Today's AFL-CIO Press Clips
POLITICS
Tim Walz addresses Women's Caucus at the DNC
Illinois Times
By David Blanchette
Aug. 20, 2024
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler fired up the delegates with references to what the Republican Party is saying about the Harris-Walz ticket. "We have women of every background here, including cat lady workers," Shuler said. "This city right now is J.D. Vance's worst nightmare."
"Freedom is earning the same salary as a man for doing the same job, and reproductive rights is a freedom issue and a labor issue," Shuler said. "It's about time we put a working woman in the White House."
Sen. Peters, Teamsters praise Harris for supporting union workers (Watch)
NBC News
By Staff
Aug. 20, 2024
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., praised Vice President Kamala Harris for her work supporting union jobs and bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. Kenneth Stribling, president of the National United Committee to Protect Pensions, highlighted Harris’ work to save retirement funds.
Kamala Harris eyes guardrails on plan to eliminate taxes on tips
The Washington Post
By Jacob Bogage and Jeff Stein
Aug. 20, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris is considering limits on her proposal to end the taxation of tips, exploring new details for her version of an idea first pushed by her Republican rival, former president Donald Trump. Harris’s advisers have discussed only exempting taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers who earn $75,000 per year or less, according to three people familiar with the campaign’s thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. While the plan would exempt tips from federal income tax, tipped earnings would still be subject to payroll taxes, the people said, because those taxes fund Social Security and Medicare. Harris’s plan would also cap the amount of income workers could claim came from tips. The internal discussions about these potential guardrails — which have not been finalized and may still become part of Harris’s public proposals during the campaign — reflect a desire among Democratic experts to refine a policy idea many of them criticized when Trump introduced it in June.
Biden passes the torch to Harris on first night of DNC
The Washington Post
By Yasmeen Abutaleb and Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
Aug. 20, 2024
In one of his last major appearances before he leaves office in five months, President Joe Biden formally passed the torch to his vice president, Kamala Harris, as a packed convention hall screamed and chanted in adulation for a prolonged stretch as he took the stage Monday night. For about five minutes after Biden appeared just before 11:30 p.m. Eastern time, thousands of delegates and supporters cheered for him in a show of thanks for the decades he has served in public office. Convention organizers handed out “We love Joe” signs before the president’s speech, which the crowd held up and chanted in addition to “Thank you, Joe.”
In biggest speech of her career, Harris hopes to tell her story first
The Washington Post
By Tyler Pager
Aug. 20, 2024
When Harris takes the stage at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night, she will aim to introduce herself to a nation that remains largely unfamiliar with her life story, people briefed her speech preparation said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential process. With her lightning-fast ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket, Harris has not faced the usual array of primaries and debates during which voters get to know a presidential nominee, and a major goal of Thursday’s speech is to help fill that gap.
Kamala Harris to hold campaign rally, DNC watch party in Milwaukee Tuesday
WISN
By Hannah Hilyard and Erica Finke
Aug. 20, 2024
he Harris-Walz campaign is taking advantage of the Democratic National Convention's close proximity to battleground Wisconsin. The two at the top of the ticket are stepping away from the major event in Chicago on Tuesday to hold a rally inside Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum. Preparations for the event began Monday afternoon with fencing and tents being installed outside of the arena.
DNC 2024 Live Updates: Barack Obama Makes the Case for Electing Harris
The Wall Street Journal
By Staff
Aug. 21, 2024
In the final speech of the night, Former President Barack Obama made the case for electing Vice President Kamala Harris to the nation’s highest office. He warned Democrats to brace for a tough fight with Donald Trump, while also calling for them to bring down the political temperature. The former president was introduced by his wife and former first lady Michelle Obama.
Harris speaks from a rally in Wisconsin after DNC roll call in Chicago (Watch)
CNN
By Staff
Aug. 20, 2024
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris spoke to the crowd attending the Democratic National Convention in Chicago from a campaign rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
What to Expect at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago
The New York Times
By Jonathan Weisman
Aug. 20, 2024
After President Biden closed the first night of the Democratic National Convention with a fiery speech, Democrats on Tuesday will turn their attention to his potential successor Vice President Kamala Harris, whose husband, Doug Emhoff, will address the gathering. But first, the party and the convention’s host city of Chicago will hear from a favorite son, former President Barack Obama, and the state’s top official, Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois.
