You are here
AFL-CIO
Black History Month Profiles: Lisa Dawn Cave
This year, for Black History Month, we're taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently active making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only their community, but also to improve conditions for working people across the country. Today's profile is Lisa Dawn Cave of Actors' Equity Association.
Lisa Dawn Cave is an eastern stage manager councilor who has served on Equity’s national council for more than 11 years. Originally joining Equity as a performer, Cave eventually changed her focus to stage management. Her many contributions to the union include serving as a vice chair of Equity’s Production Committee and on the current Show Development Negotiating Team. Cave serves on the board of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and is a founding member of both Black Theatre United and Broadway & Beyond: Access for Stage Managers of Color. In 2023, she was one of the recipients of the Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre in recognition of her achievements and unwavering dedication to the Broadway community.
Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 02/06/2024 - 10:19Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Lush Cosmetics Workers in Lexington, Kentucky, Join UFCW Local 227
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Workers at the Lush store in Lexington, Kentucky, joined United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 227, becoming the second unit of Lush workers in Kentucky to join the local. The seven employees work as cosmetics sales ambassadors and floor leaders and sell vegetarian and vegan bath bombs, creams, soaps, shampoos and other products. They are concerned about insufficient wages and insufficient working conditions.
“I came to work at Lush because of what Lush stands for: ethical buying, how inclusive the products are, and how innovative they are with non-packaging and ingredients,” said Naomi Stone, who is a sales ambassador at the Lexington store. “Despite how great the company is for customers, in my three months of working here, I have noticed a large turnover in employees and I can’t see how using company resources and time to constantly hire and train new people is efficient and sustainable. A union would help create better working conditions and ensure long-lasting loyal employees, which will increase the customer experience.”
Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 02/06/2024 - 10:08Having Our Hard Work Respected: The Working People Weekly List
Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List.
Growing in the Cannabis Industry: “Those of you who follow our updates a little more closely than the average partner might have noticed that over the past year or more, we’ve talked a lot about our successes in organizing in one particular industry: legal cannabis. In January, I was fortunate enough to attend one of our first ever bargaining sessions with a cannabis employer. As we continue to grow by leaps and abounds in this industry—we have yet another election in just over a week—I think it’s time we discussed it in detail so anyone with questions can understand why there’s been a strong focus on these workers.”
Workers at José Andrés’ The Bazaar Say They Want to Form Union: “Workers at José Andrés’ flashy D.C. restaurant The Bazaar have announced their intention to form a union with Unite Here Local 25. The union announcement did not say how many employees would be included, but the restaurant has a large staff. The union said it would include a range of jobs, including hosts, food runners, cooks, waiters, bartenders and more. Bloomberg reports it would cover about 140 employees. The union says a ‘supermajority’ of employees supported the move. It seeks management to voluntarily recognize their union.”
U.S. ‘Avatar’ Workers Vote to Unionize in Boost for VFX Organizing Effort: “U.S.-based visual effects artists who help bring James Cameron’s 'Avatar' epics to life have voted to unionize in a National Labor Relations Board election. Of an eligible 88 workers at Walt Disney Studios subsidiary TCF U.S. Productions 27 Inc., who assist with productions for Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment, 57 voted to join the union and 19 voted against, while two ballots were void. These workers include creatures costume leads and environment artists as well as others in the stage, environments, render, post viz, sequence, turn over and kabuki departments.”
Chicago Tribune’s Unionized Newsroom Staff to Go on Historic 24-Hour Strike Thursday: ‘Enough Is Enough’: “In what’s believed to be a first in Chicago newspaper history, reporters and other newsroom staffers at the Chicago Tribune plan to go on strike Thursday, joining hundreds of other Tribune Publishing employees in a nationwide action after years of contract negotiations. More than 200 journalists and production workers at seven newsrooms across the country are participating in the 24-hour strike to demand fair wages and that management not eliminate their 401(k) match benefits, according to a news release from The NewsGuild-CWA, which represents the employees.”
The Onion Union Reaches Tentative Deal with Management, Averting Strike: “A strike has been averted at The Onion and several of its sister publications, at least for now. Hours before their current labor agreement was set to expire, The Onion union—representing staffers at The Onion, Onion Labs, The A.V. Club, Deadspin and The Takeout—reached a tentative deal on a new contract with owners G/O Media. According to union, affiliated with the Writers Guild of America East, the new agreement ‘made important gains in wages and workplace protections.’ No other details were immediately available.”
