Today's AFL-CIO press clips
POLITICS
Trump's Push to Reshape OSHA Will Shift Litigation Landscape
Bloomberg Law
By Tre'Vaughn Howard
Dec. 18, 2024
The AFL-CIO says it’s prepared to pursue legal action if the Trump administration attempts to repeal, cut back, or abandon laws that keep workers safe. “We will take action, including legal action, where federal agencies are failing to meet their obligations to worker safety and to uphold protections that ensure every worker can go home unharmed to their families at the end of their shift,” said Rebecca Reindel, AFL-CIO safety and health director.
Federal employee groups prepare to fend off attacks by Trump and allies
The Washington Post
By Michael Scherer, Jonathan O'Connell and Lisa Rein
Dec. 18, 2024
Civil Service Strong is a project of three major government employee unions — the American Federal of Government Employees, American Federal of State, County and Municipal Employees and the National Federation of Federal Employees — along with a group of allied watchdog groups. They include Democracy Forward, the Government Accountability Project, the Project on Government Oversight, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and State Democracy Defenders Action.
Social Security Fairness Act clears key Senate hurdle, heads to final vote
CBS News
By Kate Gibson
Dec. 18, 2024
Legislation to expand Social Security benefits to millions of Americans cleared a key hurdle in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday afternoon and is now headed toward a final vote. Senators voted 73-27 to approve a motion to proceed with consideration of the Social Security Fairness Act, according to an unofficial Senate tally shown in a webcast on the floor of the chamber. "We will vote on taking up the Social Security Fairness Act to repeal flawed policies that eat away at the benefits of those who've worked as teachers, firefighters, postal workers, or public sector workers," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on social media shortly before the procedural vote. "Retirees deprived of their hard-earned benefits will be watching closely."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren pushes bill to make it easier and cheaper to file for bankruptcy
CBS News
By Kate Gibson
Dec. 18, 2024
Continuing a decades-long effort to change the nation's bankruptcy system, Sen. Elizabeth Warren plans to propose legislation on Wednesday aimed at making the process less costly and complicated for the hundreds of thousands of individuals who seek court-sanctioned relief from debt each year. The bill has been endorsed by a wide range of groups including the AFL-CIO, a labor union, and consumer advocacy groups Public Citizen and National Consumer Law Center.
Senate may soon vote on a bill to change certain Social Security rules. Here’s what to know
CNBC
By Lorie Konish
Dec. 18, 2024
During the Senate’s final days of business in this congressional session, it is expected to vote on a bill that would change certain Social Security rules. The bill — the Social Security Fairness Act — would repeal provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for some individuals who also receive pension income from jobs in the public sector. On Nov. 12, the House of Representatives passed the bill with the support of members of both sides of the aisle.
Final vote on ‘Social Security Fairness Act’ expected before weekend
KALB
By Rob LaPerle and KALB Digital Team
Dec. 18, 2024
The United States Senate voted on Wednesday, December 18, to bring H.R. 82, known as the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA), to a vote. Senator Bill Cassidy, alongside 72 fellow Senators, invoked a process known as cloture, which forces the Senate to limit debate on a measure to 30 hours. Wednesday’s action happened after both co-sponsors of H.R. 82, Congressman Garret Graves (R-LA) and Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) authored a letter to Senate leadership, urging them
TRANSPORTATION
U.S. Senate passes bill to protect railroad unemployment benefits
KNOP
By Beatriz Reyna
Dec. 18, 2024
“As America’s largest transportation labor federation, we’ve seen firsthand how unemployment and sickness benefits are a lifeline for workers in times of need. After more than a decade of waiting, passenger and freight rail workers will finally receive the full value of the benefits they have earned. We thank Senator Fischer, Representative Schakowsky, and our congressional partners who got this bill across the finish line,” said AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD) President Greg Regan.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Companies that mandate RTO see slower workforce growth, studies show
The Washington Post
By Taylor Telford
Dec. 18, 2024
Workforce growth among companies that allow hybrid work is outpacing that of firms mandating a return to offices, data from Revelio Labs shows. Allen Junge, who works for Activision in Minnesota, is among the employees continuing to push back against the full RTO policy his company enacted at the top of 2024. Union employees of the video game publisher held rallies in late October, alleging that Activision and its parent company Microsoft have denied remote work accommodations to workers who are covered under the Americans With Disabilities Act. “They basically said you can work in the office or you can leave,” Junge told The Post. The mandate felt like a means of “pushing everyone we can out right now because we don’t want a layoff.” Tension around the mandate has seeped into the workplace, said Junge, who is a union member. Workers are “afraid of what the company is going to try to do next,” he added.
