on the first night of the Democratic convention. Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler; Service Employees International Union president April Verrett; and Communications Workers of America president Claude Cummings also made an appearance in Chicago. "This election is about two economic visions," Shuler said in her remarks from the DNC stage. "One, where families live paycheck-to-paycheck, where people have no right to join a union: a CEO's dream, but a worker's nightmare." "Or," Shuler continued, "an opportunity economy, where we lower the costs of groceries, prescriptions, and housing; where we go after Big Pharma, corporate landlords, and price gougers; where there's no such thing as a man's job or a woman's job or, like Donald Trump would say, a black job. Just a good, union job."
Kamala Harris Takes Commanding Lead in Three Battleground States: Poll
Newsweek
By Flynn Nicholls
Aug. 19, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris has taken a significant lead over former President Donald Trump in three key battleground states, according to a new poll. The poll shows Harris leading Trump by more than the margin of error in three of seven competitive states in the 2024 election: Michigan (51 percent to 44 percent), Wisconsin (50 percent to 44 percent) and Nevada (48 percent to 44 percent).
Harris proposes raising the corporate tax rate to 28%, rolling back a Trump law
NBC News
By Sahil Kapur
Aug. 19, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris is calling for raising the corporate tax rate to 28%, her first major proposal to raise revenues and finance expensive plans she wants to pursue as president. Harris campaign spokesman James Singer told NBC News that she would push for a 28% corporate tax rate, calling it “a fiscally responsible way to put money back in the pockets of working people and ensure billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share.”
Harris clinched the nomination in 16 days — the fastest in more than three decades
NPR
By Hilary Fung and Elena Moore
Aug. 19, 2024
The Democratic Party officially nominated Vice President Harris on Aug. 5. It came just two weeks after President Biden dropped out of the race and Harris took over the ticket. On top of a historically short rise to the nomination, Harris' candidacy comes extremely late in the presidential campaign.
Kamala Harris' nomination ignites local organizers to rally Black voters
Reuters
By Bianca Flowers, Disha Raychaudhuri, Gabriella Borter and Allende Miglietta
Aug. 19. 2024
Black grassroots organizers are kicking off multi-state bus tours and raising millions of dollars for voter engagement and mobilization efforts in key battleground states, in hopes of helping secure Vice President Kamala Harris' White House bid ahead of the November presidential election. Reuters spoke with more than a dozen groups that are ramping up get-out-the-vote efforts through digital organizing, door-knocking, and targeting low-propensity voters in swing states.
The DNC spotlights Black leaders who set the stage for Kamala Harris’ run
NPR
By Alana Wise and Jaclyn Diaz
Aug. 19, 2024
Democrats will make history this week in nominating Vice President Kamala Harris as their choice for president — the first Black woman and Asian-American to secure the nomination in the party’s nearly 200-year-old history. Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison and convention chair Minyon Moore, who are both Black, kicked off the event with remarks spotlighting past Black leaders who set the stage for Harris’ run. “Every convention is a moment. It’s a moment that contributes to our movement,” he said, praising activist Fannie Lou Hamer and the first woman to run for president as a Democrat, Shirley Chisholm.
Kamala Harris begins standard planning for presidential transition
CNN
By Edward-Isaac Dovere
Aug. 19, 2024
Kamala Harris filed paperwork Monday morning to begin planning for a potential presidential transition – a standard move for a non-incumbent candidate but also another measure of her rushed campaign launch. Former President Donald Trump announced his own transition committee last week. To lead the effort, CNN has learned that Harris is tapping the same person who ran the process for Joe Biden four years ago: Yohannes Abraham, the current Indonesia-based US ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Abraham and Harris worked together closely on the last transition and then when he was the first chief of staff to the National Security Council under Biden. Abraham will not start the transition work until he leaves the State Department. He is expected to leave his ambassador job soon and move back to Washington.
Kamala Harris makes a surprise appearance on the first night of the DNC
NPR
By Jaclyn Diaz
Aug. 19, 2024
Kamala Harris took the stage for a surprise appearance at the first night of the DNC. Harris addressed the crowd and the raucous applause saying she wanted to kick off the convention by paying tribute to President Biden. She thanked him for his "historic leadership" and his lifelong service to the country. "We are forever grateful to you," she said. The crowd roared with excitement, chanting, "When we fight, we win," in response to Harris.
