Today's AFL-CIO press clips
MUST READ
Boeing and union reach a labor deal, potentially averting a strike
CNBC
By Leslie Josephs
Sept. 8, 2024
Boeing and the union that represents some 33,000 of its workers have struck a new labor deal, just days before a costly strike could have begun at the plane maker’s main factories. The tentative agreement includes 25% raises over four years and other improvements to health-care costs and retirement benefits, said the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents Boeing’s workers at factories in the Seattle area and in Oregon. It also secures a commitment from Boeing to build its next airplane in the Pacific Northwest, the union said.
POLITICS
Biden to sign order to prioritize federal grants for projects with higher worker wages and benefits
The Seattle Times
By Josh Boak
Sept. 6, 2024
President Joe Biden on Friday plans to sign an executive order for federal grants that would prioritize projects with labor agreements, wage standards, and benefits such as access to child care and apprenticeship programs. The Biden administration is trying to make the case that economic growth should flow out of better conditions for workers. “A good job is a job with security and benefits, where workers have the right to join a union, advocate for better working conditions, come home safe and healthy, and retire with dignity,” said Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su. Biden is going to a union training center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to announce the order as the administration has stressed the vital role that organized labor will likely play for Democrats in November’s election. In her matchup against Republican Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris is depending on backing from the AFL-CIO and other unions to help turn out voters in key states.
Biden signs ‘common sense’ order prioritizing federal grants for projects with higher worker wages
KBTX
By The Associated Press and Josh Boak
Sept. 6, 2024
President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order for federal grants that will prioritize projects with labor agreements, wage standards, and benefits such as access to child care and apprenticeship programs. Biden said the ideas in his order “are common sense.” “Economists have long believed that these good job standards produce more opportunities, better outcomes for workers and more predictable outcomes for businesses as well,” he said from an Ann Arbor, Michigan union training center where he made the announcement. “A good union job is building a future worthy of your dreams.” The Biden administration is trying to make the case that economic growth should flow out of better conditions for workers. His administration has stressed the vital role that organized labor will likely play for Democrats in November’s election. In her matchup against Republican Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris is depending on backing from the AFL-CIO and other unions to help turn out voters in key states.
Biden signs ‘common sense’ order prioritizing federal grants for projects with higher worker wages
AP News
By Josh Boak And Matt Brown
Sept. 6, 2024
President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order for federal grants that will prioritize projects with labor agreements, wage standards, and benefits such as access to child care and apprenticeship programs. Biden said the ideas in his order “are common sense.” “Economists have long believed that these good job standards produce more opportunities, better outcomes for workers and more predictable outcomes for businesses as well,” he said from an Ann Arbor, Michigan union training center where he made the announcement. “A good union job is building a future worthy of your dreams.”
Biden signs pro-labor order in Michigan, dares a successor to undo it
The Detroit News
By Craig Mauger
Sept. 6, 2024
Colleen Sullivan, deputy director of the Michigan AFL-CIO Workforce Development Institute, said she was excited to see the details of the order because there's a need for more people to enter career pathways in manufacturing. "By making those quality careers, it's just going to help the work that we're doing," Sullivan said. "It's going to allow us to lift more people out of poverty."
How Harris will distinguish her foreign policy from Biden — and Trump
NPR
By Asma Khalid
Sept. 7, 2024
For the past 3½ years, Vice President Harris has carried out President Biden’s agenda around the globe, traveling to 21 countries, working with allies to combat authoritarianism. But now, as the Democratic presidential nominee, there are questions about how Harris herself sees the world and the United States’ role in it — and what her foreign policy would look like if she wins the election in November. Harris, for her part, is trying to contrast her vision for the world with Trump, while offering ever-so-subtle distinctions with Biden. Her speech at the Democratic convention last month was aimed at showing how she would lead as commander in chief. “As president, I will never waver in defense of America’s security and ideals, because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs,” Harris said.