Fed Cuts Rates, but Projects Fewer Reductions Next Year
The New York Times
By Jeanna Smialek
Dec. 18, 2024
Federal Reserve officials made their third and final rate cut of 2024 at their meeting on Wednesday. They also forecast two fewer rate reductions in 2025 than they had previously expected, as inflation lingers and the economy holds up. The Fed has come a long way from just a few years ago: In 2022, inflation was more than twice its current rate and many economists thought that the central bank’s decisions might cause economic pain — and even a recession — as it rapidly lifted interest rates to slow demand and wrestle price increases back under control.
AT&T call center opens in Grayson County, creates 115 jobs
WCLU
By Michael Crimmins
Dec. 18, 2024
Many of the new employees are members of the AT&T union-represented workforce as members of the Communications Workers of America District 3, Local 3371. AT&T is the only major U.S. telecommunications company with a fully unionized frontline workforce. In fact, 42% of all AT&T employees are union-represented.
NLRB
Biden names Gwynne Wilcox NLRB chair
HR Dive
By Ginger Christ
Dec. 18, 2024
President Joe Biden selected Gwynne Wilcox as chair of the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday, according to a news release from the agency. Wilcox replaces Lauren McFerran, whose term ended Dec. 16 after the U.S. Senate blocked her renomination to the board last week. Wilcox is the first Black woman chair of the board and is the first Black woman to serve on the NLRB since it was formed in 1935, the agency said. Her second term on the board ends Aug. 27, 2028; she joined the board in 2021.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
WGA Members Ratify Deal With PBS; Read The Terms
Deadline
By Katie Campione
Dec. 18, 2024
Writers Guild members have ratified their new three-year contract with PBS stations WGBH, Thirteen and PBS SoCal. “PBS writers secured a groundbreaking contract with their unwavering solidarity,” WGAE President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement. “This contract covers PBS animation writers for the first time. It also clarifies that writer-producers must be paid for each respective job function, and provides AI protections, paid parental leave and many other critical gains.”
Google contract staff reach union deal banning keystroke monitoring
Business Standard
By Josh Eidelson
Dec. 18, 2024
A group of Google Help staffers reached a union contract with their employer, Accenture Plc, securing protections on remote work and workplace surveillance that could be a template for others in Alphabet Inc.’s sprawling contract workforce. The collective bargaining agreement between Accenture and the Alphabet Workers Union covers about 25 workers including writers and design analysts. Employees voted Wednesday to ratify the deal, which the union said guarantees permanent work-from-home options, creates a committee where management is required to consider workers’ input on software tools, and prohibits Accenture from monitoring their keystrokes or mouse movements. The agreement also provide six weeks of paid time off to look for new positions when there are jobs cuts, a particular concern for these employees because the majority of their original bargaining unit was laid off last year.
Salinas Valley Health nurses celebrate milestone with new 4-year contract
KION 546
By Jeanette Bent
Dec. 18, 2024
The California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU) announced Wednesday that registered at the Salinas Valley Health Medical Center have voted overwhelmingly for ratifying a new four-year contract at the hospital. “Thanks to the solidarity and collective strength of our frontline RNs, we were able to win a strong contract that not only sets the standard for our facility, but also for other union and non-union hospitals across the Central Coast,” said Tracy Chavez, an RN in the intensive care unit and a CNA nurse negotiator.
EDUCATION
After 15 years, Jill Biden teaches final class at Virginia community college
The Washington Post
By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff
Dec. 18, 2024
The first lady did not say whether she was retiring from teaching more generally, and her spokesperson declined to comment. “Last Thursday, I taught my last class of the semester and my final class ever at Northern Virginia Community College,” Biden said in the video in which she was joined Monday by Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, and Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. She thanked teachers for their work in advancing education policy and shaping the future of the country’s children over the past four years.