Biden urges voters to elect Harris in order to ‘preserve democracy’ in hopeful speech
The Guardian
By Joan E. Greve
Aug. 20, 2024
Just one month after making the historic choice to withdraw from the presidential race, Joe Biden took the stage at the Democratic national convention on Monday to deliver a reflective and optimistic address, urging the nation to elect Kamala Harris to protect American democracy. Looking back on his one and only presidential term, Biden reminded Americans that he took office just two weeks after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, when the country was still in the early grips of the coronavirus pandemic. “Yet, I believe then and I believe now, that progress was and is possible. Justice is achievable, and our best days are not behind us. They’re before us,” Biden said. “With a grateful heart, I stand before you now on this August night to report that democracy has prevailed. Democracy has delivered, and now democracy must be preserved.”
Union leaders frame Harris as champion of the working class in Night 1 of DNC
Fox31
By Cory Smith
Aug. 19, 2024
Union leaders championed Vice President Kamala Harris as the choice for working class folks in a series of speeches on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention. “This election is about two economic visions,” said Liz Shuler, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, or AFL-CIO. Her union represents nearly 13 million American workers, she said.
UAW’s Shawn Fain Blasts ‘Scab’ Trump In DNC Speech
HuffPost
By Dave Jamieson
Aug. 19, 2024
Labor leaders sent a message loud and clear on the opening day Monday of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago: Unions stand behind Vice President Kamala Harris in her quest to keep former President Donald Trump out of the White House. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain summed up the sentiment when he removed his blazer while speaking onstage, revealing a red T-shirt that read: “Trump is a scab. Vote Harris.”
Fain rails against Stellantis over idled assembly plant at Democratic National Convention
The Detroit News
By Grant Schwab
Aug. 19, 2024
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain used a primetime Monday speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention to go after Stellantis NV, railing against the automaker for going back on commitments it made during intense labor negotiations during a UAW strike in 2023. "Let me be clear, Stellantis must keep the promises they made to America in our union contract," he said. "And the UAW will take whatever action necessary at Stellantis or any other corporation to stand up and hold corporate America accountable."
What does ‘scab' mean? The viral T-shirt worn by a DNC speaker explained
NBC Chicago
By NBC Chicago Staff
Aug. 19, 2024
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain wore a t-shirt during his address to the DNC Monday that is setting social media on fire, but what does it mean? The shirt, which he wore under his jacket during his address, contained the phrase “Trump is a scab. Vote Harris.” His rhetoric echoed that sentiment, as he called former President Donald Trump a “scab” and praised Vice President Kamala Harris as a champion of the working class. But what does the term “scab” mean? According to the Huffington Post, a “scab” is a worker who declines to join a union, but it’s also an individual who crosses a picket line during a strike.
Joe Biden’s exit, talk of the glass ceiling, a nod to Gaza protesters. Takeaways from DNC’s Day 1
AP
By Will Weissert and Nicholas Riccardi
Aug. 20, 2024
The Democratic National Convention ‘s first night showcased speeches from the last Democrat to lose to Donald Trump and the last one to beat him. Hillary Clinton spoke hopefully of finally breaking the “glass ceiling” to elect a female president. Joe Biden laced into Trump and directly acknowledged the concerns of protesters against the war in Gazawho demonstrated a few blocks from the convention hall. Here are some takeaways from the first night of the convention.
LABOR AND TECHNOLOGY
Why video game performers want their work protected from AI
Fast Company
By Associated Press
Aug. 19, 2024
Video game performers say they fear AI could reduce or eliminate job opportunities because the technology could be used to replicate one performance into a number of other movements without their consent. That’s a concern that led the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists to go on strike in late July. “If motion-capture actors, video-game actors in general, only make whatever money they make that day … that can be a really slippery slope,” said Dalal, who portrayed Bode Akuna in “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.” “Instead of being like, ‘Hey, we’re going to bring you back’ … they’re just not going to bring me back at all and not tell me at all that they’re doing this. That’s why transparency and compensation are so important to us in AI protections.”