Harris is preparing for potential volatile moments in her first debate against Trump
NBC News
By Yamiche Alcindor, Kelly O'Donnell, Monica Alba and Peter Alexander
Sept. 6, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris has been poring over briefing books and workshopping answers to policy questions while huddling with aides at a Pittsburgh hotel to get ready to face off against former President Donald Trump, according to multiple sources familiar with her preparations for Tuesday’s debate. Harris has been devising ways to weave her biography into her answers to try to introduce herself to Americans who may still not know much about how she grew up or her career before she ascended to the vice presidency, the sources said. They said she’s even strategized how to approach possibly shaking hands with Trump onstage (the result: it’ll likely be a game-time decision).
Harris and Trump offer very different visions for the economy ahead of Tuesday’s debate
PBS
By Michael Goldberg and Jill Colvin
Sept. 7, 2024
Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have been talking more about their plans for the economy in the days leading up to Tuesday’s presidential debate, where their dueling proposals are expected to take center stage. Harris this week called for increasing corporate tax rates, not taxing tips and Social Security income and expanding tax breaks for small businesses to promote more entrepreneurship.
A campaign kickoff, an ode to Labor
The Chicago Crusader
By Julianne Malveaux
Sept. 7, 2024
In an election year, Labor Day kicks off the official campaign season, and Vice President Kamala Harris kicked hers off with a bang. She had rallies in Detroit, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh, all major cities in battleground states. She was joined by local elected officials in each place, Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz in Milwaukee, and President Biden in Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, flanked by AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, teachers’ union leaders Becky Pringle (National Education Association) and Randi Weingarten (American Federation of Teachers), Harris gave a rousing speech that reminded us we have organized labor to thank for the 8-hour workday, pensions, paid vacations and health care, worker benefits that have now become standard. Those benefits didn’t come without a fight, nor did the establishment of Labor Day.
Billionaires are endorsing Trump – but is that a bad bargain for them?
The Guardian
By Steven Greenhouse
Sept. 6, 2024
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, a growing number of billionaires, tech titans and venture capitalists are backing Donald Trump’s campaign for president, among them Stephen Schwarzman, chairman of Blackstone, the world’s largest private-equity fund, Steve Wynn, the casino tycoon, Bill Ackman, the hedge fund manager, and Marc Andreessen, a leading venture capitalist. But many business school professors and historians are issuing stern warnings about this business support for Trump, saying that backing him could backfire badly for business and endanger America’s democracy. These professors caution that corporate America – along with everyone else – should be hugely concerned about a candidate who has talked of being a dictator on day one, terminating the constitution, and weaponizing the justice department to exact revenge against his critics.
Trump pledged to block U.S. Steel merger with Nippon, but his inner circle is pushing for the deal
TribLive
By Ryan Deto
Sept. 6, 2024
Former President Donald Trump was quick to announce his opposition earlier this year to a proposed $14.9 billion sale of U.S. Steel to the Japanese corporation Nippon Steel, but influential people close to Trump have been working to push the sale through behind the scenes ever since. Trump, who is seeking another term in the White House, first said in January that he would block the deal and reiterated his opposition last month. “I will stop Japan from buying United States Steel,” Trump said on Aug. 19 at a campaign event at a York County factory. “They shouldn’t be allowed to buy it.” But his pledge to block the purchase of the iconic Pittsburgh company runs contrary to the advice of one of his top advisers and contradicts the work of lobbyists who have been part of his inner circle and are supporting his campaign for president.
The debate is Tuesday. Here’s what Trump and Harris need to do. (Opinion)
MSNBC
By Michael Steele
Sept. 6, 2024
And since this could be the only debate between Trump and Harris, it’s essential for her to pin Trump down as the charlatan that he is. At the same time, she must also build her case in the eyes of persuadable voters. First: This is another chance for Harris to reintroduce herself to voters who didn’t tune into the Democratic National Convention. Presidential debates are marquee moments that put fresh eyeballs on the candidates vying to serve as commander in chief. Harris must explain who she is and weave her personal story into the context of her candidacy. Harris’ vow to build an “opportunity economy” underscores her upbringing in a middle-class family. The daughter of immigrants, Harris understands the power of the American Dream firsthand. She also knows the power of hard work. While earning her college degree, Harris worked at McDonald’s in the 1980s. It’s a small part of her background that mirrors the life experience of tens of millions of voters. One in eight Americans have worked under the Golden Arches at one point in their lives, according to a survey done by the company.
