Today's AFL-CIO press clips
MUST READ
Is Trump’s surprising labor secretary pick good news for America? (Opinion)
MSNBC
By Zeeshan Aleem
Nov. 25, 2024
There is good reason to be skeptical that Chavez-DeRemer represents a major turn on labor for the GOP. Chavez-DeRemer’s ideological outlook matters, but ultimately she’ll be taking cues from Trump. Trump is staffing up with authors of the radical right-wing policy agenda known as Project 2025. That alone is reason to think Chavez-DeRemer will be given anti-labor directives. The AFL-CIO said in a statement regarding the selection of Chavez-DeRemer, “You can stand with working people, or you can stand with Project 2025, but you can’t stand with both.”
POLITICS
Battered Unions Brace for Years of Clashes Under Trump and Musk
Bloomberg Law
By Ian Kullgren
Nov. 25, 2024
Union leaders, strategists, and allies said in interviews that they must focus relentlessly on organizing, leveraging high public support. “It was a sucker punch, but we definitely did everything we could,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said. “Everybody is kind of wringing their hands as far as what we do next, but the labor movement is really clear: We’re going to continue to organize and focus on the things we can control.” Seventy percent of Americans approve of labor unions, the highest in more than half a century. But that hasn’t translated to a greater share of the workforce, as private-sector union density has languished at 6%, compared to nearly 17% in the early 1980s.
Biden policies attract $1 trillion in US economic investments, White House says
Reuters
By Reuters
Nov. 25, 2024
Companies have pledged to invest more than $1 trillion in U.S. industries such as semiconductors and clean energy during the Biden administration, the White House said on Monday, citing the passage of three critical laws in recent years. U.S. President Joe Biden has cited the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act as helping to push his sweeping infrastructure agenda and create more jobs nationwide.
Trump Plans Tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China That Could Cripple Trade
The New York Times
By Ana Swanson, Matina Stevis-Gridneff and Simon Romero
Nov. 25, 2024
President-elect Donald J. Trump said on Monday that he would impose tariffs on all products coming into the United States from Canada, Mexico and China on his first day in office, a move that would scramble global supply chains and impose heavy costs on companies that rely on doing business with some of the world’s largest economies.
US farm groups want Trump to spare their workers from deportation
Reuters
By Leah Douglas and Ted Hesson
Nov. 25, 2024
If there are again raids on meatpacking plants, immigration enforcement should take precautions to avoid detaining workers in the country legally, said Marc Perrone, international president of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which represents some meatpacking workers.
‘Overall positive’: Wisconsin AFL-CIO reacts to Trump labor pick
WKOW
By JT Cestkowski
Nov. 25, 2024
“Overall positive in that she has a pro-worker record, but it remains to be seen if she will actually be able to put her pro-worker record and ideals into action under a Donald Trump presidency,” Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale said when asked for her reaction to the pick by 27 News. The AFL-CIO is a coalition of labor organizations that advocates on behalf of organized workers.
ORGANIZING
Pitt graduate workers unionize in landslide vote
TribLive
By Jack Troy
Nov. 25, 2024
Graduate student workers at the University of Pittsburgh have voted in a landslide to unionize with the United Steelworkers after years of organizing and rising pro-labor sentiment in academia. More than 97% of eligible voters went for a union just over a year after organizers kicked off their card campaign. They claimed majority support by January and unsuccessfully asked the university for voluntary union recognition.
Philadelphia Whole Foods workers push for unionization
Grocery Drive
By Peyton Bigora
Nov. 25, 2024
Whole Foods Market workers at one of the grocer’s Philadelphia locations have filed a petition with the National Labor Regulations Board to hold a union election, according to a Friday press release. Supported by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776, employees at the store claim the grocer “refuses to pay their workers a living wage.” If the vote for the union passes, this would be the first Whole Foods location to be unionized, according to UFCW Local 1776.