Culinary Union Reaches Deal with Plaza, 13 Resorts Still Without Contracts: “The Culinary Union said a tentative new five-year contract has been reached with the Plaza in downtown Las Vegas. News of the deal came in early Wednesday morning. The union says the agreement covers about 250 hospitality workers. This comes just hours after Culinary announced a tentative agreement with Treasure Island on the Las Vegas Strip.”
Advocacy Group for Retirees Endorses Biden in Re-Election Bid: “A grassroots group advocating for retired Americans endorsed President Biden in his re-election bid Tuesday, citing his accomplishments that have benefitted seniors during his first term in office. The board of the Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA), a nonprofit group with more than 4 million members founded by the AFL-CIO, voted Tuesday to make the endorsement official, according to a release provided exclusively to The Hill.”
Duke Raleigh Hospital Maintenance Workers Vote to Join a Union: “‘We’re just trying to provide for our families, be treated fairly, and have our hard work respected,’ said Duke Raleigh worker Corey Brown in a press release from the state AFL-CIO. ‘People have kids, houses, and lives at stake, and before the hospital could do pretty much whatever they wanted. Now we will have the power to secure our future together.’”
Pitt Graduate Workers Request Union Recognition: “Graduate workers at Pitt are asking for voluntary recognition of their union, claiming majority support for collective bargaining. Hundreds of graduate workers, United Steelworkers organizers and unaffiliated supporters gathered on the first floor of the Cathedral of Learning Tuesday to deliver a letter to Chancellor Joan Gabel with a request.”
Union Members Secure Wage Increases at West Michigan Harding's Stores: “Union workers at Harding's stores in Hartford voted to ratify a new contract Friday. Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 951, or UFCW, voted on Jan. 26 in favor of a three-year agreement for Harding's Store #965 that would feature significant wage increases for employees.”
Columbus Museum of Art Becomes First Ohio Museum to Ratify Union Contract: “The Columbus Museum of Art announced Tuesday it has ratified its first contract with AFSCME Ohio Council 8. The museum is the first in Ohio to ratify a union contract. Brooke Minto, the museum's executive director and CEO, said in a released statement, ‘The Columbus Museum of Art is happy to have reached its first collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME Ohio Council 8. This commitment signifies a mutual desire between both parties to achieve an agreement that is both equitable for our colleagues and economically viable for the organization.’”
Biden Orders U.S. Contractors to Reveal Salary Ranges in Job Ads: “The Biden administration plans to require companies with federal government contracts to disclose expected salary ranges in job postings, as part of a broader effort to boost race and gender pay equity. U.S. contractors, as well as federal agencies, will also be prohibited from using a job applicant’s compensation history to set their starting pay. ‘These new actions adopt commonsense policies that will help pay millions of workers fairly, close gender and racial wage gaps, and yield tangible benefits for the federal government and federal contractors,’ President Joe Biden said in a statement coinciding with the 15th anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. That law overturned a U.S. Supreme Court decision that restricted when workers could file pay discrimination complaints.”
Brown Prepared to Voluntarily Recognize Postdoc Union Pending Signature Validation: “The University will recognize the Brown Postdoc Labor Organization—the first dedicated union on campus for postdoctoral researchers and Dean’s Faculty Fellows—provided the signatories in BPLO’s petition for unionization are validated by federal mediators. BPLO filed a representation petition with the National Labor Relations board Dec. 28, roughly three weeks after they announced their intention to unionize. In administering the petition, organizers seek to demonstrate that they have enough support to form a union, according to Caroline Keroack, a postdoctoral research associate and BPLO organizer.”
Sports Illustrated Union Files Labor Grievance Over Mass Layoffs: “The union representing the staff of Sports Illustrated filed an unfair labor practice charge against the magazine’s publisher, alleging it engaged in illegal union-busting tactics when it sent layoff notices to all of the unionized staff, according to a copy of the complaint reviewed by The Washington Post. According to the complaint, the NewsGuild alleges Arena fired employees because of their ‘support of the Union engagement in Union activities and/or engagement in other protected activities.’”