Trump Lays Out Vision for Bending the Federal Government to His Will
The New York Times
By Michael Gold
Sept. 7, 2024
Former President Donald J. Trump vowed to vastly reshape the federal bureaucracy on Saturday in a wide-ranging, often unfocused speech at a rally in Wisconsin. He pledged to ultimately eliminate the Department of Education, redirect the efforts of the Justice Department and fire civil servants charged with carrying out Biden administration policies that he disagreed with.
ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND CLIMATE
As Pennsylvania chooses the next president, its unions are choosing clean energy
Forward Kentucky
By Gautama Mehta
Sept. 6, 2024
So far, lost jobs in fossil fuel extraction have yet to be fully replaced by clean energy jobs. “They’re beginning to emerge — we’ve seen some solar, we’ve seen some wind — but as these industries are emerging, that’s where we’re saying we want to be a bigger part of this conversation, and ensure that what is coming is going to be driven by good quality union jobs,” Angela Ferritto, the president of Pennsylvania’s AFL-CIO, told Grist.
NEGOTIATIONS & STRIKES
Boeing reaches tentative labor deal with 25% pay hike, new plane commitment
Reuters
By Allison Lampert and David Shepardson
Sept. 8, 2024
Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab said on Sunday it has reached a tentative agreement with a union representing more than 32,000 workers in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, in a deal that could help avert a possible crippling strike as early as Sept. 13. If approved, the proposed four-year contract, which includes a general wage increase of 25% and commitment to build the next commercial airplane in the Seattle area, is an important win for new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took over last month with a mandate to turn around quality at the planemaker, an issue that a deal with labor could help.
Union Aramark workers at Lincoln Financial Field vote to authorize strike
6 ABC Philadelphia
By 6abc Digital Staff
Sept. 2024
Union Aramark workers at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia voted to authorize a strike, the union announced Friday. Unite Here Local 274 said that 84% of its members voted in favor of a strike at The Linc. This comes after earlier strike authorization votes by union Aramark workers at both Citizens Bank Park and the Wells Fargo Center. The union said Friday it wants the jobs that workers perform at all three venues to "look like other year-round jobs, with health care and family-sustaining wages that keep up with inflation."
50,000 WA state workers to walk off job in contract dispute with state
Fox 13 Seattle
By Kristina Moy
Sept. 6, 2024
Nearly 50,000 public service workers in Washington state, represented by AFSCME Council 28 (The Washington Federation of State Employees), are set to walk off the job on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 12 p.m., to demand fair wages, safe staffing levels and better working conditions. The strike, branded as "Walkout for Washington," will include employees from state agencies, community colleges and universities at 130 worksites across the state.
The Rapid, ATU Local 836 agree to new three-year Collective Bargaining Agreement
Mass Transit
By Staff
Sept. 6, 2024
Interurban Transit Partnership (The Rapid) and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 836, representing bus operators and maintenance and facilities technicians, have successfully reached an agreement on a new three-year Collective Bargaining Agreement. The previous agreement expired on June 9, 2024, and both parties have been working under an extension while negotiating the new terms. A tentative agreement was reached on Aug. 1 and was subsequently approved by The Rapid's Board of Directors on Aug. 28. The new agreement features substantial wage increases and additional work-life benefits for the workforce.
The Stand
By Staff
Sept. 6, 2024
On Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 12 p.m. PT, AFSCME Council 28/WFSE-represented public service workers at state agencies, community colleges and four-year universities will Walkout for Washington to demand livable wages, safe staffing levels, and respect for the Washingtonians that depend on their services. Public workers organized in other unions are also joining these walkouts in a show of solidarity.
