Today's AFL-CIO press clips
MUST READ
Labor wants — and gets — a say over the future
Politico
By Derek Robertson
Sept. 24, 2024
The AFL-CIO’s Technology Institute will announce today an ongoing collaboration with the NSF, in which the two groups will explore how labor can consult on the foundation’s cutting-edge research projects in fields like AI, quantum computing and semiconductors, among others, to better ensure those innovations help American workers.
POLITICS
Over 400 economists and ex-officials endorse Kamala Harris
CNN
By Matt Egan
Sept. 24, 2024
More than 400 economists and former high-ranking US policymakers are endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris and her vision for the American economy, according to a document announcing the endorsement seen by CNN. The mass endorsement lands as Harris tries to erode former President Donald Trump’s lead on the economy, a critical issue that many Americans say could decide their vote this election.
Three takeaways from former President Donald Trump's western Pennsylvania rally
The Daily Item
By Sean Collins Walsh
Sept. 24, 2024
"Vice President Harris is committed to building an economy where working families don't have to just get by, but we can get ahead," Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Angela Ferritto said.
Inside a Kamala Harris Ad Promoting Her Economic Plans
The New York Times
By Reid J. Epstein
Sept. 24, 2024
The audio in each of the ads was recorded when Ms. Harris delivered a speech outlining her economic plans in North Carolina in August. The visual scenes, as the ads begin, are appropriate to each targeted electorate: In Wisconsin, it is the Milwaukee skyline; in Michigan, it’s Detroit, and so on in Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina. Nebraska’s ad shows just corn and farmland. A car’s side-view mirror represents the past. Other images include a multiracial family at a dinner table, an older man in a cornfield, a young woman dancing alone while stocking a supermarket shelf, bins of fresh tomatoes and vegetables, a crowd at a Harris event cheering, the words “tax cut,” a house under construction, people happily carrying boxes into a house, and several shots of Ms. Harris speaking.
Harris to More Fully Detail Economic Plans
The New York Times
By Jim Tankersley and Andrew Duehren
Sept. 24, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris is set to ramp up her economic message this week, with a speech reframing her policy vision and a lengthy new document describing her approach in more detail. Her focus on economic issues comes at a pivotal moment, as many voters remain skeptical of her ability to improve the economy, which has been a top issue in the presidential campaign. Ms. Harris’s economic speech in Pittsburgh on Wednesday and the policy blueprint, described by three people familiar with the matter, are part of an effort by Ms. Harris’s campaign to weave together various economic proposals into a broader, thematic message.
Harris says she would support ending the filibuster to bring back Roe v. Wade
NPR
By Jason Breslow
Sept. 24, 2024
"I've been very clear, I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe, and get us to the point where 51 votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do," Harris told WPR host Kate Archer Kent.
TRANSPORTATION
Union urges Department of Transportation to bar federal grants to Brightline Florida
Trains.com
By Bill Stephens
Sept. 24, 2024
The Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, has asked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to deny Brightline Florida any additional federal funding, arguing that the company has sought to block its employees from joining a union. The TWU, in a Sept. 19 letter to Buttigieg, noted that nearly 100 Brightline onboard service personnel are seeking union representation. TWU says that it was able to show the National Mediation Board in August that more than half of Brightline Florida’s onboard service workers wanted to unionize.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Deadline
By Dade Hayes
Sept. 24, 2024
The largest union representing CBS employees is slamming the latest round of Paramount layoffs. Among the divisions of the media company affected by the cutbacks is CBS Broadcasting, which has let go of staffers in New York, Washington and Los Angeles, according to the IBEW. Paramount Global made an internal announcement about Phase 2 of its ongoing layoffs Tuesday morning, saying 90% of the planned cutbacks will be completed after the new phase. In all, about 15% of the company’s U.S. jobs are being eliminated.
