Today's AFL-CIO press clips
MUST READ
With much at stake, labor unions knock on millions of doors in final campaign push
NPR
By Andrea Hsu
Oct. 30, 2024
As November 5 draws closer, labor unions are blanketing swing states with tens of thousands of canvassers, deploying far more resources than in past elections in a bid to get the labor-friendly ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz elected. Some of the outreach is directly targeting union workers, active and retired, who along with their household members make up an estimated one in five voters in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, according to the AFL-CIO. The American Federation of Teachers has sent hundreds of its members from New York to Pennsylvania and from Illinois to Wisconsin to canvass “labor doors.” The United Auto Workers has similarly deployed union members to fellow members’ homes and work sites, in addition to an aggressive phone, text and mail campaign.
POLITICS
What role will unions play in the 2024 presidential election? A visual guide
USA Today
By Sara Chernikoff
Oct. 27, 2024
Though union members are a small slice of the total electorate, they can help make or break a campaign in swing states. Union workers make up 1 in 5 voters in three battleground states, according to the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor groups in the U.S.
Trump wants you to believe that the US economy is doing terribly. It’s untrue (Opinion)
The Guardian
By Steven Greenhouse
Oct. 30, 2024
If Donald Trump wins next week’s election, it would be the first time in US history that a candidate wins based on such a huge lie – his falsehood that we have “the worst economy ever”. The former president’s big lie has distorted the views of millions of Americans, wrongly convincing many that the US economy is in bad shape. There’s no denying that many Americans are struggling economically and that inflation was painfully high back in 2022, but inflation is far lower now, and most economists agree that our economy is strong. The unemployment rate is low, inflation is way down, economic growth is solid, and job growth has been remarkably strong. Indeed, the country has added nearly 18m jobs – a record – under the Biden-Harris administration. Not only that, median household income has climbed to $80,610, higher than it was in Trump’s last year in office.
Reagan Was a Disaster for the Labor Movement. A Second Trump Term Could Be Worse.
In These Times
By Chris Bohner
Oct. 29, 2024
The AFL-CIO and others have extensively documented the ambitious anti-labor agenda of the Heritage Foundation/Trump Presidential Transition Project. It ranges from rolling back every single labor reform under the Biden administration to outlawing public sector unions, rewriting a hundred years of labor law, and aggressively investigating and prosecuting labor leaders. Trump has distanced himself somewhat from Project 2025, though this doesn’t really suggest that he or a GOP-controlled Congress would be any more friendly to labor — look, for instance, at Trump’s recent remarks publicly encouraging the firing of striking workers. And even if just a fraction of the Right’s wish list is implemented, it could fundamentally challenge the viability of many unions.
Harris tries to paint contrast with Trump, arguing ‘it doesn’t have to be this way’ at Ellipse rally
CNN
By Gregory Krieg
Oct. 30, 2024
Kamala Harris on Tuesday night warned Americans that Donald Trump would open up a floodgate of vengeance against his political rivals, including ordinary citizens, while promising that she’d work tirelessly for every American. “In less than 90 days, either Donald Trump or I will be in the Oval Office,” Harris said from the Ellipse in Washington, DC, pivoting to the visage of the White House behind her as she delivered what her campaign had billed as a “closing argument” speech. “On day one, if elected, Donald Trump would walk into that office with an enemies list. When elected, I will walk in with a to-do list full of priorities on what I will get done for the American people.”
Trump reduced access to overtime pay as president. Project 2025 would weaken it further.
USA Today
By Bryce Covert
Oct. 30, 2024
Though former President Donald Trump presents himself as a champion of the working class with promises to cut taxes on overtime, his record as both a businessman and president paints a different picture. Trump and his businesses have faced multiple accusations of failing to pay workers overtime they were owed. Once he was in office, Trump’s Department of Labor issued a rule that reduced by millions the number of workers who would have become eligible for overtime pay under an Obama era rule. Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation blueprint for a potential second Trump term that the former president has alternately embraced and distanced himself from, goes even further. The 900-page document outlines plans for a sweeping overhaul of overtime protections that would give employers ways to avoid paying overtime to workers who have long qualified for time-and-a-half pay after 40 hours.
Workers Say They Were Tricked and Threatened as Part of Elon Musk’s Get-Out-the-Vote Effort
Wired
By Jake Lahut
Oct. 30, 2024
“I was in shock and disbelief,” says a paid door knocker flown to Michigan to help turn out the vote for former president Donald Trump on behalf of Elon Musk’s America PAC. In Michigan, canvassers and paid door knockers for the former president, contracted by a firm associated with America PAC, have been subjected to poor working conditions: A number of them have been driven around in the back of a seatless U-Haul van, according to video obtained by WIRED, and threatened that their lodging at a local motel wouldn’t be paid for if they didn’t meet canvassing quotas. One door knocker alleges that they didn’t even know they were signing up for anything having to do with Musk or Trump.
UAW President Calls for Working Class Unity Against Billionaire 'Lap Dog' Donald Trump
Common Dreams
By Jake Johnson
Oct. 30, 2024
United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain late Tuesday called for working class unity against Republican nominee Donald Trump in the final stretch of the 2024 race, warning that the former president would serve the interests of his own class and embolden the nation's executives to intensify their decades-long war on the labor movement. Responding to members who question why the UAW is involved in the political process at all, Fain said during a video livestream that "we are up against a billionaire class that will not stop their attack on us at the bargaining table."