In 2016, Obama Passed a Baton. Tonight, He’ll Aim to Resurrect a Movement.
The New York Times
By David E. Sanger
Aug. 20, 2024
But Mr. Obama’s mission on Tuesday evening will be far larger than what he sought to accomplish in 2016. Then, he was handing off a baton, with the strength of the presidency behind him. This time, it will be his job to resurrect, and then reassemble, the kind of movement that propelled him to the White House. And after President Biden’s farewell speech to the party on Monday, it is Mr. Obama’s job to separate Ms. Harris from the Biden years, while making the case that she was central enough to the Biden administration to slip seamlessly into the job — essentially the argument he made about Mrs. Clinton’s role in his own administration. And then he must seek to transfer to Ms. Harris the sense of endless horizons that surrounded his own first run for the presidency.
5 takeaways from the Democratic convention, Biden’s speech on Day 1
The Washington Post
By Aaron Blake
Aug. 20, 2024
But a comment Trump made last week on the subject led to one of the biggest rallying cries Monday night. And it would seem likely to feature plenty moving forward. During an X event last week, Trump praised Elon Musk for firing striking workers. United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain spoke Monday night and unveiled a red T-shirt that read, “Trump is a scab. Vote Harris.” The crowd responded by lustily chanting, “Trump’s a scab! Trump’s a scab!” Ocasio-Cortez spoke right after Fain and called Trump “a two-bit union buster.”
At Democratic Convention, UAW head threatens strike against Stellantis over delayed plant reopening
ABC News
By Tom Krisher
Aug. 20, 2024
A high-profile spat between the United Auto Workers and Stellantis over reopening an Illinois factory complex has made its way into the race for U.S. president and could elicit a strike against the automaker. In a speech at the Democratic National Convention Monday night, union President Shawn Fain accused the company of reneging on promises to restart a now-closed assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, just over an hour northwest of Chicago. The union won the reopening in contract talks last fall after a six-week strike at multiple factories run by Jeep and Ram maker Stellantis, as well as General Motors, and Ford. “Let me be clear. Stellantis must keep the promises they made to America in our union contract,” Fain told the crowd at the Chicago convention. “The UAW will take whatever action necessary at Stellantis or any other corporation to stand up and hold corporate America accountable,” he said, clearly referring to the possibility of a strike.
Schumer pledges to end cap on SALT deductions after 2025
The Hill
By Alexander Bolton
Aug. 20, 2024
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago Tuesday that he will not allow the Trump-era cap on state and local tax deductions to continue after its scheduled expiration at the end of next year. Former President Trump and his Republican allies in Congress inserted a provision in the 2017 tax reform bill to cap state and local tax deductions at $10,000. That provision hit residents of expensive blue states such as New York, New Jersey and California with higher state and local taxes especially hard, but it raised a lot of revenue to offset the cost of Trump’s other proposals, such as cutting the corporate tax rate from 28 percent to 21 percent.
Mallory McMorrow at DNC calls Project 2025 conservative plan for a Trump dictatorship
Detroit Free Press
By Clara Hendrickson
Aug. 20, 2024
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, walked onstage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with a prop: A giant book featuring the cover of Project 2025, a playbook for the next conservative presidential administration. McMorrow slammed the book on the podium. "This is Project 2025," she said, prompting boos from the crowd of Democrats. "And whatever you think it is, it is so much worse."
Obama made his DNC debut 20 years ago. He’s returning to make the case for Kamala Harris
AP News
By Bill Barrow
Aug. 20, 2024
Speaking in his political hometown of Chicago, the nation’s first Black president will honor President Joe Biden’s legacy after his exit from the campaign while making the case for another historic figure, Vice President Kamala Harris. It’s poised to be a significant moment as she takes on former President Donald Trump in a matchup that features the same cultural and ideological fissures Obama warned against two decades ago.
In Chicago, Democrats Are Newly Hopeful They Can Win the Fight for Congress
The New York Times
By Catie Edmondson and Carl Hulse
Aug. 20, 2024
When Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, huddled for a few moments between events in a congested back hallway in a hotel on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention, they could barely contain their ebullience. Mr. Walz said the remarkable brightening of their party’s mood in just the few weeks since President Biden announced he was dropping out of the presidential race was continuing, seemingly unabated. “They keep talking about a sugar high,” Mr. Walz said, “but it keeps rolling.” Mr. Schumer said he was receiving a hero’s welcome at restaurants in Chicago, with diners pausing to applaud him in what he read as a sign that they were newly hopeful that Democrats could prevail in November. “There’s a giant sigh of relief that, ‘Hey, we’re going to win this thing,’” Mr. Schumer said.