ORGANIZING
Wesleyan Graduate Students Vote for Union Membership
Wesleyan Argus
By Miles Craven
Sept. 23, 2024
Graduate student workers and Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTA) at the University will cast their ballot in a vote to join the Office & Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153 on Thursday, Sept. 26. The vote comes after months of organizing and internal discussions within the Wesleyan Graduate Labor Union (WesGLU). WesGLU first announced their intention to unionize last April, and subsequently entered into negotiations with the University. Those negotiations ended earlier this semester, when the administration refused to voluntarily recognize the union. WesGLU leadership determined that the University’s decision was a departure from the status quo, and that it was not in line with the good faith labor relations expected by some organizers.
NEGOTIATIONS & STRIKES
‘This is our fight, and our decision’
The Stand
By Staff
Sept. 24, 2024
Machinists will not vote on the contract offer abruptly delivered by Boeing on Monday morning. Per the union, this offer was not negotiated with the bargaining team; moreover, Boeing has refused to engage in negotiations since the last meeting with the federal mediator on September 18. Those talks broke down after Boeing refused to make an offer that addressed the priorities of membership, per IAM District 751.
SAG-AFTRA Calls Strike Against ‘League of Legends’
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
Sept. 24, 2024
Hollywood’s performers union has called a strike against one of the video game industry’s most recognizable marquee titles. On Tuesday SAG-AFTRA announced that it was telling members to cease work for the multiplayer online game League of Legends after its producer, Formosa Interactive, “tried to subvert” the union’s ongoing video game strike on an unnamed separate title. The union is responding by calling a work stoppage against League of Legends, a game that was not previously struck and is one of Formosa Interactive’s most well-known projects (the brand has also worked on God of War and Madden NFL 24).
‘Can’t afford health insurance’: California CVS workers take strike vote
The Guardian
By Michael Sainato
Sept. 24, 2024
More than 7,000 workers at CVS stores across California are holding a strike vote this week after accusing the US’s largest pharmacy chain of shortchanging staff and failing to provide affordable healthcare. CVS and its union remain far apart in negotiations on a new contract. Their current union contract expired on 30 June 2024. The union said the average CVS clerk makes less than $20 an hour, and the union wants improved healthcare costs for employees, and improvements to safety and staffing. The United Food and Commercial Workers local union bargaining committee has recommended a yes vote on the strike authorization, with results expected late on 27 September.
Apple Store employees in Oklahoma City ratify their first union contract
Engadget
By Anna Washenko
Sept. 24, 2024
Employees at an Apple Store in Oklahoma City's Penn Square Mall have voted to ratify their first collectively-bargained contract. The store's workers are part of the Communications Workers of America, operating as Apple Retail Union-CWA Local 6016.
Thousands of hotel workers walk off the job at world's largest Hilton in Honolulu
Reuters
By Reuters Sept. 24, 2024
Around 2,000 hotel workers walked off the job on Tuesday at Hilton Worldwide Holdings' (HLT.N), opens new tab largest hotel in the world as contract negotiations stalled, according to the Unite Here Union. Workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village said they will strike until they win new contracts. A total of over 4,000 hotel workers are now on strike at Hilton, Hyatt (H.N), opens new tab, and Marriott (MAR.O), opens new tab hotels in Honolulu, San Diego, and San Francisco.
Boeing proposes 'final' offer to striking workers; union rejects vote
Reuters
By Allison Lampert and David Shepardson
Sept. 24, 2024
Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab made a "best and final" pay offer to thousands of striking workers on Monday, but its largest union declined to put it to a vote, saying the planemaker had refused to bargain over the proposal that fell short of members' demands. The U.S. planemaker offered to reinstate a performance bonus, improve retirement benefits and double a ratification bonus to $6,000 if the workers accept the offer by Friday, according to a letter sent to International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers officials by the company.
Delaware North workers at MSP Airport vote to authorize strike
KSTP
By KSTP
Sept. 24, 2024
Delaware North workers in the Twin Cities could go on strike by the end of October as union members hope to secure higher wages and receive free health insurance. The announcement comes as the national agreement between Delaware North and UNITE HERE Local 17, the union that represents its workers in the Twin Cities, is set to expire on October 31. Delaware North at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) currently employs 70 concession workers.