Kamala Harris boosted by major union voter drives in final election push
The Independent
By John Bowden
Oct. 30, 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris is charging towards election day in full turnout mode, delivering her “closing argument” in a massive rally on the Ellipse while making last-ditch appeals in key battleground states. As she heads to Reno, Nevada on Thursday for what is likely to be her last visit to the state as a candidate, the vice president’s campaign is leaning hard on support from organized labor in the Rust Belt to shore up her strength there.
Sherrod Brown rallies with union workers five days before election
The Toledo Blade
By Alice Momany
Oct. 30, 2024
To win in November, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown said he needs the help of union workers. “I win because of you,” Mr. Brown (D., Ohio) said Wednesday night to a sea of rainbow union shirts. “Don’t ever downplay your significance.” The audience was made up of about 250 union workers at the United Auto Workers Local 12 hall. While Ohio might be far from the minds of the presidential candidates, the focus on Ohio’s Senate race is attracting attention from throughout the United States. Mr. Brown is running against Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno in the race that could decide who controls the Senate. It’s also the most expensive non-presidential race in the current election year.
ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND CLIMATE
EV plants emerge as flashpoint in fight between unions, Southern GOP
E&E News by Politico
By Mike Lee
Oct. 30, 2024
As early voting in Georgia started this month, the state’s AFL-CIO headquarters in Atlanta was abuzz with people working phones, eating takeout food and carrying campaign signs to cars in the packed parking lot. Rather than advertising or other top-down communication, the labor umbrella group was relying on a person-to-person drive to get its members to the polls. “The more education we do, the more it swings,” Yvonne Brooks, president of the Georgia AFL-CIO, said in an interview. The Biden administration has made it a priority to boost workers and labor unions, and its signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, included provisions meant to encourage union organization at companies that receive grants and loans for manufacturing.
LABOR LEADERSHIP
The Maritime Executive
By Tony Munoz
October 2024
A dynamic leader, [Adam] Vokac is energizing old-timers and newcomers alike. His mission? Grow the maritime workforce and expand their opportunities.
NEGOTIATIONS & STRIKES
Boeing, striking union hold first meeting since latest contract rejection
Reuters
By David Shepardson
Oct. 30, 2024
A union representing about 33,000 striking U.S. West Coast factory workers said late on Tuesday it had met with Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab for the first time since members voted down an improved contract offer from the planemaker last week.The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 751 said with the assistance of Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su, the union's bargaining committee "had a productive face-to-face meeting with the company to address key bargaining issues."
The Animation Guild and Studios Schedule New Dates in Pivotal Negotiations
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
Oct. 30, 2024
The Animation Guild‘s chief negotiator says the union is “hopeful” it can reach an agreement with studios and streamers as pivotal negotiations that will determine how major studios tackle the use of AI in animation continue. The union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have extended their labor contract until Dec. 2 as negotiations continue over a new deal, the guild announced on Wednesday. After the latest talks took place on Monday and Tuesday, the groups have decided to return to the bargaining table starting Nov. 18.
Philadelphia's largest municipal workers union votes to authorize strike
CBS News
By Tom Ignudo and Marcella Baietto
Oct. 30, 2024
Philadelphia's largest municipal workers union voted to authorize a strike on Wednesday at City Hall. Hundreds of District Council 33 members marched through the streets around City Hall in Center City after the union authorized a strike. District Council 33 represents more than 9,000 blue-collar workers, including sanitation workers. They're demanding a better contract and have been working without one since July.
Sacramento hotel workers reach labor deal with Sheraton Grand Hotel after strike, bargaining
The Sacramento Bee
By Annika Merrilees
Oct. 30, 2024
Following nearly five months of bargaining and a one-day strike, union-represented hotel workers have reached a labor agreement with the Sheraton Grand Hotel downtown. The union chapter, Unite Here Local 49, said the deal will bring wages for housekeepers — the largest group of hotel workers — to $26 per hour over the term of the four-year contract, up from $19. “It provides for significant wage increases,” said union president Aamir Deen. “Overall, it just makes these jobs much more sustainable. And sets the Sheraton Grand up for success in the future.”
Boeing, machinists union hold first meeting since last contract rejection
KING5
By Alex Didion
Oct. 30, 2024
Nearly 50 days into a strike that has crippled the company's operations, the union representing its machinists and Boeing had a "productive face-to-face" meeting Tuesday, according to the International Association of Machinists District 751. The union shared an update on social media late Tuesday night, but did not offer any details on where negotiations stand. Last week, machinists voted down a new contract offer from Boeing by 64%.
Boston Hilton, workers union reach tentative agreement
WHDH
By 7 News WHDH
Oct. 30, 2024
Hilton Hotel workers in Boston have struck a deal after being on the picket line for 24 days. Unite Here Local 26 and Hilton have come to a tentative agreement. Union members will now hold a vote to ratify the contract. If the contract does go into effect, about 600 hotel workers will return to their jobs Friday morning.
JOINING TOGETHER
Boston City Council backs local striking hotel workers
Berkeley Beacon
By Laith Hintzman
Oct. 30, 2024
Dozens of striking hotel workers filled Boston City Council’s meeting room with chants and cheers as the council unanimously adopted a resolution to support UNITE HERE Local 26 Boston, a hospitality workers union, last Wednesday. Almost 4,000 Boston hotel workers have been on strike since September, and 609 Hilton workers remain on strike calling for “higher wages, fair staffing and workloads, and the reversal of COVID-era cuts,” according to a UNITE HERE press release. “This resolution is not about words, it’s about action,” said City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata. “We commit to honoring the strike and so, therefore, I will not be crossing any picket lines and encourage my colleagues and all of Boston to reflect our behavior today.”