Nurses strike vote passes at Mission Hospital with 97 percent in favor
North Carolina Health News
By Jane Winik Sartwell
Sept. 7, 2024
Ninety-seven percent of nurses voted in favor of authorizing a strike at Mission Hospital in Asheville over Labor Day weekend. This display of unity does not guarantee a strike will occur, but gives the union’s bargaining team the authority to call a strike if deemed necessary. This vote has the potential to give the union much more leverage in its negotiations with HCA, the Tennessee-based for-profit hospital chain that acquired the hospital’s parent company, Mission Health, in 2019. The bargaining team is currently considering a one-day strike. The team must provide the hospital with a 10-day work stoppage notice if the team decides a strike is the only way to move negotiations forward. As long as a new contract is not ratified, the strike vote is current.
Firefighters union files grievance against the city of Beaumont
Beaumont Enterprise
By Tessa Noble
Sept. 7, 2024
The International Association of Firefighters Local 399 says the city of Beaumont is engaging in bad faith negotiating, according to a recently-filed grievance provided exclusively to The Enterprise. The grievance, which was filed on Tuesday, claims that the city refused to negotiate with the union in good faith, as required by state law. The next step will be to enter arbitration.
Unionized Apple Store workers in Oklahoma secure tentative agreement
Mashable
By Elena Cavender
Sept. 8, 2024
After two years, unionized Apple Store workers in Oklahoma finally reached a tentative agreement with the tech company on Friday. The tentative agreement guarantees a wage increase of up to 11.5 percent over three years, paid time off, and job protection. Workers at the Penn Square Mall Apple Store voted to form a union with Communication Workers of America (CWA) in 2022. It's the second Apple Store to unionize.
Boeing reaches tentative contract agreement with machinists union
The Washington Post
By Lori Aratani
Sept. 8, 2024
Boeing reached a tentative agreement early Sunday with its machinists union, a deal that could help it avoid a costly and damaging strike as it seeks to recover from a series of crises. The terms of the deal with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 are unprecedented, with a 25 percent general wage increase for all employees over four years along with a reduction in workers’ health-care costs and an increase in the amount Boeing contributes to workers’ retirement plans. But perhaps more significantly, the deal includes a commitment by Boeing that it will build its next aircraft in Washington state.
Princeton Bookstore Makes Progress (More or Less) in Talks with Retail Workers Union
Tap Into Princeton
By Richard K. Rein
Sept. 8, 2024
It’s close (or maybe not so close), but no cigar for the negotiations between Labyrinth Bookstore on Nassau Street and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) that represents the retail workers at the store. The union, which was recognized voluntarily by the bookstore owners in January of this year, is now actively negotiating a new contract. On September 4, Labyrinth owner Dorothea von Moltke issued -- with no apparent prompting from the media or any other outside interests -- the following “Contract Negotiation Update:”
JOINING TOGETHER
Community members join AT&T workers in strike over ‘unfair labor practices’
News4Jax
By Jonathan Lundy
Sept. 7, 2024
Community members joined Jacksonville AT&T employees in a strike over “unfair labor practices” on Saturday. The Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 3106 in Jacksonville has been picketing outside of eight AT&T locations for several weeks. On Saturday afternoon, they were picketing outside the AT&T building at 1844 Cassat Avenue. “They are unable to send people to the negotiating table who have the ability and authority to bargain in good faith,” Joshua Denmark, vice president of CWA Local 3106 said. “There are also charges for service bargaining for going back on agreements they’ve already made in bargaining.
IN THE STATES
How unions are door-knocking for Democrats in a Republican state
Signal Cleveland
By Olivera Perkins
Sept. 6, 2024
The AFL-CIO has endorsed Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. However, the union’s nearly 500 volunteer canvassers aren’t actively campaigning for the ticket because the voter math doesn’t add up, said Brian Pearson, political director for the North Shore AFL-CIO Federation of Labor. Since Trump won Ohio by 8-point margins in 2016 and 2020, the labor organization no longer considers this a swing state. The AFL-CIO considers Ohio a battleground for the U.S. Senate because Brown performs well here and his reelection potentially keeps the Democrats in control of the Senate, he said. While the AFL-CIO has overwhelmingly supported Democratic candidates and issues, some of the unions that make up the federation have leaned Republican. This factor plays into the AFL-CIO’s campaign for Senator Brown. His longstanding support for such issues as manufacturing has kept him popular among many union members. These include Republicans and Trump Democrats, who voted for the ex-president because he said he would support manufacturing and other blue-collar issues. Pearson said the AFL-CIO is going after this type of union member throughout Ohio.