500 Nurses at Chicago Area Hospital Plan Third Strike Since August: “Hundreds of nurses at a hospital in Joliet could be walking off the job again next week. The 500 union nurses at Ascension Saint Joseph in Joliet notified the hospital on Monday they plan to walk off the job for two days on Feb. 8 and 9. The same nurses also went on strike twice last year—in August and November—amid a contract standoff with management. The nurses said they're upset Ascension has implemented the terms of its ‘last, best and final’ contract offer, which the union rejected in December, claiming it failed to deal with their concerns over staffing.”
WSU’S Coalition of Academic Student Employees Ratifies Its First Contract: “At academic institutions nationwide, student workers continue to organize. Student staff at Washington State University are the latest to get a big win. The Coalition of Academic Student Employees has ratified its first union contract. With the agreement, student employees will get paid vacation for the first time, as well as earn six weeks of paid parental leave.”
Local Transit Union Members Are Near-Unanimous in Vote to Strike for Better Wages: “Bus drivers, mechanics and other members of the transit union voted to authorize a strike as they seek better pay and more safeguards in a new contract with their employer. Union members were able to vote through 6 a.m. on Friday. We've now learned the majority of those union members voted to strike rather than accept the latest contract offer from Transdev, which runs our public bus system for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada.”
Down East Community Hospital Nurses Rally for Improved Working Conditions and Patient Safety: “Nurses and technicians at Down East Community Hospital are holding rallies this weekend to call attention to the chronic staffing shortage at the facility that they say is a safety issue. They're part of the Maine State Nurses Association and have been bargaining for a new contract since last September.”
Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 02/05/2024 - 14:12Black History Month Profiles: Vonda Wilkins
This year, for Black History Month, we're taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently active making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only their community, but also to improve conditions for working people across the country. Today's profile is Vonda Wilkins of the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
Vonda Wilkins is a proud union member and area vice president from CWA Local 7019 in Phoenix. Wilkins worked with other CWA members to successfully demand that her employer, Lumen Technologies, designate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday for all employees. A member of the CWA national committee on Civil Rights & Equity, she has also facilitated training on how to build an anti-racist union. Wilkins' involvement in her union and other community groups is a testament to her unwavering dedication to social justice.
Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 02/05/2024 - 10:21Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Culinary Union Reaches Tentative Agreement with Downtown Grand Las Vegas; Strike Averted
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
The UNITE HERE Culinary Union reached a tentative agreement on a new five-year contract with the Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino for nearly 200 hospitality workers. The contract took more than two years to fully achieve and there were thousands of workers who participated in rallies, protests, civil disobedience, picketing, surveys, picket sign making, strike voting, and delegations inside the properties. The contract secures historic protections and significant wage increases.
Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 02/05/2024 - 10:05Economy Gains 353,000 Jobs in January; Unemployment Unchanged at 3.7%
The U.S. economy gained 353,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.7%, according to figures released Friday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
January's biggest job gains were in professional and business services (+74,000), health care (+70,000), retail trade (+45,000), social assistance (+30,000), manufacturing (+23,000), government (+36,000), and information (+15,000). Employment declined in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (-5,000). Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including construction, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and other services.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for teenagers (10.6%), Black Americans (5.3%), Hispanics (5.0%), adult men (3.6%), White Americans (3.4%), adult women (3.2%), and Asian Americans (2.9%), showed little or no change in January.
The number of long-term unemployed workers (those jobless for 27 weeks or longer) was little changed in January and accounted for 20.8% of the total number of people unemployed.
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 02/02/2024 - 11:07Black History Month Profiles: Kayleen Williams
This year, for Black History Month, we're taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently active making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only their community, but also to improve conditions for working people across the country. Today's profile is Kayleen Williams of OPEIU.
Kayleen Williams is an executive board member and longtime steward of OPEIU Local 11 who has worked at NW Natural for more than 40 years. “Black History Month means honoring those ancestors who have gone before you, whether it’s Martin Luther King Jr., Henry Louis Gates, Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass or Fannie Lou Hamer.” With her union, she said, “You don’t fight alone, you fight as one body. The words ‘in solidarity’ mean something—it means you fight together, you stand together.”
