Today's AFL-CIO press clips
Please note in the October 21 press clips, a story from the Daily Tidings erroneously listed that APWU reached a tentative agreement, please note that the contract was actually for NALC.
POLITICS
AFL-CIO reports huge groundswell, lead for Harris among unionists
People’s World
By Mark Gruenberg
Oct. 21, 2024
From constant contact with its large ground game of activists and canvassers, the AFL-CIO reports a huge groundswell and a large lead for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris among unionists and their families. But unionists will keep pounding the pavements, making the phone calls, and distributing union literature about kitchen-table issues, federation President Liz Shuler said in an hour-and-a-half press conference on October 18, discussing election prospects and issues that move voters. That’s because, as Shuler said, unionists and their families make up a fifth of the electorate in the key swing states of Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, and Wisconsin. “We have [Republican nominee Donald] Trump at around 19% and Harris at around 64% in our field numbers, with the rest undecided,” Shuler said near the end of the discussion. “But we’re still talking to every member.
AFSCME members rally to warn voters about Trump’s anti-worker Project 2025
Labor Tribune
By Staff
Oct. 21, 2024
AFSCME members rallied here on Oct. 5 to sound the alarm on Project 2025, Donald Trump’s extremist plan to undermine critical public services and roll back the freedoms of working people and retirees. In front of a giant shredding truck, hundreds of members of AFSCME, the Arizona AFL-CIO and National Nurses United (NNU) joined local elected officials and others to detail how Trump’s Project 2025 would “shred” Arizonans’ freedoms, crush unions, eliminate overtime protections, repeal the $35 cap on insulin for seniors, and end negotiations for lower prescription drug prices. Members tore apart signs that read, “Medicare,” “Lower Prescription Drug Costs” and “Freedom to Retire with Dignity” to illustrate how Trump’s anti-worker agenda threatens the issues we care about most. “You’ve heard what Project 2025 is all about and make no mistake about it, they will do it if they are victorious in November,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “But the Labor Movement stands in their way. And we’re going to do what we do best…we communicate, we connect, and we educate and mobilize and organize!”
Elon Musk hosts town hall in McKees Rocks, gives away $1 million
WPXI
By WPXI.com News Staff
Oct. 20, 2024
The Harris campaign shared statements from the AFL-CIO in response to Musk’s swing through the area. “Trump cannot state more plainly the lack of respect he has for working people. We have him at a rally admitting to committing wage theft, we have him telling auto workers their jobs could be done by children, we have him telling our teachers he’ll defund their schools if he disagrees with their free speech, and now Trump’s having his billionaire buddy come to Pennsylvania to launder his agenda. I’m completely unsurprised that this is who he chooses to ally himself with,” said Angela Ferritto, President of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. “I understand what Musk gets out of this. He’s working hand-in-glove with other billionaires to try to dismantle the NLRB and roll back labor protections. What these men share is a disdain for labor protections that benefit workers,” added Maurice Cobb, Secretary-Treasurer of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. “When they get together, they laugh about firing workers who go on strike. I’ve never met a struggling worker—union or not—who thought being fired was funny. Pennsylvanians are sick of out-of-state and out-of-touch billionaires trying to buy our votes.”
LABOR AND TECHNOLOGY
Department of Labor releases AI best practices for employers
Rhode Island Currant
By Paige Gross
Oct. 20, 2024
The DOL’s guide, “Artificial Intelligence and Worker Well-being: Principles and Best Practices for Developers and Employers” was developed with input from public listening sessions and from workers, unions, researchers, academics, employers and developers. It aims to mitigate risks of discrimination, data breaches and job replacement by AI, while embracing possible innovation and production.
ORGANIZING
Labor Tribune
By Staff
Oct. 21, 2024
Workers at the St. Louis Galleria Mall Lush Cosmetic’s location filed a petition to hold a union vote to join United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 655, marking the first Lush employees in Missouri to do so. The filing comes a little more than a year after employees at Lush cosmetics in Louisville, Ky., successfully organized with United Food and Commercial Workers. Employees at the Galleria location say that Lush’s corporate values should be in line with respecting their workers, but that sadly the company often falls short.
