Today's AFL-CIO press clips
EDITOR'S NOTE: A story from the website cross-posted in Forward Kentucky is in today's Press Clips. It is in the Politics section.
POLITICS
Harris, Biden share the stage, and an agenda, at Pittsburgh Labor Day appearance with union members
WVIA
By Chris Potter
Sept. 3, 2024
AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler, riffing on contentious remarks made about childless women by Trump running mate JD Vance, said the Democrats could bring about “a future where they don’t call us working woman ‘childless cat ladies.’ They call us ‘Madam President.’” Shuler and several other speakers also touted Biden and Harris for shepherding through the Butch Lewis Act, a 2021 bill that rescued union pensions from insolvency.
Kamala Harris vows to protect workers' rights at Detroit rally on Labor Day
Detroit Free Press
By Clara Hendrickson
Sept. 2, 2024
If elected, Harris has repeatedly said she would make building up the middle class a key aim of her presidency. It's an economic message Dwan McGrady, 55, of Detroit, who attended the Harris event, said the vice president should continue to focus on as she tries to shore up support for her campaign. McGrady is a special needs preschool teacher with Detroit Public Schools Community District and a Harris supporter who said having a pro-union president is very important to her and said on that front, Harris stands in stark contrast to Trump.
Harris and Biden make pro-labor pitch on Labor Day in Pittsburgh
ABC News
ByFritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Will McDuffie, Selina Wang, Nicholas Kerr and Emily Chang
Sept. 2, 2024
In their first joint campaign event since the Democratic convention, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris celebrated Labor Day by addressing a packed Pittsburgh union hall Monday night. The pair delivered informal remarks as part of the campaign’s Labor Day blitz around the country, making a concerted effort to court union workers ahead of the November election. As attendees wore shirts with phrases like “Pittsburgh Proud, Union Strong,” Biden and Harris touted their pro-labor record in office and contrasted it with former President Donald Trump’s. “It’s good to be in the house of labor,” Harris said, heaping praise on Biden for his commitment to protecting unions. “Joe Biden has always stood with the workers of America and labor unions of America. Always, always," she added.
Vice President Kamala Harris, Tim Walz to visit Pittsburgh this week
CBS News
By Mike Darnay
Sept. 3, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris is coming back to Pittsburgh this week while her running mate Tim Walz barnstorms Pennsylvania. Thursday's visit will come just days after being in town for a Labor Day campaign event alongside President Biden. It was their first joint campaign event since Biden dropped out of the presidential race and Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination. This will be Harris' 10th trip to Pennsylvania this year, according to the White House. CBS News' Nidia Cavazos reported, citing sources, on Tuesday that Harris will travel to Pittsburgh to prepare for the presidential debate and remain in the state until then. The debate between Harris and former President Donald Trump is set for Sept. 10 in Philadlephia.
CNN
By Kayla Tausche and Tami Luhby
Sept. 3, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris is set to propose a handful of new benefits to entrepreneurs and small business owners to spur the creation of millions of new businesses, as part of a second wave of economic proposals set to be unveiled Wednesday. In an economic speech in New Hampshire on Wednesday, Harris plans to call for expanding a tax deduction for costs associated with starting a business and removing regulatory hurdles – like filing requirements and operational licenses – for businesses of a certain size, according to a Harris campaign official. It’s an attempt by the Harris campaign to appeal to a critical middle-class constituency that could help boost her chances in November. “This is one of my singular priorities, is to invest and grow our small business,” Harris told a small business owner in Savannah, Georgia, last week, alluding to the forthcoming tax credit she’d propose.
Kamala Harris Is Using Social Media to Reach Young Voters
Time Magazine
By Chantelle Lee
Sept. 3, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has embraced social media trends and viral memes to engage with young voters—a strategy that has propelled her campaign online and set an implicit contrast with the octogenarian she replaced on the ticket and her 78-year-old opponent. After Charli XCX posted on X “kamala IS brat”—a reference to the singer’s latest album, Brat—the night President Joe Biden announced he was ending his campaign and endorsed Harris for the Democratic nomination, the official Harris campaign account changed its header to match the color and font of the album cover. The bio for the Harris campaign’s main account—”Providing context”—is a reference to another meme stemming from a 2023 speech in which Harris quoted her mother as saying, “‘You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” before adding, “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.” The moment went viral and Harris supporters have claimed the coconut and tree emojis. The campaign’s TikTok account has also often used trending audio to promote Harris or take jabs at former President Donald Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance.