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 02/02/2024 - 11:00Service & Solidarity Spotlight: 400 Workers at Auto Supplier Antolin Vote Overwhelmingly to Join UAW
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Nearly 400 workers at Antolin Interiors USA in Howell, Michigan, voted overwhelmingly to join International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) Local 163. The workers, who make instrument panels and door panels for Ford, General Motors, Stellantis and Paccar, organized to stand united and have a voice against management as a whole, to be on common ground, to work together rather than against each other and to gain more respect.
“Our organizing efforts at Antolin Howell have been successful. Our members chose to organize after many losses to the company,” said James Matheny, a materials worker. “We lose eight hours per week of our weekly total if we have a day off or even a holiday. Favoritism is rampant and policy is manipulated. We are now union brothers and sisters. We can fight for a fair contract and work with the company, so we all succeed!”
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 02/02/2024 - 10:43Black History Month: A Reading List
This Black History Month, we at the AFL-CIO want to recognize that Black history is not a separate history; it’s not a single month. Black history is also America’s history, and it’s America’s labor history, too.
Black workers have always been a crucial part of the fight for justice in the labor movement, from helping to organize the meatpacking industry to the Pullman strike to the sanitation workers striking in Memphis, Tennessee.
So this month, we celebrate great labor leaders like A. Philip Randolph, Hattie Canty, Bayard Rustin, Arlene Holt Baker and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who won historic victories for Black working people.
But Black history is not just the past—it’s also the present. It’s also Black joy. It’s a celebration of culture and community. It’s coming together to fight for freedom and justice.
That’s why we’ll be celebrating a new generation of Black labor leaders and activists as well, featuring workers from across the country. And it’s why labor will always be on the front lines of fighting against racism in the workplace and systemic racism and exploitation in our economic system.
To that, our Civil, Human and Women’s Rights Department has put together a list of recommended reading for the month—and we’re making it easy for you to support Black authors and to buy union-made. We’ve sourced each book and linked to some union bookstore choices where you can order it online.
- South to America - Imani Perry
- Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America - Keisha Blain
- Walking the Way of Harriet Tubman: Public Mystic and Freedom Fighter - Therese Taylor-Stinson
- You Mean It or You Don't: James Baldwin's Radical Challenge - Jamie McGhee and Adam Hollowell
- Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class - Blair Kelley Ph.D
- Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the Rise of Jim Crow - Henry Louis Gates Jr.
- To Shape a New World: Essays on the Political Philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Edited by Tommie Shelby and Brandon M. Terry
- The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration - Isabel Wilkerson
Please join the AFL-CIO in a month of lifting Black history and culture: reading, celebrating, scholarship, conversation and much more.
Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 02/01/2024 - 14:01Black History Month Profiles: Shamaiah Turner
This year, for Black History Month, we're taking a look at a group of leaders who are currently active making Black history across the labor movement. Check back daily for a new profile and meet some of the people working to improve not only their community, but also to improve conditions for working people across the country. Today's profile is Shamaiah Turner of SMART.
Since getting her start in construction as an 18-year-old AmeriCorps volunteer building houses with Habitat for Humanity, Shamaiah Turner has hit the ground running. She joined the union sheet metal industry in 2012 as a SMART Local 17 member after graduating from the Building Pathways pre-apprenticeship program in Boston, and eventually worked as a sub-foreman on various projects and created and chaired the Local 17 Women’s Committee. Currently, Turner is the chair for the SMART International Women’s Committee, a trustee on the SMART Recruitment and Retention Council and a Business Development Representative for the SMART Northeast Regional Council.
Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 02/01/2024 - 11:01Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Avatar VFX Workers Vote to Organize
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Visual effects (VFX) artists who work on James Cameron’s "Avatar" movies voted to join the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). These workers include creatures costume leads, environment artists and workers in the stage, environments, render, post viz, sequence, turn over and kabuki departments. The unit doesn't include workers at contracted vendors who create VFX for "Avatar," such as those who work at Weta FX.
“I could not be more proud of my fellow visual effects workers on the 'Avatar' sequels for standing together to secure our right to collectively bargain for more equitable compensation and benefits,” post vis coordinator Patrick DeVaney said in a statement.
Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 02/01/2024 - 09:57Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Wellesley Non-Tenure-Track Faculty and Postdoctoral Scholars Win Union
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Faculty on term appointments, instructors in science laboratories and postdoctoral scholars at Wellesley College in Massachusetts voted by an overwhelming majority to form the Wellesley Organized Academic Workers-UAW. The unit will represent approximately 125 workers.