Smith College educators officially unionize
The Reminder
By Ryan Feyre
Oct. 21, 2024
The early childhood educators at Smith College Center for Early Childhood have officially unionized, joining five other groups of Smith College workers that have unionized over the past 10 months. The teachers at the school, commonly known as Fort Hill, won their National Labor Relations Board election, voting unanimously in favor of unionizing with UAW Local 322, which is one of the “largest and most progressive unions in Western Mass.,” according to its website.
Troublemakers School teaches Alabamians about “taking on the boss, and winning”
Alabama Political Reporter
By Chance Phillips
Oct. 21, 2024
Adam Keller, a union stagehand, cohost of The Valley Labor Report, and political director for the North Alabama Area Labor Council, stated that “events like this are critical to building a working class movement here, which we need if we’re ever gonna make things better.”
NEGOTIATIONS & STRIKES
USPS reaches tentative agreement with a mail carrier union; new vehicles must have AC
USA Today
By James Powel
Oct. 20, 2024
The United States Postal Service and the union representing nearly 200,000 mail carriers came to a tentative agreement on a new contract Friday. The agreement, which covers work from 2023 until 2026, provides cost of living adjustments throughout the length of the contract. Carriers also receive three 1.3% raises, with two of them applied retroactively.
USPS reaches tentative contract with postal workers. Here’s what’s in the deal
Fast Company
By Associated Press
Oct. 21, 2024
Some 200,000 mail carriers have reached a tentative contract deal with the U.S. Postal Service that includes backdated pay raises and a promise to provide workers with air-conditioned trucks. The new agreement, which still needs to be ratified by union members, runs through November 2026. Letter carriers have been working without a new contract since their old one expired in May 2023. Since then they have continued working under the terms of the old contract.
Union Carbide plant workers go on strike; cite failed negotiations
WOWK
By Blake DeJarnatt and Riley McIlmoyle
Oct. 21, 2024
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and Union Carbide Corporation have both released statements regarding the ongoing strike at the Union Carbide plant in South Charleston. Machinist and aerospace workers at the plant went on strike after their contracts expired at midnight. According to Union Carbide Corporation’s website, the company is “a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company.” The 77 IAM Local 598 refers to the company and plant as “Dow Chemical” in its statement.
CVS Workers in SoCal Strike in 'First Wave' of Action
Progressive Grocer
By Lynn Petrak
Oct. 21, 2024
Retail pharmacy chains CVS Health Corp. and Rite Aid Corp. have had a tough year, compounded by a new work stoppage on the West Coast. Some CVS workers who are local members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) in Southern California went on strike over the weekend of Oct. 18-20. Employees at seven CVS Pharmacy stores who are members of UFCW Local 770 and 324 walked off the job for three days, an action that may expand in other "waves" to other locations and workers in California. Pharmacy techs and clerks contend that CVS is not engaged in productive talks for a new deal and allege that the average clerk is paid less than $20 and hour and can’t afford to buy insurance from CVS, which also operates a health insurance business.
Norfolk Southern Reaches Tentative Labor Deal with Another Union
Marketwatch
By Denny Jacob
Oct. 21, 2024
Norfolk Southern reached a tentative five-year bargaining agreement with workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The railroad operator said the agreement, which is subject to ratification, provides a 3.5% average wage increase per year over the next five years, among other benefits.
IAM Local 774 members vote to accept latest contract offer from Textron Aviation, strike ends
KAKE
By Cameron Burnett
Oct. 20, 2024
he International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 70, Local Lodge 774 ratified a new five-year agreement and ended their strike on Sunday. Union members will return to work beginning Wednesday, Oct. 23, ending the month-long strike. "Our skilled members in Wichita know what it takes to make Textron Aviation products just like they know how to stick together for what's right," said IAM International President Brian Bryant. "The dedication it takes to stand up with your Brothers and Sisters to fight for what you deserve is admirable, and the entire IAM is beyond proud of Local 774."