The Trump-Vance team ‘phones it in’ on Labor Day
Forward Kentucky
By Berry Craig
Sept. 3, 2024
Labor Day has come and gone. So how did the presidential contenders and their running mates spend the traditional kickoff day for fall campaigns? “Harris and Walz blitz the Blue Wall while Trump phones it in on Labor Day” read the headline on a Labor Day story in The Independent, a British paper. The AFL-CIO-endorsed Democrats spoke at big rallies with union members. Team Trump was AWOL from the campaign trail.
Walz touts union credentials during Labor Day stop in Milwaukee
Wis Politics
By Staff
Sept. 3, 2024
Dem VP nominee Tim Walz in a Milwaukee Labor Day stop noted his organized labor credentials while touting Kamala Harris for being part of the most pro-union U.S. administration in history. In comparison, he charged that the only thing Donald Trump knows about working people is “how to take advantage of them.” Speaking to Laborfest, the Minnesota guv noted he was a dues-paying member of his union while a teacher and recounted how GOP opponents once accused him in a campaign of being in the pocket of organized labor. “I said that’s a damned lie. I am the pocket. I am the pocket,” Walz said yesterday. “And I told them if you want to attack me for standing up for collective bargaining, for fair wages, for safe working conditions, for health care and retirement, you roll the damn dice. I’ll take my chances on that. I’ll take my chances.”
Walz boasts he’s not ‘in the pocket’ of organized labor: ‘I am the pocket!’
The Hill
By Julia Mueller
Sept. 2, 2024
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) boasted Monday that he’s “the pocket” of unions, as he and Vice President Harris court support from the critical voting bloc in several “blue wall” states to mark Labor Day. “Republicans came up to me in one of my campaigns and they said, ‘Tim is in the pocket of organized labor.’ I said, that’s a damn lie — I am the pocket,” Walz told the crowd at Laborfest in Milwaukee. “And I told them, if you want to attack me for standing up for collective bargaining, for fair wages, for safe working conditions, for health care and retirement — you roll the damn dice. I’ll take my chances on that,” he said, drawing cheers.
IN THE STATES
Senator Jon Tester honored at Montana AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic
KULR
By Travia Forte
Sept. 2, 2024
The Montana American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) hosted a Labor Day picnic in Billings. At the event, the nonprofit Alliance for Retired Americans presented Senator Jon Tester with an award for his efforts to support retirement benefits for Montana families. The Alliance, which comprises 4.4 million retired members, including 11,000 from Montana, recognized Tester as the "2024 Retiree Hero."
U.S. is falling behind in getting more women into building trades
Chicago Sun-Times
By Tim Drea and Mandy Jo Ganieany
Sept. 1, 2024
America is unique among nations: We were built with the idea that all individuals are created equal. Yet that seldom plays out as a reality in the American labor market. We as a country have reaped great benefits from the increasing role women have played in our economy. Why are we falling behind in recruiting and retaining more women to work in the building trades and construction industries? AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler has called Gen Z the “tool belt generation.” We are seeing more young workers opt for apprenticeships and careers in the trades as an alternative to a college degree.
North Alabama Area Labor Council president responds to Gov. Ivey’s Labor Day remarks
Alabama Political Reporter
By Alex Jobin
Sept. 3, 2024
APR reached out to Jacob Morrison, a member of the American Federation of Government Employees and president of the North Alabama Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO, to hear a local labor leader’s reaction to Ivey’s statement. Morrison began by echoing Ivey’s sentiment, “Governor Ivey is right, Alabama doesn’t work without its workers. We should acknowledge and honor Alabama’s working class for the value we create at work.” “Importantly though, we should also acknowledge and commemorate the freedoms from and at work that working people in this country – including in Alabama – fought and died for,” Morrison emphasized.