“The non-tenure-track faculty teach 40% of the classes at Wellesley and the vast majority of us identify as women. Yet our salaries are too low to live independently in the Boston area,” said Erin Battat, a lecturer in the writing program. “I look forward to negotiating a strong contract that reflects Wellesley's core values of gender equality and being a community in which each member thrives. Together we'll make Wellesley a better place to teach, learn, and grow.”
Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 01/31/2024 - 10:22Service & Solidarity Spotlight: United Campus Workers of Virginia Lobby at State Capitol
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Last week, members United Campus Workers of Virginia (UCWVA), Local 2265 of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), participated Lobby Day at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond. The members lobbied to secure collective bargaining for university workers and Child Care for All, a program designed to achieve universal pre-K child care, staffed by workers paid a living wage, for every campus worker in Virginia. The UCWVA members also held a rally on the Capitol grounds.
Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 01/29/2024 - 09:46A Sense of Urgency: The Working People Weekly List
Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List.
Journalists at New York Daily News Walk Off Job for a Day: “Journalists at The New York Daily News walked off the job on Thursday for the first time in more than three decades. Newsroom workers at The Daily News Union, which formed in 2021, are in negotiations for their first contract. The union called a one-day work stoppage to protest staffing cuts, as well as a new policy that requires workers to get advance approval for overtime.”
Forbes Union Stages 3-Day Work Stoppage in Protest of Stalled Negotiations: “According to the guild, Forbes staffers have been fighting for two years for a 'first contract, only to be met with tired, union-busting tactics by Forbes management.' On Thursday, the NewsGuild of New York filed an unfair labor practice charge on behalf of the Forbes Union, 'or the company’s interference with protected union activity, discrimination based on protected union activity, and refusing to bargain in good faith.'”
Trulieve Magnolia Employees Unionize in First-Ever Election for Arizona Cannabis Agriculture Workers: “On Thursday, January 25, workers at the Trulieve Cannabis Corp central Phoenix production facility voted 37-4 in favor of unionizing with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 99. The successful union election at Trulieve Magnolia is the first for Arizona agricultural workers in the cannabis industry, and only the second-ever union election to be administered by the Arizona Agricultural Labor Relations Board (AERB). Established in 1993, the AERB’s statutes are patterned after the National Labor Relations Act, which specifically excludes agricultural workers from its jurisdiction. The last and only time workers petitioned for union recognition through the board was in the year 2000 when workers at the Eurofresh tomato hothouse in Willcox voted to join UFCW Local 99.”
700 Culinary Union Workers at Strat Reach Deal: “Culinary Local 226 members at a north Strip casino reached a tentative agreement with employers, the union announced late Tuesday. The hospitality union representing about 700 employees at The Strat negotiated a five-year deal with improvements on wages, work quotas, protections from technology and more.”
Group of Seaport Hotel Workers Vote to Join Union After Months of Uncertainty: “A subset of workers at a hotel in the Seaport won a long-fought union vote last week, a conclusion to a year-long struggle after more than half of the workers lost their benefits. The Banquets and Convention Services department, composed of about 60 workers, at the Seaport Hotel Boston voted to join UNITE HERE Local 26 six months after they filed for an election, the union said.”
The Texas Tribune Is Unionizing: “Just under six months after the Texas Tribune weathered its first-ever round of layoffs, staff announced this morning that they are unionizing with the NewsGuild-CWA and asking for voluntary recognition from management by January 31. CEO Sonal Shah sent an email to staff 15 minutes after management was made aware of the union, writing, 'Our response is simple. If Tribune employees want to be represented by a union, we will respect their right to representation… We respect our colleagues’ right to collectively bargain.' Talk of unionizing began when management alluded to budget shortfalls in the spring of 2023, but it was the layoffs that 'created a sense of urgency to mobilize across the newsroom,' says Uriel García, an immigration reporter based in El Paso. Those layoffs, which affected 11% of the staff, were shocking—particularly the decision to fire the Tribune’s only dedicated criminal justice and demographic reporters. Many journalists were frustrated by the lack of explanation from management about the rationale behind the cuts.”
