POLITICS
Biden Fills Out FLRA With Former Union Attys
Law360
By Kevin Stawicki
August 4, 2021
President Joe Biden on Wednesday tapped two government officials who previously served as union attorneys to take seats as a member and general counsel of the federal agency that administers labor relations for government workers. Biden nominated Susan Tsui Grundmann to serve as a member of the three-member panel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, currently chaired by Democrat Ernest DuBester. The president also tapped Kurt Rumsfeld to join the agency as its general counsel to take over for acting general counsel Charlotte A. Dye. The pair now await confirmation by the U.S. Senate for a fixed, five-year term. Grundmann will fill one of the positions held by appointees of former President Donald Trump. Prior to her government work, Grundmann worked as general counsel to the National Federation of Federal Employees, a union that represents more than 100,000 federal workers, and general counsel to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the AFL-CIO-affiliated union that represents aviation safety workers. Rumsfeld currently works as the chief counsel to DuBester and previously served from 2013 to 2019 in the FLRA's Office of General Counsel as the assistant general counsel for operations and legal policy, according to the White House statement. Earlier in his career, Rumsfeld served as legal counsel for the International Association of Fire Fighters and represented public employees as a private attorney, according to the FLRA website.
JOINING TOGETHER
'We are union!': Rally held in Brookwood to support Warrior Met Coal mine strike
Tuscaloosa News
By Jason Morton and Gary Cosby Jr.
August 4, 2021
They arrived by the busload. From South Carolina and Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky; from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and Virginia, they came to Tuscaloosa County. Coal miners and coal miner supporters from across the eastern United States descended Wednesday on Brookwood to support the ongoing coal miner strike against Warrior Met Coal Inc., which entered its fifth month on Aug. 1. “It’s been a long time struggle, so far,” said Cecil Roberts, international president of the United Mine Workers of America.
Deadline
By David Robb
August 4, 2021
IATSE has adopted a new Equity Statement and will be conducting and publicizing an annual “census” report to measure diversity within the ranks of its 150,000 members. “Diverse organization cannot be established unless current systems of access are enhanced,” the Equity Statement says. “We must build structures to create equitable access for all, and to truly celebrate diversity. This growth will ensure a stronger union, and together, we will rise!” The statement, which was adopted earlier this month by the union’s general executive board, goes on to say that IATSE “acknowledges that while we all face barriers to our success, there are those among us who face barriers that are more substantial and entrenched than others. We call upon all to identify, minimize, or erase obstacles that are within our control to make a more equitable pathway to unionism, leadership, and equality.”
IN THE STATES
Alaska’s workers deserve additional protection (Opinion)
Anchorage Daily News
By Joshua Lamb
August 3, 2021
The plight of the blue-collar worker has remained stagnant, stuck with an antiquated doctrine from 1935.
AMAZON
Alabama Amazon workers may see a union election rerun after NLRB official's recommendation
ABC News
By Catherine Thorbecke
August 4, 2021
The RWDSU, meanwhile, welcomed the hearing officer's report. "We support the hearing officer’s recommendation that the NLRB set aside the election results and direct a new election," Stuart Appelbaum, the president of the RWDSU, said in a statement. "As President Biden reminded us earlier this year, the question of whether or not to have a union is supposed to be the workers’ decision and not the employer’s."