Missouri AFL-CIO excited about November election, but it needs your help
Labor Tribune
By SHERI GASSAWAY
Sept. 3, 2024
The Missouri AFL-CIO is looking forward to the upcoming November election, but it needs your help to get the word out about the state’s Labor-friendly candidates and propositions. That was the message shared with Labor leaders at last week’s Missouri AFL-CIO 32nd Biennial Convention. The three-day conference, which hosted 156 delegates and six guests, was held at the Argosy Hotel and Casino in Riverside, Mo. During a recorded video message, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler took a moment to talk about the incredible opportunity that Missouri Labor has in front of it right now with the election and thanked leaders for their help in the past. “I know it isn’t always easy, when you’re up against a governor who is attacking our fundamental rights and an anti-worker state legislature that’s right there in lockstep,” Shuler said. “But Missouri Labor has proven over and over again that we can fight back.” Shuler was referring in part to Missouri Labor’s successful fight to repeal so-called “right-to-work” in 2018, where thousands of the state’s union members knocked on their union brothers’ and sisters’ doors to get the message out about the anti-worker legislation. Labor’s response led to the anti-worker legislation being defeated at the ballot box by better than two-to-one majority, 67.5 percent to 32.5 percent.
Union leaders criticize Moreno, back Brown for supporting workers
WTOV
By Jesse Cain
Sept. 3, 2024
On Tuesday morning in Martins Ferry, the Ohio AFL-CIO held a news conference to endorse Sherrod Brown. Ohio workers denounced the character of Bernie Moreno, the Republican nominee for Ohio U.S. Senate, and threw their support to the Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown. Union leaders attacked Moreno's integrity about business decisions affecting his employees. “He's always catered to the rich people,” UMWA Ohio COMPAC Coordinator Dave Dilly said. “You know, had a Mercedes dealership and that kind of stuff. And he's made a lot of money. He's a shrewd businessman, but his problem has been, from what I understand and have read, he screwed some of his employees and got caught with it, where Sherrod Brown has always been for the working class."
Central Georgia union gathers for Labor Day celebration
13 WMAZ
By Kamilah Williams
Sept. 2, 2024
A local union took advantage of the good Labor Day weather to thank members for the work they do. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) local chapter 1316 hosted a Labor Day picnic at Indian Springs State Park. It comes as we've seen growth in the labor movement in central Georgia recently with several plants voting to unionize.
This Labor Day, celebrate American workers and their unions (Opinion)
The San Diego Union-Tribune
By Jim Miller
Sept. 2, 2024
While most of us of us have come to associate Labor Day with mattress sales, car deals and/or backyard barbecues on a three-day weekend, very few people make the leap to a celebration of workers, unionism or the American labor movement in any way. Nonetheless, today, more than at any time in recent history, according to a recent Gallup poll, most Americans support unions and would be eager to join one if their employer did not subvert efforts to organize, which is all too common in the corporate world. The labor movement has waxed and waned throughout U.S. history, hitting a high-water mark in the 1930s with the Wagner Act and 35-40 percent union density. Since then, unionization has declined in the face of repeated assaults on workers’ efforts to organize along with other internal and external barriers to union efforts. And not surprisingly, as union membership has decreased, so has the middle class, and economic inequality has climbed.
Celebrating Labor Day with local union workers
News Center Fairbanks
By Bethany Doudna
Aug. 30, 2024
Monday, September 2, will mark the 40th year that the Fairbanks Central Labor Council has held the Labor Day Parade in Fairbanks. It is also the 142 anniversary of the first labor day parade. “The first labor day was held in 1882,” related AJ Sutton, a Fairbanks representative of the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters. “It was originally formed by carpenter members, including the founder of the Carpenters Union, Peter J. McGuire. From then on it spread across the country over the next several years.”
On Labor Day, union members celebrate and renew fight for workers' rights
ABC 7 Denver
By Brandon Richard
Sept. 2, 2024
For many Coloradans, the Labor Day holiday is a time to celebrate workers and renew the fight for workers’ rights. Labor unions, which are seeing a surge in popularity, are playing a central role in efforts to improve wages and healthcare benefits for workers in Colorado and across the nation.
Labor Day fest in Reno to celebrate American workers with music, food, and jobs
News4
By News 4 & Fox 11 Digital Staff
Sept. 2, 2024
The annual Labor Day festival is happening in Reno on Monday to celebrate the American labor work force. Live music, food trucks, a show & shine, and much more will fill Idlewild Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Labor Day. Dozens of employers will also be on site, sharing information on local high-paying careers for those considering a change. Attendees can also learn about local union jobs, offering benefits, healthcare, excellent pay, a safer workplace and a voice on the job.
