Today's AFL-CIO press clips
MUST LISTEN
Labor unions make a final push canvassing door to door in swing states
NPR
By Andrea Hsu
Oct. 28, 2024
Many labor unions have blanketed swing states with record numbers of volunteer and paid canvassers. The persuasion phase has nearly ended. Now it's all about getting out the vote.
POLITICS
The Guardian
By Steven Greenhouse
Oct. 28, 2024
Liz Shuler, the president of the AFL-CIO, the country’s main labor federation, agreed, saying that Trump’s tough words on trade have done little for workers. “This is an example of Trump’s rhetoric not matching reality,” Shuler said. “He talks a good game, but there’s no action to back it up. When he had the ability to make a difference, when he was president, he went to different places and pretended to be a savior, and you followed up and you saw that those plants closed and jobs were moved to Mexico. He did nothing to fix it.”
In a visit to Baltimore, Biden will announce $3 billion to reduce carbon emissions at US ports
ABC News
By Matthew Daly
Oct. 29, 2024
The Biden administration is awarding nearly $3 billion to boost climate-friendly equipment and infrastructure at ports across the country, including Baltimore, where a deadly bridge collapse killed six construction workers in March and disrupted East Coast shipping routes for months. President Joe Biden is set to visit the city's main port Tuesday to announce the grants, which officials say will improve and electrify port infrastructure at 55 sites nationwide while supporting an estimated 40,000 union jobs, reducing pollution and combating the climate crisis. The presidential visit, a week before Election Day, is intended to highlight efforts by Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to promote clean energy while protecting and creating good-paying union jobs.
'I stand by it,' Walz doubles down on Trump criticism in Manitowoc speech
NBC 26
Pari Apostolakos
Oct. 28, 2024
There, Marcos Alfaro, Secretary-Treasurer of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO labor union, introduced the Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee at the Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry. Alfaro criticized former President Donald Trump's policies on manufacturing workers and labor unions. "We make the most of what we have and what we are working with," Alfaro said to the crowd. "Donald Trump, on the other hand, doesn't understand this. He does not understand us. The only person he's ever cared about is himself."
Harris to visit Saginaw Co. semiconductor manufacturer that just got $325M federal grant
The Detroit News
By Grant Schwab
The Saginaw stop will feature a visit to a manufacturing facility in Richland Township operated by Hemlock Semiconductors, which won a $325 million federal grant one week prior to expand its Michigan operations. During the Macomb stop, Vice President Harris will tour a labor union training facility with instructors and apprentices.
Ms. Magazine
By Carrie N. Baker
Oct. 28, 2024
The Biden-Harris administration last week announced a new proposed rule that would significantly expand access to no-cost birth control under the Affordable Care Act. The rule would require private health insurance to cover all forms of contraception without co-pays, including over-the-counter contraceptives. “President Biden and Vice President Harris believe that women in every state must have the freedom to make deeply personal health care decisions, including the right to decide if and when to start or grow their family,” said the White House.
ORGANIZING
‘Saturday Night Live’ VFX Workers To Unionize With IATSE
Deadline
By Katie Campione
Oct. 28, 2024
Saturday Night Live‘s visual effects workers are officially unionizing with IATSE. The 16-member bargaining unit, all of whom unanimously supported the move, have also received voluntary recognition by their employer, the union revealed Monday. The VFX workers’ unionization follows that of the sketch comedy series’ editors, who began a union campaign in 2022 and were similarly voluntarily recognized. That group ratified its first union contract last year.
Union petitions in Michigan have more than doubled since 2021, labor board says
Michigan Advance
By Jon King
Oct. 28, 2024
Union activity has seen a major increase in the last several years, most particularly in the Midwest. According to a press release from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024, 3,286 union election petitions were received by the agency, a 27% jump over FY 2023, when the NLRB received 2,593 petitions. More importantly, it was more than double the 1,638 petitions received since FY 2021. Digging deeper into the data, it appears states in the Midwest saw an even increase in union petitions — a 138% hike — the highest percent increase of any region in the country. Breaking it down even further, Michigan saw a 160% increase in that time period, rising from 57 petitions in 2021 to 148 this year.
