Today's AFL-CIO Press Clips
MUST WATCH
Politics Unplugged: President Liz Shuler
CBS 5 Arizona
August 31, 2021
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler joined azfamily 3TV CBS 5 Politics Unplugged last weekend to discuss the $15 minimum wage, the #PROAct, and the filibuster.
TRANSPORTATION
The Washington Post
By Lori Aratani
August 31, 2021
In the air and on the ground, airline employees say they served as interpreters and troubleshooters. They stocked planes with diapers and teddy bears for hundreds of evacuated children and dug into their own pockets if supplies were needed. They delivered pizza to those awaiting processing who were stuck on planes at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, prompting the business taking the order to proclaim with glee: “Y’all we’ve got a big one. American Airlines!” the airline wrote on its company blog.
They kept New York moving: The heroic rescue efforts of transit workers on 9/11
amNY
By Kevin Duggan
September 1, 2021
Along with police and firefighters, employees from across the mass transit system were at the forefront of the 9/11 rescue efforts, transporting New Yorkers fleeing from Lower Manhattan to their homes and repurposing their heavy equipment and detailed knowledge of the city’s infrastructure to recover survivors from the rubble.
JOINING TOGETHER
Colectivo workers are hosting a 'reverse boycott' to support their new union and the company
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Sarah Hauer
August 31, 2021
Colectivo Coffee workers who recently voted to unionize are hosting a "reverse boycott" this weekend to encourage customers to support the company and the new union. The workers, through IBEW Local 494, want customers to make a purchase from Colectivo over Labor Day weekend. The idea is to generate additional revenue for the company while showing support for the union. The new union employees are requesting that people who want to participate in the reverse boycott order their coffee "IBEW strong." To add the union message to an order, use the Colectivo app to make a purchase and change the pickup name to add IBEWSTRONG and then the first name without spaces. “When you are able to form a union, every worker would have a collective voice and an equal seat at the table," said IBEW business manager DeanWarsh in a news release. "If the owners of Colectivo don’t succeed, the employees don’t succeed.
NLRB
D.C. Circuit rejects NLRB's limits on contractor picketing
Reuters
By Daniel Wiessner
August 31, 2021
The court agreed with an American Federation of Musicians local that a new standard adopted by the board, which overruled Obama-era precedent and granted legal protections only to employees who work "regularly and exclusively" at one jobsite, was arbitrary.
IN THE STATES
Improving the lives of Tennessee workers should include labor unions (Opinion)
Tennessean
By Rickey Wallace
September 1, 2021
As a member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) who has worked under a collective bargaining agreement for nearly 40 years, I know firsthand the value and importance of being a union member. This Labor Day is a great opportunity to highlight the importance of organized labor at places such as Trane, and the potential for expanding opportunities for more workers to join a labor union here in Tennessee. Organized labor has benefited all of us, some in ways not even realized. It was labor unions that helped make some of the workplace improvements we have today, including the 40-hour workweek, workers' compensation laws and paid time off.
Labor Day event for Oak Ridge, Knoxville AFL-CIO unions
Oak Ridger
By The Oak Ridger
September 1, 2021
The Knoxville-Oak Ridge Central Labor Council will host a Labor Day picnic and celebration on Monday, Sept. 6. The event will be from 10:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. in Knoxville's Tyson Park at 2351 Kingston Pike. "This event will be open to the public and will serve as an opportunity to celebrate the everyday workers who teach our kids, build our buildings, deliver our mail, create the products we enjoy and keep our city running. Labor Day celebrations have been a time-honored tradition in cities across the country since the first one held in 1882. These events help us to remember the historic struggles that have been faced by working families, the many advances we’ve made, and the work yet to be done to ensure that all people have access to a safe workplace, decent wages and dignified treatment," an announcement.