MUST WATCH
AFL-CIO's First Woman President Supports Vaccines but Workers Should Have a Say
Cheddar News
September 2, 2021
The AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor union, recently named its first-ever woman president in Liz Shuler. She joined Cheddar’s Closing Bell to talk about the groundbreaking election and her thoughts on the future of the labor movement. As a COVID vaccine mandate in the workplace remains a focal point of discussion, Shuler said the union supports vaccinating employees but that every worker should still have a say in how that's implemented. "Every workplace is different," she said. "That's the beauty of what we bring to the table is the ability to sit in a bargaining environment with our employers to bring a worker voice to that discussion."
MUST READ
Approval of Labor Unions at Highest Point Since 1965
Gallup
By Megan Brenan
September 2, 2021
Sixty-eight percent of Americans approve of labor unions. Though statistically similar to last year's 65%, the current reading is the highest Gallup has measured since 71% in 1965. Americans' approval of labor unions has been trending upward in recent years and is now at its highest point in more than half a century. Approval among Democrats, which is nearly unanimous, has risen over the past year as President Joe Biden has said he expects his administration to be one of the most pro-union in history.
WORKPLACE EQUALITY
'Lean In' circles help women in construction navigate bias
ABC News
By Alexandra Olson
September 2, 2021
“We see this all the time. When jobs are higher paid, when jobs have more security, when jobs have higher benefits, they often go to men,” said Sandberg, who partnered with NABTU to bring her signature “Lean in Circles” program to tradeswomen after meeting Liz Shuler, now the president of the AFL-CIO, and Judaline Cassidy, a New York plumber and union leader who had formed a Lean In Circle on her own in 2017.
POLITICS
Americans' approval of labor unions hits near 60-year high: Gallup
The Hill
By Karl Evers-hillstrom
September 2, 2021
"This polling data should send a clear message to Congress that union jobs are vital as we re-emerge from this pandemic with a stronger economy that is built upon the principles of fairness and equality," AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement. "The writing is on the wall, and it is time for Congress to respond to public opinion and the will of their constituents by passing the PRO Act," she added.
Labor Union Favorability Reaches Highest Level Since 1965
HuffPost
By Dave Jamieson
September 2, 2021
Labor unions are more popular with Americans than they have been in more than half a century, according to a new poll from Gallup. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said they approve of unions, marking the highest level since 1965, when 71% said they approved. The high ratings continue a trend of growing popularity for unions since the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009, when favorability bottomed out at 48%.
JOINING TOGETHER
Starbucks workers launch organizing effort in Buffalo with national backing
The Buffalo News
By Jerry Zremski and Harold McNeil
August 31, 2021
The nation's top labor leader on Tuesday vowed to back Starbucks workers at three Buffalo-area stores who hope to unionize, saying the local movement could be part of a larger national effort to organize retail workers. "When workers are standing up, they're not standing up alone," said Liz Shuler, the new president of the AFL-CIO, when asked about the Starbucks unionization effort in Buffalo. "They're standing up with the rest of the labor movement. And so we're going to do everything we can to support them."
TAX REFORM
Progressives prepare to launch counterattack in tax fight
The Hill
By Naomi Jagoda
September 2, 2021
“We must not waste this historic opportunity to crack down on offshore corporate tax avoidance and align our tax rules with the interests of working people rather than the ultra-wealthy and multinational corporations,” the labor groups, which included the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), wrote. Labor unions and wealthy individuals who back Biden’s proposed tax increases are publicizing their support for his plans. "For too long, workers have shouldered too much of the burden," said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. "Now it’s time for the wealthy to step up and pay their fair share.” Damon Silvers, senior strategic adviser and special counsel to the president at the AFL-CIO, said that proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations are easy to get union members to support.
IN THE STATES
Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council to host 'Weekend of Service' in Pittsburgh
Trib Live
By Joanne Klimovich Harrop
September 2, 2021
Darrin Kelly was driving when he first noticed it. “I saw a veterans memorial that needed some attention,” said Kelly, Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council president. “The concrete is cracked and (American) flags are broken, and it’s overgrown. This monument is in the middle of Downtown Pittsburgh. People see it every day.” He and other union members and volunteers will be working to clean up the area — pulling weeds, providing new mulch and flags — starting at 10 a.m. Saturday. It’s one of several activities for the Labor Day “Weekend of Service,” which begins Friday. It has been held in conjunction with the annual Labor Day Parade but the parade has been canceled this year because of the rising covid-19 cases. “It is so important to us to take care of these memorials,” said Kelly, a Navy veteran and Pittsburgh firefighter who lives in Lincoln Place and grew up in in Greenfield. “Many of our union members are veterans, and Western Pennsylvania overall has so many veterans. It is an area rich in service to our country. We cherish these memorials.”
Coal country AFL-CIO presidents agree - federal climate action must create good union Jobs (Opinion)
Go Erie
By Rick Bloomingdale, Timothy Burga, William Longdrigan and Josh Sword
September 2, 2021
We — the presidents of the State Labor Federations of the AFL-CIO in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky — know that federal climate infrastructure investments must include robust labor and community standards to benefit working people and communities across the region. Y
Ahead of Labor Day, North Carolina leaders push for federal infrastructure bill
The Progressive Pulse
September 2, 2021
NC AFL-CIO President MaryBe McMillan said in addition to replacing crumbling infrastructure, the package now before the U.S. House will create millions of good paying jobs. “It will put pipe-fitters, iron workers, electricians, carpenters and so many others to work, making our communities safer while also mitigating the effects of climate change,” said McMillian.
Thousands of Mainers set to lose federal unemployment aid as of Saturday
Press Herald
By Peter Mcguire
September 2, 2021
Thousands of Mainers are set to lose unemployment pay after this week with the expiration of federal programs created at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. “The vast majority of people on unemployment insurance right now are going to lose it, and it is going to be really difficult,” said Andy O’Brien, communications director for the Maine AFL-CIO. Older workers are having an especially difficult time finding work, either because of age discrimination or health concerns, he added. More than 4,000 Maine workers 65 or older collected unemployment benefits in July, 12 percent of total claimants. “They are struggling to pay rent, house payments, car payments,” O’Brien said. “We are going to see a lot of people who are really going to suffer because the safety net is going to be pulled out from under them.”
LABOR AND ECONOMY
The U.S. Postal Service keeps cheating mail carriers out of pay, records show
Chicago Sun-Times
By Alexia Fernández Campbell
September 2, 2021
The U.S. Postal Service regularly cheats mail carriers out of their pay, a Center for Public Integrity investigation has found. Managers at hundreds of post offices around the country have illegally underpaid hourly workers for years, arbitrators and federal investigators have found. From 2010 to 2019, at least 250 managers in 60 post offices were caught changing mail carriers’ time cards to show them working fewer hours, resulting in unpaid wages, according to arbitration award summaries obtained by the news organization involving claims filed by one of the three major postal unions.