Politicians court votes at annual AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic at City Park (Watch)
Fox 8
By Staff
Sept. 3, 2024
Politicians court votes at annual AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic.
United Mine Workers picnic in Boone County draws union leaders and political candidates
WCHSTV
By Shelby Burrough
Sept. 3, 2024
The United Mine Workers of America held its annual picnic in Boone County on Monday. This was the 86th edition of the Labor Day gathering at John Slack Memorial Park. The event brought out union leaders and political candidates stumping on the campaign trail. With the upcoming election, labor unions are expected to have a prominent affect, and events like these are a way for union members to get to know candidates. Brian Lacy, International District 17 Vice President of the UMWA, said this event is an important tradition.
Labor Day picnic in Great Falls
KRTV
By McKenna Dickey
Sept. 2, 2024
The Central Montana Central Labor Council hosted the 2024 Labor Day picnic on Monday to honor the working class at the Great Falls labor temple. Volunteers served up hot dogs, chips, and soda. “The Central Labor Council really wanted to support the labor movement here in Montana, especially central Montana, and we wanted to pay respect to those working-class families that are putting their lives on the line every day, making this country roll, so we want to support them and honor them with the picnic,” said JD Olsen, business agent for Teamsters Local 2. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is made up of about 60 labor unions, both nationally and internationally, committed to improving the lives of the working class.
LABOR AND TECHNOLOGY
Fortune
By Jenn Brice
Sept. 3, 2024
Two of those measures, Assembly Bills 1836 and 2602, are co-sponsored by SAG-AFTRA, the actors union fighting the threat to Hollywood jobs posed by generative AI, or “digital replicas,” as the bills call them. AB 2602, which cleared the legislature last week, builds on the actors’ union negotiations, while AB 1836, which passed Saturday would ensure any performer can stop their work from being fed to AI—even after they’re dead. As AI technology advances and grab Hollywood’s attention, SAG-AFTRA and other creatives hope expanding publicity rights will help secure job opportunities and fair compensation for actors, while protecting the public from disinformation.
ORGANIZING
Production Assistants Launch Ambitious Bid for Unionization With LiUNA
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
Sept. 2, 2024
A veteran Hollywood union is backing an ambitious push to unionize film and television production assistants, a move that has the potential to reshape how many entry-level creatives break into the industry. The Hollywood branch of Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), Local 724, is partnering with the grassroots group Production Assistants United to organize one of the last non-union crew positions on entertainment sets, Local 724 business manager Alex Aguilar Jr. announced on Monday. The goal is to bring roles where, classically, early-career creatives — set production assistants, office production assistants, art production assistants, assistants and production secretaries — pay their dues into the union fold across the country.
NEGOTIATIONS & STRIKES
Unite Here union says hotel workers' strikes concluded in Baltimore, Seattle
Reuters
By Reuters
Sept. 3, 2024
The Unite Here union said on Tuesday strikes by U.S. hotel workers have concluded in Baltimore and Seattle, while 9,376 workers remained on strike in seven cities. Some 10,000 hotel workers began a multi-day strike in nine U.S. cities on Sunday after contract talks with hotel operators Marriott International (MAR.O), opens new tab, Hilton Worldwide (HLT.N), opens new tab, and Hyatt Hotels (H.N), opens new tab, stalled.
UAW Members at Cornell Approve New Contract, Ending Strike
Ithaca.com
By Matt Dougherty
Sept. 3, 2024
UAW members at Cornell University have voted to approve a new contract with the university, officially ending the strike that disrupted campus operations at the start of the fall semester. The vote, conducted on September 1 and 2, saw 77% of union members favor ratifying the deal, which was reached on August 28 after weeks of negotiations. “The tentative agreement has been ratified, and the strike is officially over,” said Lonnie Everett, UAW International Servicing Representative for Region 9, in the statement announcing the voting results. “Your unwavering solidarity and unity have led us to this historic moment.”
Strike looms for Oakland University ahead of first day of class
Fox2 Detroit
By Jack Nissen and Lauren Edwards
Sept. 3, 2024
Oakland University and the union representing its professors are bumping up against a key deadline in their contract negotiations: student's return to school. With the new semester expected to start on Wednesday, the school and the American Association of University Professors union are without a deal that could send educators back to classrooms.