ORGANIZING
AFL-CIO president Shuler: focus is on Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina for organizing
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Aug. 19, 2024
The AFL-CIO is sending dozens of new organizers to live and work full-time in aiding workers in the deep South states of Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina as part of its drive to add a million new members, net, within the next several years, federation President Liz Shuler says. In a brief interview at a reception in Chicago just before the Democratic National Convention opened there, Shuler listed several reasons for the emphasis. “We feel unions are taking root there” despite the decades-long hate of unions by the Southern ruling class of both corporate heads and politicians, she said. Shuler also noted it’s ripe for organizing, as the fastest-growing, but also the poorest, U.S. region.
NEGOTIATIONS & STRIKES
UAW threatens to strike over Stellantis' alleged delay in reopening of Belvidere plant
CBS News
By Sara Powers
Aug. 19, 2024
The United Auto Workers union says it's preparing to file grievances and potentially strike after claiming Stellantis hasn't kept contract commitments regarding reopening the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois. The Belvidere plant was idled in 2023, but in last year's contract, the automaker committed to reopening the facility, which would include the production of midsized trucks, according to a release from the UAW. "This company made a commitment to autoworkers at Stellantis in our union contract, and we intend to enforce that contract to the full extent," UAW President Shawn Fain said in the release. "On behalf of autoworkers everywhere, we're standing up against a company that wants to go back on its commitments and drive a race to the bottom at the expense of the American worker."
UAW workers at Stellantis could strike over Illinois plant reopening
Reuters
By David Shepardson
Aug. 19, 2024
The United Auto Workers union announced on Monday a number of its local units representing workers at Stellantis (STLAM.MI), opens new tab are preparing to file grievances and could launch a nationwide strike, saying the automaker is not honoring production commitments. The UAW said the locals represent tens of thousands of workers and the dispute is over agreements the union said Stellantis made in 2023 as part of a new labor agreement.
17,000 AT&T workers across Georgia and 8 other states strike over contract negotiations
WABE
By Rebecca Rosman
Aug. 19, 2024
More than 17,000 AT&T workers across the Southeast are on strike after accusing company management of “unfair labor practices” during recent contract negotiations. A statement released Friday by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) — the union representing the striking employees — said AT&T did not bargain in good faith and sent negotiators who didn’t have any authority to make decisions. “Our union entered into negotiations in a good faith effort to reach a fair contract, but we have been met at the table by company representatives who were unable to explain their own bargaining proposals and did not seem to have the actual bargaining authority required by the legal obligation to bargain in good faith,” said CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt.
UAW workers strike at Cornell as undergrads arrive, contract negotiations continue
Ithaca Journal
By Jacob Mack
Aug. 19 2024
United Automobile Workers 2300 and its negotiations with Ithaca’s own Ivy-League University, Cornell came to a head over the weekend as collective bargaining and a worker strike is threatening school services during what has been historically some of the most hectic days of the year for Ithaca locals and visitors alike. The cause? A lapsed labor contract for more than 1,200 university groundskeepers, cooks, custodians, and other workers at the university, which the UAW claims, should be doing more for them than what they’re being offered by the university today. UAW 2300 officially staged a worker's strike beginning Monday at the university after receiving numerous offers from the university that would increase union pay packages, and community members including Ithaca officials showed in support of the union group Sunday evening on Pine Tree Road, as the groups most recent “deadline” to the university came to a close.
Deadline
By Katie Campione
Aug. 19, 2024
The Animation Guild is heading back to the bargaining table in September after concluding a week of scheduled negotiations without making a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. In a memo on Monday, IATSE Local 839 said that, after both parties countered several times last week, they are still “far apart” on several key issues. The negotiating committee has voted to extend the current contract through September 20 to accommodate one additional week of bargaining, set to begin on September 16.
Mission Hospital's nurse union gearing up for strike vote
WLOS
By Marisa Sardonia
Aug. 19, 2024
Mission Hospital's nurse union with National Nurses United has announced a strike vote date on their social media accounts. Starting on Sunday, Aug. 25, nurses will weigh in over four days on their intent to strike.