Dance Magazine
By Garnet Henderson
Nov. 25, 2024
A fresh wave of interest in unionization has hit the concert-dance world. Recently, dancers in companies like Dance Theatre of Harlem, Ballet Austin, and Dallas Black Dance Theatre have taken steps to join the ranks of long-unionized companies such as American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. All of these dancers are members of the American Guild of Musical Artists, the major union for concert dancers as well as singers and staging staff. Teachers are getting in on the action too, with ballet faculty at the School of American Ballet recently joining AGMA.
Marquette University uses religious exemption to squash unionizing efforts
National Catholic Reporter
By Heidi Schlumpf
Nov. 25, 2024
In October, more than 65% of full-time, non-tenure-track faculty in the college of arts and sciences signed authorization cards expressing their desire to collectively bargain with the university through the United Campus Workers-Wisconsin union. On Oct. 25, university administration announced it would not sign an agreement to recognize the union. Religious colleges and universities don't have to accept elections overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), thanks to a decision during President Donald Trump's first administration that broadened the definition of religious freedom. They can, however, voluntarily choose to recognize unions and negotiate with them.
Cambridge Health Alliance Clinicians File for Unionization With Mass. Labor Relations
The Harvard Crimson
By Veronica H. Paulus and Aran Sonnad-Joshi
Nov. 25, 2024
Approximately 230 physicians, psychologists, and physician associates at Cambridge Health Alliance filed for unionization last Thursday with the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations as State Health And Research Employees. CHA includes two hospitals — CHA Everett Hospital and CHA Cambridge Hospital — and more than 30 other medical facilities in Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Revere, and Malden.
Hundreds Of Medical Workers Unionize At Logan County Hospital
WV Public Broadcasting
By Jack Walker
Nov. 25, 2024
Staff members at a Logan County hospital have unionized. Nearly 300 workers at Logan Regional Medical Center voted on Thursday to become represented by United Steelworkers (USW), a general trade union backing roughly 850,000 workers across North America. Workers at Logan Regional began organizing about staffing levels roughly one year ago, according to a press release from the union.
Casa Bonita cliff divers, entertainers vote to unionize
The Denver Post
By John Wenzel
Nov. 25, 2024
Dozens of Casa Bonita workers on Friday voted to unionize, adding muscle to their requests for more protections, better pay and other concerns that performers have shared in recent months. About 80 cliff divers, magicians, actors, puppeteers and others at the Mexican eatery — which was bought by “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and upgraded to the tune of $40 million — are now represented by the Actors’ Equity Association and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 7, according to a union statement.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
SamTrans enters four-year MOU with transit union
Mass Transit
By Staff
Nov. 25, 2024
San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) has entered a four-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) with members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1574. The new contract covers bus operators, mechanics, utility workers, storekeepers and customer service representatives and receptionists. "This contract represents a significant milestone for SamTrans and our valued employees,” said SamTrans General Manager and CEO April Chan. "I want to thank everyone involved for their dedication to finding common ground and moving forward. This agreement strengthens the foundation for our future success."
California Rite Aid union workers ratify new contract
Supermarket News
By Chloe Riley
Nov. 25, 2024
Rite Aid union workers from Southern California have officially ratified a new contract with the Camp Hill, Pa.-based pharmacy retailer. Members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Locals 8GS, 135, 324, 770, 1167, 1428 and 1442 voted to ratify a new three-year contract with Rite Aid on Sunday. The agreement was reached after months of negotiations and active participation from thousands of pharmacists, pharmacy clerks, and technicians in Southern California, UFCW said in a press release.
AFSCME Local 3299 rallies together for 2-day strike against UC
Daily Bruin
By Alexandra Crosnoe
Nov. 24, 2024
Thousands of workers struck against the UC on Wednesday and Thursday. Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers Local 3299 – which represents patient care, service and skilled craft workers – voted to authorize a strike with 99% support after alleging that the University bargained in bad faith during contract negotiations. The union’s two-day strike led to closures of certain services, including some dining facilities, across campus.