Harris and Walz rally in Milwaukee, chasing key votes during convention
The Washington Post
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Aug. 20, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz took a detour from Chicago to rally with more than 15,000 supporters here Tuesday in an effort to channel the momentum from the Democratic National Convention into votes in a critical battleground state.
Kamala Harris pushes for economic fairness, reproductive rights in Milwaukee
WISN
By Amy Fleury and Mariana La Roche
Aug. 20, 2024
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz left Chicago Tuesday to hold a Milwaukee rally during the Democratic National Convention. With the roll call livestreamed from the DNC in Chicago to a packed Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Harris formally accepted the party nomination. "Coach Walz and I have been nominated to be the next vice president and president of the United States," Harris said. The vice president emphasized affordable health care, child care, housing, and paid leave. She focused on building an opportunity economy, tackling pharmaceutical costs, and improving health care access, while supporting middle-class families.
Obamas close DNC’s second night with rousing Harris endorsement and pointed warnings about Trump
AP News
By Zeke Miller, Steve Peoples and Jonathan J. Cooper
Aug. 21, 2024
Warning of a difficult fight ahead, former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama on Tuesday called on the nation to embrace Kamala Harris in urgent messages to the Democratic National Convention that were at times both hopeful and ominous. “America, hope is making a comeback,” the former first lady declared. She then tore into Republican Donald Trump, a sharp shift from the 2016 convention speech in which she told her party, “When they go low, we go high.”
JFK’s and Jimmy Carter’s grandsons say Harris continues the former presidents’ legacies
Los Angeles Times
By Seema Mehta
Aug. 20, 2024
The scions of two Democratic presidents on Tuesday cast Vice President Kamala Harris as the natural White House candidate to carry on the legacies of John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter. “The torch has been passed to a new generation, to a leader who shares my grandfather’s energy, vision and optimism for our future,” said Schlossberg, 31. “That leader is Vice President Kamala Harris. Jason Carter, 49, compared his ailing grandfather’s humility to Harris’ values. “For my grandfather, it was never about fame, recognition, accolades or awards. His legacy is measured by the lives he has touched and the good he has done,” Carter said. “Kamala Harris carries my grandfather’s legacy. She knows what is right, and she fights for it. She understands that leadership is about service, not selfishness, that you can show strength and demonstrate decency, and that you can get a whole lot more done with a smile than with a scowl.”
NEGOTIATIONS & STRIKES
Culinary Union announces tentative labor agreement with Venetian, Palazzo
Las Vegas Review-Journal
By Staff
Aug. 20, 2024
The Culinary Union said Tuesday it has reached a tentative labor agreement with The Venetian and Palazzo. It is the first union contract with the casino-resorts, the union said.
Alabama AT&T workers go on strike
Alabama Political Reporter
By Alex Jobin
Aug. 20, 2024
On Friday, AT&T workers in Alabama joined fellow Communications Workers of America members in a strike across the Southeast that includes roughly 17,000 employees. Following the expiration of their previous 5-year contract earlier this month, negotiations between the CWA and AT&T have broken down, with the CWA alleging that the corporation has not been negotiating in good faith — supposedly sending representatives to bargain without any actual intention or ability to do so.
Venetian Las Vegas reaches tentative deal with workers for first union contract
News 3 LV
By Matthew Seeman
Aug. 20, 2024
The Venetian Resort has agreed to its first union contract with more than 4,000 hospitality workers. The Culinary Union announced that a tentative agreement was reached Tuesday morning for workers at The Venetian and Palazzo. A contract ratification vote will be scheduled soon, according to a union spokesperson. Culinary and Venetian leadership reached an agreement in June last year for"card check neutrality." That meant the resort would not take a position as employees explored possible unionization.