'They can't simply live off this wage': Hundreds of Eaton B-Line workers on strike in Illinois
KSDK
By Mercedes Mackay and Megan Kernan
Oct. 21, 2024
ore than 400 workers are on strike in the Metro East, bringing production at a power management company to a standstill. Union members for Eaton B-Line have been picketing since midnight, all fighting for better pay. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Engineers, known as IAM, walked off the job Monday at midnight. They've been outside of both Eaton B-Line facilities in Troy and Highland ever since and said they'll continue all day and all night until they reach an agreement on fair wages.
San Francisco hotel workers go on strike for better wages, workloads, healthcare
CBS News
By Amanda Hari
Oct. 21, 2024
About 2,000 San Francisco hotel workers are on strike demanding better wages, fair workloads, and adequate healthcare. On Sunday, over 300 workers from the Marriott-operated Palace Hotel walked off the job to join other workers from Westin St. Francis and the Union Square locations of the Grand Hyatt, Hilton, and Marriott.
AT&T, CWA workers ratify new contract following monthlong strike in Louisville. What to know
Louisville Courier Journal
By Olivia Evans
Oct. 21, 2024
Following negotiations that led to the Communications Workers of America union walking out on a monthlong strike against AT&T, the two sides saw a new agreement ratified by union members on Oct. 18. The new contract between CWA Southeast, which covers Kentucky and eight other states, and AT&T provides across-the-board wage raises of more than 19% during the five-year contract, healthcare premiums that will lower, and "significant improvements to overtime and scheduling practices" for workers.
Westmoreland transit authority, union strike new 3-year labor deal
TRIBLive
By Rich Cholodofsky
Oct. 21, 2024
The deal ends what had been contentious negotiations over the past five months that had seen one proposed deal scuttled by a vote of rank-and-file members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1738 and an unfair labor claim leveled against the union by the authority. Terms of the new deal call for drivers and mechanics to receive 6.5% raises during the first year of the new contract, retroactive to July 1. Members will see 4% raises in each of the next two years and a 5% cut to their health insurance costs. Signing bonuses of $1,500 for full-time employees and $750 for part-timers will be paid out to existing staff.
JOINING TOGETHER
NMU invests in employees, issues $2.4M in payments
The Mining Journal
By Staff
Oct. 21, 2024
“The collaborative effort of the staff and NMUFA faculty unions to effectively convey how much of an impact a bonus such as this would have and the diligent work of President Tessman, the Board of Trustees and select senior administrators to see it come to fruition was encouraging,” said Tyler Thompson, president of UAW Local 1950 TOP union. “My hope is that this will be the first of many relationship-building exchanges that all of the above will capitalize on. I am excited to see what we can continue to accomplish for employees in the future.”
SPORTS UNIONIZATION
WNBA players union decides to opt out of current collective bargaining agreement
The Washington Post
By Doug Feinberg
Oct. 21, 2024
The WNBA players union has decided to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement, two years before its expiration. The league and players union had the option to do so before Nov. 1. “This is a defining moment not just for the WNBA, but for all of us who believe in progress,” WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike said. “The world has evolved since 2020 and we cannot afford to stand still. If we stay in the current agreement, we fall behind. This is a new era and we are ready to lead transformational change.”
IN THE STATES
UAW leader Shawn Fain rallies Democrats at Allentown union hall
Lehigh Valley News
By Ryan Gaylor
Oct. 20, 2024
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain visited the Lehigh Valley on Sunday to rally union members for Democrats in the final weeks before Election Day. Fain is the latest in a parade of national figures traveling through the Lehigh Valley as campaigns do everything they can to pick up votes in an election battleground. This region could be critical in determining who wins Pennsylvania and eventually the White House — and is also home to one of the nation’s most competitive U.S. House races in the 7th Congressional District.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 562 make sure Heat’s On for retirees
Labor Tribune
By Tim Rowden
Oct. 21, 2024
Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 562 volunteers in the St. Louis and Fulton area gathered for a day of action Oct. 5, fanning out to check the furnaces and smoke detectors of retirees as part of the union’s annual Heat’s On effort. The retirees were thrilled to see them and regaled many with stories about their days in the field. Local 562 started the Heat’s On program in the 1980s. In the beginning, the program focused on going into homes of retirees and needy residents to check their furnaces and make needed repairs. The program has changed some over the years, and also grown.