The Animation Guild Reaches Tentative Deal With Studios
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
Nov. 25, 2024
The future of animation work in the AI era is beginning to take shape. Following a high-stakes negotiation that stalled due to a fierce battle over the burgeoning technology, The Animation Guild has reached a tentative deal with studios and streamers over a new three-year contract for members in the L.A. area. The deal was reached on Friday, according to the union. The result of three months of on-and-off negotiations, the provisional pact includes AI language with “notification and consultation provisions,” according to the union, which did not provide any other specifics on this key part of the agreement.
Workers at a 6th SF Hotel Join Strike, Ramping Up Pressure as Holidays Loom
KQED
By Katie DeBenedetti and Lakshmi Sarah
Nov. 25, 2024
Five hundred more San Francisco hotel workers joined a growing strike this week, adding a sixth location to the picket line as it passed the two-month mark. Marriott Marquis housekeepers, cooks and servers walked off the job on Sunday, calling on the corporation to provide better wages, offer more affordable health care and restore pre-pandemic staffing levels. “This escalation is a signal to the hotel companies that we are not backing down in our most recent negotiations,” said Ted Waechter, a spokesperson for Unite Here Local 2, the union representing San Francisco hotel employees. “We’re really putting the hotel industry on notice that their extreme positions at the bargaining table aren’t making us afraid. They aren’t going to make us give up.”
WPEA sues state over contract negotiations
The Stand
By Staff
Nov. 25, 2024
The Washington Public Employees Association (WPEA/UFCW Local 365) has filed a lawsuit against the State of Washington and several community colleges, accusing them of bad faith bargaining in negotiations for the 2025-2027 public employee contracts. On November 22, 2024, WPEA filed an unfair labor practice complaint in Superior Court, citing the state’s refusal to engage in expedited bargaining. The union is now seeking a declaratory judgment and plans to file for a preliminary injunction this week, which would compel the Office of Financial Management (OFM) to resume negotiations for a full biennial contract.
University of California Workers Say They Are Being Squeezed As Contract Talks Stall
Capital & Main
By Mark Kreidler
Nov. 25, 2024
On one hand, last week’s massive two-day strike by nearly 40,000 University of California workers was exactly what it appeared to be. Employees are falling further behind the skyrocketing cost of living in many areas where UC campuses are located, and they are pressuring UC officials to resolve months-long contract negotiations. But behind that basic negotiating tactic lies a harder truth: Across multiple unions over the past several years, bargaining sessions with the massive University of California system have consistently reached toxic levels of conflict before they’ve really moved. And there’s no sense that that system is about to change.
Hennepin County reaches tentative agreement with union employees
Bring Me The News
By Izzy Canizares
Nov. 25, 2024
After six months of bargaining, the AFSCME Council 5 union reached a tentative agreement with Hennepin County for around 4,000 employees on Friday, promising more benefits and wage increases over the next three years. Over 700 union members rallied at the Hennepin County Government Center on Nov. 12, calling for higher wages after employees called the county's opening offer "insulting" coming on the heels of Hennepin County commissioners proposing a 49% pay raise for themselves this summer, which was ultimately scrapped after public outcry.
Statesman journalists will get new minimum salaries and benefits in breakthrough labor deal
KUT News
By Katy McAfee
Nov. 25, 2024
The Austin NewsGuild, the collective bargaining unit representing Austin American-Statesman journalists, and the newspaper’s parent company, Gannett, reached a labor agreement after three and a half years of negotiation and two strikes. “I’m proud of my colleagues for sticking with this. It has been very emotional [and] very frustrating,” Nicole Villalpando, chair of the Austin NewsGuild and health reporter, said. The contract sets a new minimum salary of $50,000 for new hires, $55,000 after five years of employment, and $60,000 after 10 years.
IN THE STATES
Administrations change but Labor’s values do not (Opinion)
Labor Tribune
By Tim Drea and Pat Devaney
Nov. 25, 2024
Presidential administrations change, but the Labor Movement’s values do not. We stand for solidarity — the kind that is built when working people stand together to take on the biggest, richest bosses and the most powerful extremist politicians. Most importantly, we know how to fight back when anyone comes after our freedoms. This result is a blow for every worker who depends on our elected leaders to fight for our jobs, our unions and our contracts. The Labor Movement organized for months to produce a nearly 17-point advantage for Vice President Kamala Harris with union members. But it is clear that the economic struggle working-class people are facing is causing real pain and neither party has sufficiently addressed it.
