Today's AFL-CIO press clips
POLITICS
Boston Globe
By Shirley Leung
Nov. 20, 2024
Chrissy Lynch, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, whose union unanimously endorsed Kamala Harris, is also worried about a new strain of power that will keep the working class fighting for scraps. “Billionaires already know how to game the system, and now they have the keys to the most powerful government and economy in the world,” Lynch wrote in an email. “Government is supposed to be a check to unlimited corporate power, not an arm of it.”
How the labor movement built a coalition to transform politics in Portland
People’s World
By Lenny Bogdan
Nov. 20, 2024
In a dramatic show of working-class power, Portland’s labor movement has achieved what many deemed unattainable: the election of 11 labor-friendly candidates to the city’s new 12-member council. Laurie Wimmer, executive secretary-treasurer of the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, expressed her delight at this unprecedented victory, which stands as one of the most significant triumphs for organized labor in recent Portland history. This decisive victory comes at a moment when the U.S. labor movement is resurging nationwide. Successful strikes at UPS, the Big Three automakers, and Hollywood studios show workers’ growing willingness to flex their collective muscle. The labor movement’s electoral success in Portland demonstrates how unions can translate this militant spirit into political power.
ORGANIZING
UAW says majority of workers at Ford Kentucky battery plant sign union cards
Reuters
By Nora Eckert
Nov. 20, 2024
A majority of workers at a Ford Motor (F.N) battery plant in Kentucky have signed cards indicating their support for the United Auto Workers, the union said on Wednesday. The Blue Oval SK plant is owned by a joint venture of South Korea's SK On and Ford, and becomes the latest electric vehicle-related battleground for the union as it seeks to grow its membership. The UAW earlier this year invested $40 million to organize non-union automakers across the United States, a push that included companies such as Tesla (TSLA.O) and Toyota (7203.T).
Virginia botanical garden workers to vote on unionization
The Virginian-Pilot
By Nick Caffacus
Nov. 20, 2024
The workers at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden filed for union representation last month amid employee-voiced workplace concerns, which range from lack of equipment to safety policies. The garden, which spans over 82 acres in Henrico County, has won national accolades as a destination. The Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights was ranked first in USAToday’s top 10 botanical garden light show list last year. The garden employs about 60 workers eligible to unionize, but also relies on an extensive volunteer network. Employees from multiple departments at the botanical garden, including horticulture, education and operations, expressed concern their voices and suggestions are not being heard by their management.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
SEPTA, union for Philly workers reach tentative new deal, avoid strike
NBC Philadelphia
By Dan Stamm, Hayden Mitman and Kaleah Mcilwain
Nov. 20, 2024
SEPTA bus, trolley and subway riders can enjoy an easier ride knowing that the transit agency and its largest labor union have reached a tentative agreement to keep service going. The deal was struck between SEPTA and the Transportation Workers Union Local 234 on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, a SEPTA spokesperson told NBC10.
Benton County strike ends as government and workers reach tentative labor agreement
KEZI
By Aaron Arellano and Robert Desaulniers
Nov. 20, 2024
At about midday on November 20, Benton County employees are expected to vote in favor of approving a tentative contract that was reached in overnight negotiations with the county government, signaling and end to the strike that started earlier in the month. On November 13, hundreds of Benton County employees represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) hit the picket lines to demand better wages and more support from the county. The strike came after nearly a year of failed negotiations, according to union officials. Several county services were suspended or stopped due to the strike.
Chicago Tribune journalists secure first contract after six years of negotiations
Editor & Publisher
By Staff
Nov. 20, 2024
The Chicago Tribune Guild won its first contract from Alden Global Capital after six years of bargaining, securing substantial economic gains and 21st-century workplace protections for members as they continue to keep Chicago informed and accountable. The contract, ratified with near unanimous support Friday, provides two years of consecutive raises and an immediate signing bonus to journalists who have not seen a raise since 2018. It also retains guild workers’ 401(k) match, raises minimum salaries to put the newsroom on a path to wage equity and contains essential protections against potential outsourcing of human journalism to artificial intelligence.
SEPTA strike averted in last-minute deal with transit workers union
The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Thomas Fitzgerald and Ariana Perez-Castells
Nov. 20, 2024
A tentative contract deal between SEPTA and its largest employee union, Transport Workers Local 234, on Wednesday derailed a strike that would have snarled travel in the Philadelphia region, disrupting schools, workplaces, and commerce. The one-year agreement also ends the possibility of a history-making “mega strike” of roughly 14,000 public-sector union members in transit and city services. TWU members will get a 5% across-the-board wage increase, as well as a 5% monthly increase in pension benefits for people who retire during the next year.
Workers at Kentucky electric vehicle battery production complex look to unionize
ABC News
By Tom Krisher and Bruce Schreiner
Nov. 20, 2024
Workers hired for a sprawling electric vehicle battery production complex in Kentucky have launched a campaign to join the United Auto Workers as the union tries to expand its foothold in the South and among battery factories, the UAW said Wednesday. The BlueOval SK complex at Glendale is a joint venture between Ford Motor Co. and its South Korean partner, SK On, to produce batteries for Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles. The nearly $6 billion battery park — about an hour south of Louisville — is gearing up to start manufacturing in 2025. The union said a supermajority of workers at BlueOval SK have signed union authorization cards to launch the public campaign to join the UAW.
UC patient care and service workers launch 2-day strike across California
ABC 7
By Staff
Nov. 20, 2024
Thousands of patient care and service workers at UCLA, UC Irvine and other University of California campuses across the state began a two-day strike Wednesday, alleging unfair bargaining tactics, allegations the UC system denies. According to the AFSCME Local 3299 union, the strike includes roughly 37,000 UC workers "at every UC campus and medical facility across the state." The strike began at midnight Wednesday and continues until midnight Thursday night. Picketing both days will be from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
University of California health workers start two-day statewide strike
CBS News
By Cecilio Padilla
Nov. 20, 2024
Thousands of University of California health and service workers have hit the picket line as of Wednesday morning. The strike comes as nearly 40,000 workers across every UC campus and medical facility around the state have been working without a contract since Halloween. Labor leaders say frontline workers are severely understaffed. The rising cost of living is also a sticking point. "By failing to meet its most basic legal responsibilities to the dedicated professionals who clean its facilities, serve students food, and treat its patients, UC has left workers with no choice but to exercise their legal right to strike," said AFSCME Local 3299 President Michael Avant in a statement.
Negotiations Between City of Portland and Three Labor Unions Stall
Willamette Week
By Sophie Peel
Nov. 20, 2024
Three labor unions representing 2,000 employees at the city of Portland, including plumbers, park rangers, 911 dispatchers and financial analysts, have reached an impasse with the city over contract negotiations. The contract for two of the unions—the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 189 and the District Council of Trade Unions—expires Dec. 31. The third union, the City of Portland Professional Workers, which represents 770 office workers, is newly formed and therefore does not yet have a contract.