UFCW 655 aggressively organizing at St. Louis Galleria
Labor Tribune
By Ed Finkelstein
Oct. 28, 2024
Workers at several stores in the St. Louis Galleria mall in Richmond Heights are getting a chance at fair wages and working conditions thanks to the aggressive organizing efforts of United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 655, President David Cook reports. In the past month, workers at two Galleria retail stores have filed petitions for National Labor Relations Board-conducted elections to give workers the opportunity to join Local 655 and begin bargaining for a first contract. They include the mall’s Lush Cosmetics and Gap stories.
‘Saturday Night Live’ Visual Effects Workers Unionize With IATSE
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
Oct. 28, 2024
As Saturday Night Live celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, a group of its visual effects workers have organized to join one of Hollywood’s most established unions. After sixteen VFX artists and VFX leads unanimously signed union cards to join IATSE, their union was voluntarily recognized by management, the labor group said on Monday. These staffers are responsible for visual effects work on the variety show’s pre-recorded sketches, such as the Ryan Gosling “Papyrus” short or the Adam Driver “Old Friends” sketch.
NEGOTIATIONS & STRIKES
At the heart of the Boeing strike, an emotional fight over a lost pension plan
NPR
By Joel Rose
Oct. 28, 2024
At a rally here this month, machinists union vice president Gary Allen addressed a hall full of striking Boeing workers. “When I'm out on the picket line, I ask everybody, what is the strike about to you?,” he said. Allen didn’t even have a chance to answer his own question before the machinists in the room interrupted. “Pension! Pension! Pension!,” they chanted. Pensions are a major sticking point between Boeing and the union. The machinists want the company to restore the traditional pension plan they lost a decade ago. But Boeing hasn’t budged.
UAW sets strike authorization vote at Indiana plant. Here's what's at issue
The Detroit News
By Breana Noble
Oct. 28, 2024
A United Auto Workers local representing workers at General Motors Co.'s Fort Wayne Assembly Plant in Indiana is holding a strike authorization vote this week, with leaders saying the automaker is violating the national contract by having managers work on the assembly line, including performing repairs and inspections. The Detroit automaker cut overtime at the plant building profit-rich Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups a few months ago and last month laid off part-time temporary workers after the union and company failed to come up with an agreement to extend their employment, Local 2209 President Rich LeTourneau said. Those events have resulted in managers stepping in to do work reserved for UAW-represented employees, he said. The local on Wednesday is holding a strike authorization among its roughly 3,800 members at the plant.
Contract negotiations break down as a possible strike looms over DCPS food services
News4Jax
By Chris Will
Oct. 28, 2024
ood service at Duval County Public Schools could soon be in jeopardy. Contract negotiations between the workers' union and the district’s food service provider have broken down. And the union said if a deal is not agreed upon, the workers could vote to strike, which would mean union members could walk out, possibly impacting student meals at school. The union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, represents the food service workers. They are in negotiations with Chartwells K12, which is the DCPS food service provider.
Baltimore hotel workers reach new deal with city-owned Hilton for higher wages
The Baltimore Banner
By Penelope Blackwell
Oct. 28, 2024
Hotel workers at Baltimore’s downtown Hilton reached an agreement with the company for a new union contract after months of bargaining, picket lines and a one-day strike on Labor Day. The new four-year contract includes wage increases for non-tipped and tipped hotel workers and more funding for workers’ pension and health care funds, according to Unite Here Local 7 President Tracy Lingo. It also includes language to ensure fair pay for banquet workers at the city-owned hotel.
'Change thousands of lives': Fred Meyer union agrees to new 3-year contract after workers' strike
KGW
By Alex Jensen
Oct. 28, 2024
Months after thousands of Portland-area Fred Meyer employees went on strike, their union announced Monday that a new contract has been reached. United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555, the largest private sector union in Oregon, said members voted "overwhelmingly" to ratify a new three-year contract on Saturday for Fred Meyer and QFC stores in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
UAW In Fort Wayne To Vote Wednesday On Whether To Strike Against General Motors
WIBC
By Kurt Darling
Oct. 28, 2024
Workers at the General Motors assembly plant in Fort Wayne may vote to authorize a strike this week. They are part of the United Auto Workers union and they plan to hold a vote over whether or not to strike on Wednesday. The local union in Fort Wayne says GM is violating terms of the new contract agreed to after a messy nationwide strike last year by laying off roughly 250 temporary part-time workers whom the union was hoping to make temporary full-time workers.