Hochul signs worker-related bills as Labor Day Parade steps off in Manhattan
Spectrum News
By Atlan Hassard
Sept. 7, 2024
Thousands of workers representing more than 200 unions marched along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan Saturday in the country's oldest Labor Day parade. The theme for this year's parade was "All Workers, Many Voices, One Fight," which organizers said represented the unity workers from diverse backgrounds experience in a union. Organizers also said the "one fight" referred to a union's "shared commitment to advocating for better conditions and fair treatment." Gov. Kathy Hochul marked the celebration Saturday by signing a slate of worker-related bills, including the Retail Worker Safety Act, which requires retail employers to provide training and information to employees to prevent workplace violence. "As retail workers face hostile customers and those seeking to commit retail theft, they need the basic tools to deescalate situations and seek help," Assemblymember Karines Reyes, who represents District 87 in the Bronx and introduced the bill alongside State Sen. Jessica Ramos, said. "This landmark legislation will guarantee a critical part of New York's essential workforce, retail workers, with the necessary protections to create safer work environments."
2024 Labor Day Parade in NYC brings out thousands of proud union members, supporters
CBS News
By Mark Prussin and Kristie Keleshian
Sept. 7, 2024
The 2024 New York City Labor Day Parade stepped off a celebration of workers' solidarity on Saturday. Tens of thousands of workers representing more than 200 unions came together along the parade route in Manhattan. This year's theme was "All Workers, Many Voices, One Fight," which highlighted their common goal of advocating for fair treatment. The theme of last year's parade was "We Organize, We Rise," as several labor groups were on strike at the time, including the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. The parade in New York City is the oldest and largest Labor Day parade in the U.S.
Labor candidate: How stronger unions will help NC and its businesses (Opinion)
The Charlotte Observer
By Braxton Winston
Sept. 8, 2024
There is nothing more American than the function of a union. We are currently witnessing this locally as over 17,000 Communications Workers of America members are exercising their contractual right to strike in the American Southeast, including at nine AT&T worksites in Charlotte. America’s collective contract provides pathways towards justice when we have conflicts. It defines processes that allow us to sit across from each other to negotiate fairly while protecting the rights of all parties. This American concept of rights defined by a collectively bargained contract is what undergirds the American Labor movement.
Massachusetts AFL-CIO weighs in on unions, presidential race and ending MCAS requirement
CBS News
By Jon Keller
Sept. 8, 2024
During an interview on the Sunday edition of "Keller At Large," Massachusetts AFL-CIO president Chrissy Lynch talked about the state of labor in Massachusetts. Lynch also discussed why the organization is backing Democrat Kamala Harris this November. "It's really hard to organize a union," said Lynch, a South Shore native and veteran labor activist who's been busy trying to change that for the past 11 months since stepping into her current role. Lynch discussed the importance of passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, a bill filed in Congress several years ago that establish and expand a range of protections of workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively. "Corporations have figured out how to make it impossible for workers who want to join a union to join," Lynch said. "The PRO Act would really level the playing field."
CIVIL, HUMAN, & WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Ms. Magazine
By Cynthia Richie Terrell
Sept. 6, 2024
Women’s vital role in the labor movement has continued into the present day, with leaders like Ai-Jen Poo heading the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Randi Weingarten leading the American Federation of Teachers, and Liz Shuler serving as the first female president of the AFL-CIO. As we enjoy the Monday holiday, let’s take a moment to honor women’s vital role in shaping labor rights and protections.