Plumbers & Steamfitters Union Recruiting Apprentices In the HV: “The local Plumbers & Steamfitters union will conduct a brief recruitment drive from Feb. 20 through March 4 for 20 plumber and steamfitter apprentices and five refrigeration and air conditioning mechanic apprentices in four Hudson Valley counties. Applications must be obtained in person and filled out at Local Union #21, which is located at 1024 McKinley Street in Peekskill.”
Condé Nast Union Workers Walk Out Following Layoff Announcement: “Roughly 400 members of the unionized staff at several Condé Nast brands, including Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair, are walking off the job Tuesday in New York City, the NewsGuild of New York said.”
Hollywood Unions Show Solidarity as American Federation of Musicians Enters Negotiations with AMPTP: “The Hollywood unions are throwing their support behind the American Federation of Musicians as it begins its contract negotiations with the studios. The AFM entered into negotiations with the AMPTP for its new collective bargaining agreement on Monday, fighting for many of the same things the WGA and SAG-AFTRA did during last year’s dual strikes, including AI protections, increased wages, and improved streaming residuals.”
The ‘Year of Labor’ in 2023 Was Just the Beginning: “When people ask me why the Labor Movement just had its most dynamic and successful year in a generation, I tell them about workers like Alicia—people whose lives changed because they stood together with their co-workers. For all the talk about macro trends and economic factors, the driving force behind the 'Year of Labor' was simple: Being in a union makes your life better. We’re in a moment of profound uncertainty and disillusionment across this country. Americans are fed up with politicians, institutions and the status quo. Approval ratings for Congress and most major institutions have plummeted to well below 50%. The Labor Movement is the one exception. Polling shows 71% of Americans believe in unions—more than two-thirds of people in this country, the highest number in the past 60 years. Unions are where people seem to have increasingly placed their hopes, their dreams and their aspirations for a better future.”
What Labor Advocates Want from AI Policy: “Ask AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler what she wants from the federal government on artificial intelligence, and her first answer isn’t a surprise: Strengthen collective bargaining rights, like, generally. 'Through every industrial revolution, labor has been the force that has harnessed the technology and channeled it in a way that’s productive and safe,' Shuler said in an interview this month, speaking from a summit alongside the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But Shuler is also laying out some more specific asks. For one: She’s lasering in regulations and investments related to training workers for jobs in the event of displacement.”
Feb. 2 Strike Deadline: Las Vegas Hospitality Union Works on New Contracts: “Ahead of their Feb. 2 strike deadline, the Culinary Union has reached tentative deals with two properties. On Saturday, the union negotiated a tentative agreement with Westgate for 1,000 employees. 'I’m really happy that we got this contract. I’m excited that the working people of Las Vegas are going to get the money they need to live fruitful lives,' said Brian Torres, a food runner for Westgate, in a written statement.”
L.A. Times Guild Calls for Strike as Owner Warns of Layoffs: “Union leaders at the Los Angeles Times have called for a one-day, multi-city walkout Friday following news that the esteemed newspaper will see dramatic staff cuts due to a widening budget deficit. According to the Times, the single-day strike would be the first in the paper’s 142-year history. The decision comes following news that Patrick Soon-Shiong, the publication’s owner, intended to trim the paper’s staff to address a budget deficit, with the Times reporting cuts could be as deep as 20% or the equivalent of at least 100 journalists.”
Unionized ‘Ridiculousness’ Staffers Leaflet Production In Effort to Start Negotiating First Contract: “Early on Friday morning, 10 unionized creative consultants on the MTV comedy show Ridiculousness distributed leaflets at the show’s production location in Van Nuys in an effort to start negotiating a first contract. The staffers unionized with the Writers Guild of America West after a National Labor Relations Board vote in September, but according to the WGA West, the production has yet to respond to their attempts to begin negotiating a contract. 'We are fighting for a fair contract with improved compensation and benefits for the 336 episodes of Ridiculousness we help to create annually,' the leaflets handed out on Friday state. 'We are currently compensated at a rate well below our peers writing for WGA-covered shows like Ridiculousness. While our workloads have increased substantially, our compensation has been stagnant.'”
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 01/26/2024 - 11:17Service & Solidarity Spotlight: NewsGuild Reaches Two-Year Agreement with Indianapolis Star
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Members of the Indianapolis NewsGuild (an affiliate of The NewsGuild-CWA) who work as reporters and photographers reached a two-year agreement with The Indianapolis Star. The contract includes salary increases and other benefits.