SF Hotel Worker Strike Enters Sixth Week, No Deal in Sight
KQED
By Farida Jhabvala Romero
Oct. 28, 2024
Tannia Turcios Brizuela picked up a megaphone on a recent morning and joined the loud chants of striking workers — “Contract now! Contract now!” — near the San Francisco hotel where she has set up banquets for more than a decade. Her co-workers took turns drumming, stocking a sidewalk tent with water and snacks, and cooking pupusas and quesadillas to sustain the picket line during six-hour shifts, five days a week. “It’s really difficult. Today it’s cold, it’s windy. I’d rather be inside working,” Turcios Brizuela said in Spanish outside the Hilton San Francisco Union Square hotel. “But we’ve got to be strong and hold out for better benefits for us and our families.”
Fred Meyer, QFC workers ratify new contract after months of negotiations
KDRV
By Isabela Lund
Oct. 28, 2024
Fred Meyer and QFC workers in Oregon and southwest Washington have ratified a three-year contract after months of negotiations, according to a news release from UFCW Local 555, a labor organization representing the workers. According to the release, the new contract contains wage increases, dental benefits and stronger health care coverage and retirement security. "After months of hard work, Fred Meyer and QFC workers have secured an agreement that ensures higher wages, stronger healthcare, and a stable retirement," Dan Clay, UCFW Local 555's president, said in the news release. "The agreement also improves our process to address contract violations. This contract is going to change thousands of lives and it could only have been accomplished with the work and dedication of everyone involved and the support of our communities."
SAG-AFTRA Inks Deal With AI Company Ethovox To Build Foundational Voice Model For Digital Replicas
Deadline
By Katie Campione
Oct. 28, 2024
SAG-AFTRA has inked a deal with the AI company Ethovox as it creates a “foundational voice model” that serves as the basis for digital replicas. According to the union, the contract “leads the field in performer compensation,” because it requires session fees as well as ongoing revenue sharing through the life of the foundational model. In addition to securing proper compensation for SAG-AFTRA members who want to participate in the building of the model, the union says it has secured a “commitment to diversity and inclusion” from Ethovox.
More workers strike outside Union Carbide plant in South Charleston
WOWKTV
By Jessica Patterson
Oct. 28, 2024
More workers with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Local 598 are taking the difficult step of stepping out of their workplace. The workers are on strike outside of the South Charleston Union Carbide Plant, and there was a bigger crowd Monday night as more people demand higher wages and the right to take holidays and vacations as part of their benefits.
BNSF, electrical workers announce tentative contract agreement
Trains Magazine
By Trains Staff
Oct. 28, 2024
BNSF Railway and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have reached a tentative agreement on a five-year contract, while the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers has ratified its agreement with the railroad. The BNSF-IBEW agreement is the ninth reached by the railroad in the last two months ahead of the opening of the next round of collective bargaining, and means 53% of the railroad’s union workforce is now covered by agreements.
JOINING TOGETHER
Business Wire
By Staff
Oct. 28, 2024
Two months after hotel strikes in major U.S. travel destinations began, the hotel workers union UNITE HERE has launched a new website for guests to share their experiences at striking hotels. HotelStrikeReviews.org allows visitors to leave reviews about stays or interactions with Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott hotels where workers are on strike. The website also cross-posts strike-related reviews from Tripadvisor, Yelp, Google, and other leading travel review sites. Over 4,400 workers remain on strike in San Francisco, Honolulu, and Boston. After one-day strikes in Baltimore and Sacramento, hotel workers at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor have ratified a new union contract with significant wage increases and workplace protections, and hotel workers at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel will vote to ratify their new contract today.
St. Bernardine Medical Center nurses to stage informational picket for patient safety
Daily Press
By Rene Ray De La Cruz
Oct. 28, 2024
Registered nurses at St. Bernardine Medical Center in San Bernardino announced a formal protest of management’s alleged refusal to address chronic understaffing impacting patient safety. Nurses at Dignity Health St. Bernardine Medical Center will hold a two-hour informational picket starting at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United said. St. Bernardine nurses notified their employer of the informational picket on Oct. 16, the group said.