Nurses at University Medical Center say they will vote on whether to strike
WWNO
By Safura Syed
Sept. 24, 2024
The nurses union at University Medical Center, which formed late last year, announced Tuesday (Sept. 24) that its members will vote on whether to strike after months of what union members say are stagnant contract negotiations with LCMC Health, the private nonprofit group that manages the public hospital.
JOINING TOGETHER
Unions picket over pay at Berkeley housing development
Berkeleyside
By Nico Savidge
Sept. 24, 2024
Local union members picketed a Berkeley construction site Tuesday morning, protesting what they say are unfair wages paid to workers at the project by one of the city’s busiest developers. The developer and contractor denied the allegations of low pay. Unions representing ironworkers, sheet metal workers and electrical workers took part in the demonstration that blocked an access gate for several hours at 1598 University Ave., where crews are building a 207-unit apartment complex.
With the Closure of DC Circulator Approaching, Drivers Rally Demanding Clarity From Mayor
Washingtonian
By Mirika Rayaprolu
Sept. 23, 2024
About 20 Circulator bus drivers represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, along with activists and other supporters, rallied in front of the Wilson Building in DC today, demanding a smooth transition into other jobs as their positions are being cut. Starting October 1, the District’s Circulator buses will be slowly phased out—with the big red buses eliminated entirely by the end of the year. While the chipping away of the service begins soon, mass layoff notices have already begun hitting the mailboxes of Circulator drivers.
IN THE STATES
Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert speaks at AFL-CIO union convention
Northern News Now
By Hayley Raatsi
Sept. 24, 2024
Mayor Roger Reinert took the stage at a major labor convention Tuesday morning. Tuesday was the last day of the Minnesota AFL-CIO Convention at the DECC. AFL-CIO is a state labor federation of more than a thousand local unions representing more than 300,000 working people across the state. Mayor Reinert told the crowd Duluth represents the organized labor movement, noting that city employees are part of multiple labor unions.
Women's Freedom Rally in Erie on Saturday will focus on equality, reproductive rights
Go Erie
By Valerie Myers
Sept. 23, 2024
Reproductive rights and gender equality will be the focus of a Women's Freedom Rally at Erie's Bayfront Convention Center on Saturday. "This rally is an opportunity for us to stand together and show the world that we are committed to protecting our freedoms and rights. It's about creating a space where everyone's voice is heard and valued. We will also emphasize the importance of reproductive rights as a fundamental aspect of women's health and autonomy," Kristy Gnibus said. Gnibus and Raven Clark-Steves are co-chairing the 1 p.m.event. Speakers will include Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Angela Ferritto, addressing economic justice; Dr. Theresa Wheeling, M.D., of Orthopedic Associates of Meadville, on reproductive rights; and Her P.O.W.E.R. Inc. CEO and founder Tiffany LaVette, on child care and work issues.
State invests $2.3M for wind energy jobs program
Spectrum News
By Bernadette Hogan
Sept. 23, 2024
Gov. Kathy Hochul kicked off climate week in Midtown, saying she’s standing with the Biden administration for a multimillion-dollar investment to build up New York’s workforce training tied to offshore wind projects. “As economies grow, in our country at least, the planet grew sicker and as a result we’re dealing with the effects right now,” she said at the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York headquarters Monday.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
45,000 books being given away in Missoula to mark Banned Books Week
KPAX
By MTN News
Sept. 24, 2024
National, state, and local labor union leaders are marking Banned Books Week on Tuesday by giving away 45,000 books in Missoula. Educators, students and families are invited to take part in the event which runs from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the old Cold Springs Elementary School.
UNION BUSTING
Next steps: The Dallas Black Dance Theatre labor dispute's present and potential future
KERA News
By Elizabeth Myong
Sept. 24, 2024
In the last few months, a lot has happened at Dallas Black Dance Theatre. After dancers unionized, they say the company retaliated against them through a series of actions. Then, management fired all of its main company dancers, saying it was due to a social video posted by the dancers. But the dancers say what’s happening is much deeper: They describe a cultural divide at the dance company.