"We're thrilled to have reached an agreement after more than three years at the table. The biggest win is our economics package, which will benefit every member of our bargaining unit," said Jenna Watson, president of TNG-CWA Local 34070 and a veteran photographer for the newspaper.
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 01/26/2024 - 10:29Worker Wins: Fighting for Worker Power
Our latest roundup of worker wins includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life.
New York Uber, Lyft Drivers to Receive Big Payouts from Historic AG Settlement: New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced a settlement with Uber and Lyft to recover $328 million in wages stolen from Uber and Lyft drivers in New York based on the complaint filed by the National Taxi Workers Alliance (NTWA). This case is the largest wage-theft back pay settlement in the history of the New York attorney general’s office. The NTWA first went to the office in 2015, but says it only took action under James’ leadership. Uber and Lyft had been withholding drivers’ wages as sales taxes and black car fund fees, cheating these workers out of their hard-earned income and preventing them from receiving valuable benefits available under New York labor laws. Additionally, under the settlements, Uber and Lyft have agreed to an “earnings floor,” guaranteeing drivers across the state are paid a minimum rate, from dispatch to completion of the ride, paid sick leave, proper hiring and earnings notices, and other improvements to working conditions.Nurses at Northern Maine Medical Center Vote to Unionize: Registered nurses (RNs) at Northern Maine Medical Center (NMMC) in Fort Kent, Maine, voted on Jan. 17 to join Maine State Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (MSNA/NNOC), an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU). Nearly two-thirds voted in favor of unionizing after filing the petition to organize late last year. Their core concerns include staffing and retention issues and nurses feeling as though they lack a say in the hospital policies that directly impact them and their patients. These concerns are all too common at nonunion hospitals around the country. The American Nurses Foundation released a study in 2022 that reported that nine out of 10 nurses surveyed believe their facilities are short-staffed. “Developing a solid union contract is what we have to do. A contract with staffing grids and ratios in place. That’s the big key to improving patient safety and working conditions for us,” NMMC RN Abby Pelletier said.Workers at News Site San Antonio Report Vote to Organize: San Antonio Report’s staff publicly announced on Tuesday that they are joining Media Guild of the West (a local of The NewsGuild-CWA) in order to secure better pay, job security and policies that will protect their journalistic integrity. With 100% support from all union-eligible employees at the local nonprofit news outlet, this decision was partly informed by witnessing staffing- and budget-related issues at similar publications. About five months ago, The Texas Tribune, one of Texas’ most visible nonprofit news websites for politics and public policy, announced it was laying off 10% of its staff after failing to hit revenue goals. "A Union is the best way—as part of our inevitable evolution—to codify the progress we’ve made and sustain our journalism for the future," said Iris Dimmick, a senior reporter for the San Antonio Report.Tentative Agreement with University of Oregon Averts Graduate Worker Strike: The Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation (GTFF)—an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)—representing graduate workers at the University of Oregon (UO), announced on Monday it had reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract. The agreement comes after 10 months of contract negotiations between GTFF and the university, averting a large-scale strike that was slated to begin this week. The deal increases the minimum salary floor for graduate workers, provides more summer employment opportunities, improves child care resources and more. “We hope and expect that our members will be eager to ratify this historic contract, and we look forward to continuing to fight for worker power on our campus—as well as celebrating the powerful changes we have pushed forward at this institution already,” the bargaining team said in a statement released on Monday.Missouri Adopts CWA Labor Standards for $1.7B Broadband Expansion Program: Thanks to the local organizing work of Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 6’s Broadband Brigade, Missouri has adopted CWA’s proposed labor standards, which will create good union telecommunications jobs as broadband access expands throughout the state. Missouri received more than $1.7 billion in federal funding for its Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment Program to expand high-speed internet access to underserved communities through President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law. CWA’s labor standards include prioritizing telecom companies that use a directly employed workforce (not subcontractors), that hire locally, and that use training/apprenticeship programs to recruit and train a highly skilled workforce.Supreme Court Rejects Alaska’s Attack on Public Unions: On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy's attempt to undermine and weaken unions that represent state workers. In 2019, Dunleavy issued an order preventing public sector unions from automatically collecting union dues, rehashing the same argument that it infringes on free speech. ASEA/AFSCME Local 52, which represents workers who keep the state’s government