Today's AFL-CIO Press Clips
POLITICS
Nevada unions rallying to amplify Kamala Harris’ campaign
Las Vegas Sun
By Kyle Chouinard
Sept. 18, 2024
Every day, more and more people are signing up to help knock on doors and make phone calls for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, a Las Vegas union official said. “We were trained by (the Harry Reid) machine,” said Susie Martinez, executive secretary for the Nevada AFL-CIO, referring to the late U.S. senator’s work organizing Democrats in Nevada. “You’ve got to get out there. You’ve got to pitch your story.” While the Culinary Union’s ground game for Democrats dominates headlines, other labor organizations have kicked off their own — sometimes joint — efforts.
'An indispensable weapon': Harris mobilizes diverse labor force in the Sun Belt
NBC News
By Natasha Korecki
Sept. 18, 2024
President Joe Biden has often proclaimed that he is the most pro-union president in history, a declaration that Democrats often tied to his appeal to white working-class voters in the Midwest. Now serving as the party’s standard-bearer, Vice President Kamala Harris is building her own coalition by mobilizing a more diverse and expansive labor force in a different part of the country. Harris is tapping into the organizational strength of a network of union groups that have a significant membership of women and people of color in the Sun Belt, a battleground region Democrats are aiming to keep out of former President Donald Trump’s column this fall.
Ten Ways Project 2025 Could Undermine Workers’ Rights
Capital & Main
By Bryce Covert
Sept. 18, 2024
But those public stances and declarations stand in stark contrast with the blueprint for what Republicans want to do if and when they retake the White House. Project 2025 is an almost 900-page document laying out an agenda for the next Republican president in detail, and it lists a multitude of priorities that would, if enacted, harm workers’ pay, safety and ability to organize. Taken as a whole, the priorities the authors describe are “so unbelievably anti-union, anti-worker, anti-anybody but corporate interests,” said Sharon Block, executive director of the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School.
Harris wants to limit child care costs to 7% of family income
CNN
By Tami Luhby
Sept. 18, 2024
Two weeks after former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance raised eyebrows when answering how they’d make child care more affordable, Vice President Kamala Harris was asked how she’d address the problem vexing millions of American families. Harris responded that she’d cap child care costs at 7% of working families’ income, following the Biden administration playbook that she was heavily involved in writing. But she didn’t provide details on how she’d achieve that goal or how she’d pay for such a measure.
Can Harris’s embrace of the ‘brat’ aesthetic actually move votes?
The Washington Post
By Dylan Wells and HyoJung Kim
Sept. 18, 2024
Within hours of Vice President Kamala Harris’s announcement that she would seek the Democratic nomination for president, popstar Charli XCX fired off a simple tweet that launched a late-summer pop culture phenomenon: “kamala IS brat.” Young voters were key to Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 and tend to vote blue, but enthusiasm among the group waned significantly over the course of his presidency. Gen Z and young millennials have embraced Harris since she took over the ticket, but some Democrats fear they will stay home instead of voting, a margin that could determine the outcome of the election.
House Defeats Johnson’s Spending Plan With Shutdown Looming
The New York Times
By Carl Hulse
Sept. 18, 2024
The House on Wednesday defeated a $1.6 trillion stopgap spending bill to extend current government funding into March and impose new proof-of-citizenship requirements on voter registration, as Republicans and Democrats alike rejected Speaker Mike Johnson’s proposal to avert a shutdown at the end of the month. The bipartisan repudiation was entirely expected after several Republicans had made clear they would not back the spending plan and Democrats almost uniformly opposed the voting-registration proposal.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Federal Reserve rate cut may boost Kamala Harris in campaign homestretch
The Washington Post
By Jeff Stein
Sept. 18, 2024
The Federal Reserve’s long-awaited cut to interest rates may prove a boon to Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign as the presidential election enters the home stretch. On Wednesday, the central bank cut the benchmark rate for the first time since 2020, lowering borrowing costs for businesses and consumers alike. The move reflects optimism that the battle with inflation is over, and the lower rates should boost growth, which could in turn brighten the gloomy national mood about the economy. The central bank cut borrowing costs by a half-point — more than the quarter-point cut some analysts had expected.
The Federal Reserve starts cutting interest rates in a big moment for the economy
NPR
By Scott Horsley
Sept. 18, 2024
The Federal Reserve moved aggressively Wednesday to start cutting interest rates as its single-minded focus on fighting inflation gives way to a growing interest in protecting the job market. The central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point, which will make it cheaper to get a car loan, finance a business or carry a balance on your credit card.
The Fed Makes a Large Rate Cut and Forecasts More to Come
The New York Times
By Jeanna Smialek
Sept. 18, 2024
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday by half a percentage point, an unusually large move and a clear signal that central bankers think they are winning their war against inflation and are turning their attention to protecting the job market. “Our patient approach over the past year has paid dividends,” Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said during his news conference. But now “the upside risks to inflation have diminished, and the downside risks to unemployment have increased.”