UAW Local 2300 goes on strike at Cornell University, as deadline passes
CNY Central
By Brandon Ladd
Aug. 19, 2024
UAW Local 2300 is on strike as of Monday, August 19, after the deadline to negotiate a new labor deal with Cornell University passed. The labor union, which represents nearly 1,200 employees of Cornell University held a rally on the campus on Sunday, as the 10 p.m. deadline loomed. UAW International Union posted this message on its organization's Facebook page, "UAW Local 2300 is now on strike! Cornell University is sitting on a $10 billion endowment while its workers can barely make ends meet. Cornell has no one to blame but themselves." According to the union’s website, they are calling for higher wages, cost of living adjustments and safer working conditions.
Fred Meyer workers in Portland authorize strike
Supermarket News
By Bill Wilson
Aug. 19, 2024
While the union that represents thousands of grocery workers continues to negotiate a new contract with Fred Meyer this week, a strike in Portland, Ore., is a real possibility. The 4,500 workers voted to authorize a strike and are accusing the grocer of unfair labor practices. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 555 also said Kroger, which owns Fred Meyer, released a misleading statement that Fred Meyer had delivered on promised raises for employees.
Richmond hotel workers secure 30% wage increase, end strike
Richmond News
By Maria Rantanen
Aug. 19, 2024
Workers at a Richmond hotel have ratified a new contract after walking the picket lines for 14 months. Unite Here Local 40, the union representing the workers at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport, announced the deal on Monday, saying it gives all workers a 30.5 per cent wage increase. The new contract gives workers a living wage and “stronger economic security,” the union said in its announcement. The deal includes return-to-work bonuses, an increase in banquet workers’ gratuities as well as “transparency and other tip protections,” the union said.
Unionized Omni Hotel workers march for rights in New Haven
WTNH
By Joseph Wenzel
Aug. 19, 2024
Workers at the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale marched through the rain Sunday to rally for a fair contract. UNITE HERE, the union representing 120 workers, says it has been negotiating for months, asking for raises, better workloads, and certain protections. The workers include housekeepers, front desk agents, kitchen staff, and more at the hotel. Dozens of employees with signs rallied outside the hotel, yelling chants on Sunday afternoon. The group says they will strike if a fair contract is not reached.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Statue of John Lewis Replaces a Confederate Memorial in Georgia
The New York Times
By Amanda Holpuch
Aug. 18, 2024
A statue of John Lewis, the civil rights leader and congressman, was installed on Friday in front of a Georgia county courthouse in a space occupied for more than 100 years by a Confederate memorial. The 12-foot-tall bronze statue was placed in front of the DeKalb County Courthouse in Decatur, Ga., which was part of the congressional district that Mr. Lewis represented for 17 consecutive terms. For years, activists pushed for the Confederate memorial, a 30-foot stone obelisk that had stood in the same spot as the new statue, to be removed. In 2019, a plaque was installed that said the memorial promoted white supremacy and the obelisk was removed in 2020. Before Mr. Lewis, a Democrat, was elected to Congress, he had risked his life for the civil rights movement. He was one of the original 13 Freedom Riders who rode buses across the South in 1961 to protest segregation on public transportation and was a founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which coordinated sit-ins.
Southern Illinois Builders Association summer camp for skilled trades greeted enthusiastically
Labor Tribune
By Elizabeth Donald
Aug. 19, 2024
They might be in high school, but last month they got their hands on actual wiring in practice for the skilled trades. The Southern Illinois Builders Association (SIBA) launched its summer camp for skilled trades in late July, bringing high school students to the various building trades locals in Metro East Illinois for hands-on experience. “Skilled trades offer a wealth of employment opportunities for our youth,” said Donna Richter, CEO of SIBA. “By providing these students with real-world experiences, we hope to ignite a passion for careers that are not only rewarding, but also essential to our community’s infrastructure and growth.” Each day the students were bused to different schools to try their hands at skilled trades, courtesy of the Southern Illinois Construction Advancement Program. Participating groups included Boilermakers Local 363, Bricklayers Local 8, Operating Engineers Local 520, Electricians Local 309, Ironworkers Local 392, Sheet Metal Workers 268 Steamfitters Local 439 and Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council.