agencies functioning, sued over this union-busting activity and won. Lower courts in Alaska then overturned the policy and now the highest court in the country has refused to hear the state’s appeal. This failure is the latest attempt by anti-worker groups to extend the Supreme Court’s 2018 Janus v. AFSCME ruling.Wells Fargo Workers in Florida Win Union Election: Bankers and tellers at a Wells Fargo branch in Daytona Beach, Florida, voted last week to join the Communications Workers of America’s (CWA’s) Wells Fargo Workers United. This is the second-ever successful election at the megabank. Momentum around organizing Wells Fargo branches is building quickly across the country. Just weeks ago staff at a branch in Albuquerque, New Mexico, became the first to win a union election, and workers in Wilmington, Delaware, filed for a union election soon after. Despite Wells Fargo’s anti-union attacks, these workers are fighting to secure a meaningful voice on the job to improve conditions for themselves and their customers.Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 01/25/2024 - 10:19
Tags: Organizing
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Health Care Workers in Virginia Ratify a Strong New Contract
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
More than 100 members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 who work at Elizabeth Adam Crump Health and Rehab and Elizabeth House Assisted Living in Glen Allen, Virginia, ratified a new contract that strengthens wages and benefits. The two facilities are owned by Trio Healthcare. The three-year contract includes wage increases averaging 13% in the first year and 17% over the life of the agreement. The contract also includes an additional flexible holiday, improved arbitration procedures and other benefits.
“This was awesome, one of the best contracts we’ve ever had,” said Druscilla Mitchell, a Local 400 shop steward and certified nursing assistant. “We got a lot of people signed up as Local 400 members and that made a huge difference in bargaining. Everyone is pleased with the raises, the extra personal day and the other improvements we got. Union is the way to go!”
Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 01/25/2024 - 09:54Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Support a Fair Contract for WGAE Members at Onion Inc.
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Please participate in this action from the Writers Guild of America East:
"At contract negotiations on Thursday, January 11, WGAE members at Onion, Inc. presented G/O Media—Onion, Inc.'s parent company—with a strike pledge signed by 97% of the bargaining unit.
"The message of the pledge was clear: if they do not reach a fair deal before their current contract expires on January 31, the workers at Onion, Inc. are prepared to strike.
"Please take a moment to show your support for the Onion Union—the 34-member unit that comprises the creative staff at The Onion, The A.V. Club, Deadspin, and The Takeout—by sending a letter to executives at G/O Media urging them to agree to a fair contract by before January 31."
Click here to write a letter to G/O Media.
Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 01/24/2024 - 09:28Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Politico and E&E News Staffers Win First Contract
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Politico and E&E News reached a tentative agreement for their first-ever union contract and are seeking to form The PEN Guild after 20 months of negotiations. The three-year contract includes higher pay that helps close inequities in the newsroom, layoff protections, enhanced protections against adoption of artificial intelligence and stronger benefits. The more than 270 members of PEN Guild, represented by The NewsGuild-CWA, must still vote to ratify the contract.
“We formed this union because our colleagues were overworked, underpaid and lacked basic protections,” said unit chair Tanya Snyder, a transportation reporter for Politico Pro. “This contract will benefit our journalists and lead to a healthier, stronger newsroom.”
Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 01/23/2024 - 09:57AFL-CIO: Reproductive Rights Are Worker Rights
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler released the following statement on the 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision:
Equal access to contraception and reproductive health care, regardless of where someone works or lives, is essential to workers’ fundamental freedoms and economic security. The 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision is a solemn reminder that reproductive health care rights are also worker rights.
No one should feel like their doors of opportunity are slammed shut based on their pregnancy status. No one should worry about losing their paycheck or job to travel hundreds of miles to see a doctor. And no one should have their collectively bargained health care benefits infringed upon by laws that criminalize doctors and their patients.
Unions will continue to fight to level the playing field for low-income workers and workers of color who bear the brunt of policies that make it harder to access health care, family and medical leave, universal high-quality child care, food assistance, housing and other critical programs.
The AFL-CIO and its 12.5 million members are poised to vigorously defend our workers’ right to bargain for quality health care and the right to control our own bodies, and we will mobilize like never before ahead of the critical 2024 election to protect all the fundamental freedoms that matter to working people.
Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 01/22/2024 - 14:33