Las Vegas hospitality workers at Venetian reach tentative deal on first-ever union contract
AP News
By Rio Yamat
Aug. 20, 2024
Thousands of hospitality union workers on the Las Vegas Strip have reached a tentative deal with the Venetian and Palazzo resorts, a first for employees at the sprawling Italian-inspired complex that opened 25 years ago and quickly became a Sin City landmark. The Culinary Workers Union announced Tuesday on the social platform X that the deal came together around 6:30 a.m. after a year of negotiations. It covers over 4,000 hotel and casino workers, from housekeepers and cocktail servers to bartenders and porters.
UFCW members vote to strike at Portland Fred Meyer stores
KGW 8
By Christopher Bjorke
Aug. 20, 2024
Portland-area Fred Meyer employees voted to authorize a strike over alleged unfair labor practices during contract negotiations. The members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 gave "overwhelming support" to a strike plan in voting last week, according to the union.
17,000 AT&T workers in Southeast strike over contract negotiations
ABC News
By The Associated Press
Aug. 20, 2024
More than 17,000 AT&T workers in nine states across the Southeast are on strike after accusing the company of unfair labor practices during contract negotiations this summer. The Communications Workers of America — the union representing the striking employees — said workers walked off the job Friday in response to AT&T’s failure to bargain in good faith. Workers have been attempting to reach a new contract since June. The labor organization said AT&T did not send representatives to the bargaining table who had authority to make decisions and that the company has reneged on agreements made in bargaining.
University of Alaska and graduate student union reach three-year contract
The Northern Light
By Rachel Musselwhite
Aug. 20, 2024
A new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the University of Alaska and the Alaska Graduate Workers Association-UAW Union (AGWA-UAW) took effect on July 1. This is the first time the University of Alaska and AGWA have negotiated a CBA. The agreement comes less than a year after University of Alaska graduate student employees voted to form a union.
Hospital strike vote imminent after majority of Mission nurses pledge support
Asheville Watchdog
By Andrew R. Jones
Aug. 19, 2024
Nursing leaders at Asheville’s Mission Hospital said they have all the pledges needed to call for a strike vote next week, increasing the likelihood of a significant labor action at the HCA Healthcare-owned facility. Local nursing representatives said Friday that more than 800 of the approximately 1,600 registered nurses, including members of the Mission Hospital United union and non-union members, signed pledges agreeing to vote on a possible strike at the Asheville hospital, the only Level II trauma center in western North Carolina.
NLRB
NLRB seeks to prosecute Auto-Chlor
The Stand
By Staff
Aug. 20, 2024
The Regional office of the National Labor Relations Board is undertaking litigation seeking prosecution of Auto-Chlor management related to unlawful treatment of employees, per the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the union that has been assisting these workers in their organizing drive for over two years. Throughout the process, it is alleged that Auto-Chlor engaged in certain illegal acts including discrimination, mistreatment, interrogation, threats, surveillance, maintaining unlawful work rules, and denying its employees union representation when requested.
IN THE STATES
Coalition of Ohio unions launch statewide tour to support Brown in close U.S. Senate race
WYSO
By Karen Kasler
Aug. 20, 2024
A coalition of Ohio labor unions is hitting the road this week to support Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown – and to draw attention to their concerns about his Republican opponent, Trump-endorsed northeast Ohio businessman Bernie Moreno. While it's likely Ohio will end up choosing former president Donald Trump, the U.S. Senate race is likely to be close. While union membership is down slightly in Ohio, unions will be among those groups weighing in to influence working Ohioans. The Ohio AFL-CIO's bus tour will highlight wage theft lawsuits that Moreno settled with former employees, his stated opposition to a minimum wage and other union concerns. Mike Knisley with the Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council, which is part of the AFL-CIO, said Brown's support for the bipartisan infrastructure law and the $280 billion law that Intel pushed for as it builds a huge manufacturing plant outside Columbus makes him the clear choice.
U.S. Steel, United Steelworkers make cases in arbitration
WPXI
By Paul J. Gough
Aug. 20, 2024
The grievance filed by United Steelworkers against United States Steel Corp. alleging violations of its basic labor agreement in the $14.9 billion proposed sale to Nippon Steel is in the hands of arbitrators. The Pittsburgh-based union, which represents about 10,000 U.S. Steel employees, filed the grievances in January, about a month after the Dec. 18 sale announcement by U.S. Steel after several months of a bidding process. United Steelworkers said the sale to Nippon Steel violates the union’s rights regarding change of control under the four-year Basic Labor Agreement signed in 2022. United Steelworkers in particular has said U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) violated the successorship clause in the deal with Nippon Steel.