NEGOTIATIONS & STRIKES
Boeing furloughing thousands as negotiations continue with striking machinists
The Washington Post
By Lori Aratani
Sept. 18, 2024
Ortberg’s announcement came as the two sides began a second day of talks, with the help of federal mediators, aimed at ending the walkout that began early Friday after the 33,000-member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers district 751 and W24 overwhelmingly rejected Boeing’s offer and walked off their jobs. Analysts have said the strike could cost Boeing $1 billion a week. In a post on X, the union expressed frustration with Tuesday’s meeting, saying Boeing representatives were “not prepared” and “unwilling” to address the pay and pension issues they view as essential to ending the strike.
UAW to hold strike votes at Stellantis local chapters, union president says
Reuters
By Nora Eckert and Abhirup Roy
Sept. 18, 2024
The United Auto Workers union plans to hold strike authorization votes at one or more of its Stellantis (STLAM.MI), opens new tab local chapters in the coming days, union president Shawn Fain said on Tuesday, which could lead to significant disruptions for the Jeep maker. Fain has in recent months called out Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares for failing to keep the product and investment commitments the automaker agreed to after the union conducted a six-week strike last autumn.
WAPT
By Alexandria Galtney and Kyndall Jones
Sept. 18, 2024
JTRAN employees have ended their 14-day strike against the company that was managing them, MV Transportation. Amalgamated Transit Union President Charles Tornes Jr. said the strike ended Tuesday evening after employees came to an agreement over a new contract with MV Transportation. "We are relieved because it's been stressful," Tornes said. "I know the public has been missing transportation, and we are ready to get back to being the driving force in Jackson.
SPCO and musicians ratify a three-year contract
The Minnesota Star Tribune
By Star Tribune staff
Sept. 18, 2024
The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra Society and its musicians have ratified a new collective bargaining agreement. The deal was announced Tuesday between the orchestra and musicians represented by the American Federation of Musicians Local 30-73. Under the deal, the musicians will receive an annual minimum salary increase of 3.5% over the three years, the SPCO said in a written statement. The agreement also includes an increase to the minimum guaranteed compensation from the Musician Appreciation Concert to $4,000 annually from the current $2,000.
Frontier Airlines flight attendants vote 99.6% in favor of strike authorization
Quartz
By Ben Kesslen
Sept. 18, 2024
A vast majority of Frontier Airlines ULCC -0.78% flight attendants voted to authorize a strike, their union said Wednesday. The flight attendants represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA voted 99.6% in favor of the strike authorization, with 92.7% of members participating.
Warwick and Jamestown bus drivers’ union nears finish line on new contract
Rhode Island Current
By Alexander Castro
Sept. 18, 2024
Unionized school bus drivers in Warwick and Jamestown have reached a tentative four-year contract agreement that goes up for a vote Thursday evening. ATU (Amalgamated Transit Union) Local 618 represents over 1,300 employees working in Rhode Island’s transportation sector. About 100 of those drivers are included in the contract with First Student, the Cincinnati-based bus company which services school districts across the state.
Graduate workers union calls on University of Maine System to progress contract negotiations
Maine Public
By Kaitlyn Budion
Sept. 18, 2024
Graduate student workers at the University of Maine rallied again in Orono Wednesday to call on the University of Maine System to move forward with union contract negotiations. The union has been in talks for more than 10 months for its first contract, and members say UMS representatives are stalling, arriving unprepared and cancelling meetings.
San Antonio Philharmonic reaches two-year bargaining agreement with musicians union
WOAI
By David Warner
Sept. 18, 2024
A collective bargaining agreement between musicians and an Alamo city institution. On Wednesday, the San Antonio Philharmonic announced its new, two-year agreement with the American Federation of Musicians Local 23 ahead of its 2024-2025 season. The new agreement ensures that musicians with the Philharmonic will receive competitive pay, underscoring the Philharmonic’s recognition of the dedication and artistry of musicians.
Strike Authorized by AGMA Members of San Francisco Symphony Chorus
Opera Wire
By David Salazar
Sept. 18, 2024
AGMA leadership and AGMA members of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. Per the press release, the ensemble’s upcoming Verdi Requiem, which opens on Sept. 19 and runs for three performances, could find itself compromised by the potential strike. The vote, which took place on Sept. 16, saw the members vote 100 percent in favor of the authorization; 98.1 percent of eligible members voted. Moreover, 81.1 percent of unpaid singers from the Verdi Requiem chorus will also honor the AGMA picket line.
Regional flight attendants vote to authorize a strike. How it may impact CLT airport
The Charlotte Observer
By Chase Jordan
Sept. 18, 2024
Flight attendants associated with American Airlines overwhelmingly approved a strike authorization vote and are threatening to go on strike if their demands are not met for more pay and other benefits, according to union representatives. The Association of Flight Attendants-Communications Workers of America is negotiating for employees at American Eagle’s PSA Airlines, the union said Tuesday. Almost all of the members voted to authorize a strike after months of proposals from PSA management during contract negotiations.