Writers At ‘The Dodo’ & ‘Thrillist’ Stage One-Day Strike Amid Contentious Labor Talks With Vox Media
Deadline
By Katie Campione
Sept. 3, 2024
Writers at The Dodo and Thrillist are staging a one-day walkout against their employers at Vox Media on Wednesday as part of an ongoing an effort to be recognized under the Vox Media Union contract. Employees of both publications are already represented by the Writers Guild of America East in their own, separate unions. Earlier this year they, along with the Vox Media Union, voted to combine all three labor groups — a move that has yet to be officially accepted by the company. The WGA East said Tuesday that all 42 members across the two publications had signed the strike pledge, which alleges that, in addition to refusing to recognize The Dodo and Thrillist writers under the Vox Media Union contract, the company has also been withholding cost-of-living adjustments and promotions amid the contentious dispute.
Labor Day hotel strikes reflect the frustrations of a workforce largely made up of women of color
AP
By Dee-Ann Durbin
Sept. 2, 2024
More than 10,000 workers at 25 hotels across the U.S. were on strike Monday after choosing Labor Day weekend to amplify their demands for higher pay, fairer workloads and the reversal of COVID-era cuts. The UNITE HERE union, which represents the striking housekeepers and other hospitality workers, said 200 workers at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor were the latest to walk off the job. Nearly half of the striking workers – or 5,000 – are in Honolulu. That includes Briana Canencia, a food server for over a decade at a Marriott property who said she was on the picket line fighting for not only higher wages, but also respect amid reduced hours and increased workloads.
Communications Workers of America withdraws from mediation with AT&T
Reuters
By Reuters
Sept. 3, 2024
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) have informed AT&T (T.N), opens new tab and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service that it would no longer be a part of the mediation, it said in a statement on Monday. "The company was using the mediation process as another delaying tactic," said CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt. More than 17,000 Workers represented by the CWA union, which include technicians, customer service representatives, and others who install, maintain, and support AT&T's residential and business wireline telecommunications network, remain on strike which began last month.
There are 1.5 billion reasons why Boeing might have a strike on its hands
Quartz
By Melvin Backman
Sept. 3, 2024
Even though its plate is otherwise very full, Boeing will also have to contend with another big item thrown onto it. As a contract with the union representing its machinists comes up for renewal, the company might soon have a strike on its hands. Barron’s recently highlighted a research note from Sheila Kahyaoglu, an analyst at Jefferies, that suggests that the 40% raise requested by District 751 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers would add 2% to the planemaker’s cash needs, or $1.5 billion more than its current baseline.
Nurses at HCA-owned Mission Hospital in Asheville vote overwhelmingly to authorize strike
Citizen Times
By Joel Burgess
Sept. 3, 2024
Registered nurses at Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C. voted 97% in favor of authorizing their nurse bargaining team to call a strike, should they deem it necessary in bargaining with HCA Healthcare over pay, staffing and safety issues, according to National Nurses United which represents the Mission nurses. NNU made the announcement Sept. 2. Voting started Aug. 25. According to NNU, the nurses have not reached an agreement with HCA on key nurse proposals regarding nurse retention and ensuring meal and rest breaks. RNs say those demands are essential to safe, high-quality patient care at their hospital.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
Lawmakers unveil federal Warehouse Workers Protection Bill
Labor Tribune
By Mark Gruenberg
Sept. 3, 2024
Alarmed at the safety threats warehouse workers face nationally, especially if they work for Amazon and Walmart, a bipartisan group of four representatives unveiled federal legislation to mandate bosses disclose production quotas and banning production methods that endanger warehouse worker health and safety. “Businesses can keep workers safe and earn a profit, but that’s only possible with more transparency and more accountability to bring warehouse safety standards up to date,” explained Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), a union electrical worker and co-chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus. “The increasingly dangerous working conditions at warehouses across the country that result from these quota systems are wholly unacceptable,” added Norcross, former president of the South Jersey Building and Construction Trades Council and the measure’s lead sponsor. The outlook for the legislation is unclear. Amazon and Walmart are sure to lead the corporate class in opposing it, and a Walmart front group, the Retail Industry Leaders Federation, is likely to join in. Supporters include the United Food and Commercial Workers and its Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union sector, the Minnesota-based Athena pro-worker coalition, the National Employment Law Project and the AFL-CIO.