Linking CT union and nonprofits interests creates a partnership toward progress (Opinion)
CT Mirror
By Caprice Taylor Mendez and Bill Garrity
Nov. 25, 2024
Unions and other non-profit providers have been at the forefront of the struggle to tear down these fiscal roadblocks. There is no daylight between them; both are resisting the structures that entrench inequality and sap public resources that could otherwise fuel growth and opportunity. To depict unions as an unseen hand manipulating the levers of power is a distraction from the real power brokers: the special interest, billionaire-funded groups like the Yankee Institute who defend these restrictive fiscal policies in order to protect the status quo.
APPRENTICESHIPS & TRAINING
Santa Clara VTA celebrates new graduates of VTA/ATU JWI Apprenticeship Program
Mass Transit
By Staff
Nov. 25, 2024
The agency says the milestone marks the continued success of a groundbreaking partnership between Santa Clara VTA, the ATU Local 265 and Mission College. The JWI apprenticeship program, which started in 2008, has aimed to build a strong, sustainable workforce through a combination of on-the-job training and classroom instruction. Santa Clara VTA, ATU Local 265 and Mission College collaborate to offer apprentices a comprehensive 18-month to two-year program.
LABOR AND ENTERTAINMENT
Hollywood unions are facing an uphill battle against Trump, AI and the slowdown
Los Angeles Times
By Christi Carras and Stacy Perman
Nov. 25, 2024
Video game performers. Visual effects artists. Animation workers. Intimacy coordinators. More than a year after overlapping strikes by Hollywood writers and actors that rattled the entertainment industry, many technicians and craftspeople who operate outside of the spotlight are pressing their own demands for a better deal. The sustained unrest among entertainment workers has added to the volatility that has gripped a film and TV business still recovering from the pandemic, prior labor disruptions and a persistent industry contraction. The labor discord has been fueled by several forces, including the rising cost of living in Southern California, the outsourcing of jobs to other states and countries and the spread of artificial intelligence technology that many see as a threat to jobs. It’s unclear, however, how the major media and entertainment companies will respond to the demands. Studios and other firms are under intense pressure to cut costs in an uncertain market that’s undergoing rapid change. And the election of Donald Trump, whose administration is expected to be generally pro-business, could give media executives latitude to take a harder line in bargaining.
RETIREMENT SECURITY
Union leaders call on Congress, union members to support Social Security Fairness Act
Labor Tribune
By Elizabeth Donald
Nov. 25, 2024
Union leaders are calling on Congress and union members to support a bill that would significantly change retirement benefits for millions of workers. H.R. 82 is the Social Security Fairness Act, which would do away with two regulations that limit how much money some workers can receive when they have worked in the private sector as well as government jobs. During the Reagan administration, the federal government reduced Social Security checks for anyone who was drawing a pension from a government job, including postal workers, teachers, fire fighters and other public service workers and first responders. Workers sometimes lose as much as two-thirds of the Social Security payments they funded, even if they were fully vested in Social Security before they began working for a state or federal employer.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
AFL-CIO Community Services struggling with donations to Adopt-A-Family Program
KQ2
By Josephfer Williams Jr
Nov. 25, 2024
With many families struggling during the holiday season, AFL-CIO Community Services uses their Adopt-A-Family Program to help residents in the area, but due to a printing issue with their newsletter, donations have slowed down. Adopt-A-Family is an eight week program where families are able to secure Christmas gifts, clothes and much more during the holidays. Leading up to the start of the program, AFL-CIO usually sends out a newsletter but after their original printing company went out of business, they switched to a new one that put them three weeks behind. With many families struggling during the holiday season, AFL-CIO Community Services uses their Adopt-A-Family Program to help residents in the area, but due to a printing issue with their newsletter, donations have slowed down.