BlueCollarWriter Labor News Update
Labor News Update - 04/05/2023
Labor News
Union Sysco workers remain on strike as rippling financial impacts are felt beyond Indianapolis
Teamsters make Martin Luther King Jr. an honorary member 55 years after his assassination
Medieval Times’ Sound and Lighting Technicians Plan to Unionize: “The rebellion inside Medieval Times’ Southern California castle has spread to another wing. The castle’s sound and lighting technicians informed the company Tuesday that they intend to unionize, filing a petition for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board. The castle’s show cast formed a union of their own last year and have been on strike since February. The workers said they plan to join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 504, the union that represents stagehands at Disneyland. In their letter, the workers said they want Medieval Times to pay better attention to safety and increase wages to ‘meet industry standards.’”
Grocery workers vote to authorize strike at 33 Cub Foods stores —
United Food & Commercial Workers Union officials announced the results on Facebook Tuesday night, saying over 94% of votes cast were in favor of striking.
United Airlines Reaches Tentative Labor Agreements with Ground Workers Union: “The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said the two-year tentative agreements cover ‘industry-best’ wage rates, as well as job protection and certain guards against outsourcing roles. The specific terms of the contracts were not disclosed.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/29/united-airlines-reaches-tentative-labor-agreements-with-union.html
Pay Transparency Is Spreading. Here’s What You Need to Know: “U.S. employers are increasingly posting salary ranges for job openings, even in states where it’s not required by law, according to analysts with several major job search websites. Following new legislation in New York City, California, Washington, Colorado, and elsewhere, employers across the country are becoming more transparent about pay in order to stay competitive with companies in states that require employers to post salary ranges, experts say. A tight labor market and significant increase in remote work have also contributed to the rise.”
Disney Production Workers March at Burbank Lot With Animation Guild to Demand Unionization
https://www.thewrap.com/disney-animation-guild-solidarity-march-unionize/
Representatives from Syracuse University and the Syracuse Graduate Employees United union will soon meet to discuss a timeline for negotiating a collective bargaining agreement, according to a Tuesday email from SU Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Gretchen Ritter. Graduate student workers at SU voted 728-36 in favor of officially recognizing Syracuse Graduate Employees United as a union following a two-day voting period hosted at the JMA Wireless Dome on Monday and Tuesday.
The union representing faculty and academic support professionals at Eastern Illinois University is set to go on strike Thursday morning, about a month before the end of the spring semester.
An early morning Sunday crash involving a Long Beach ambulance driver falling asleep at the wheel and crashing into a power pole has prompted two Long Beach employee unions to act — "It takes, unfortunately, a tragedy or a potential tragedy for a light to be shined on this and to get people to act," said Rex Pritchard, president of Long Beach Firefighters Association Local 372.
New union head for auto workers promises militant contract bargaining and activism
Pittsburgh firefighters union says numerous trucks and engines need repairs
Hillsborough teachers, district reach pay deal after months of talks
The AFL-CIO, representing 12.5 million workers in 60 national and international unions, extends our heartfelt greeting to our Jewish members, their families and the Jewish community as a whole. The beginning of Passover, which is celebrated all over the world, occurs this year from April 5 to April 13. With the start of spring, a time of renewal and hope, Passover retells the ancient Jewish story of liberation. The story of the exodus, which led the Jews out of bondage in ancient Egypt, has been a central theme of Jewish life and an inspiration for all who struggle for freedom and dignity.
https://aflcio.org/2023/4/4/service-solidarity-spotlight-happy-passover-chag-pesach-sameach
A Bedrock of the Labor Movement: In the States Roundup
https://aflcio.org/2023/4/4/bedrock-labor-movement-states-roundup
Loved ones to place wreaths at Upper Big Branch Miners Memorial for 13th anniversary
NLRB News, Decisions and Summaries
Blizzard May Face Labor Board Action Over Union's Allegations
Tesla and Musk Lose Ruling on Factory Union Issues
Politics & Legislation
Democrat Brandon Johnson is elected as Chicago's new mayor: Former union organizer WINS tight race while calling for new taxes and more social programs - after Lori Lightfoot lost re-election
Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) Statement on Brandon Johnson’s election as Mayor of Chicago
https://www.ctulocal1.org/posts/statement-on-election-result/
Kevin Gundlach On The Importance Of Electing AFL-CIO Endorsed Candidate For Wisconsin Supreme Court
Lawmakers to Reintroduce Federal Nurse Staffing Ratio Bill: “The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the struggles of front-line healthcare workers including long-standing issues like staffing shortages and burnout. Some workers have taken action through union organizing, picketing and strikes to secure new contracts with terms to quell challenges—especially regarding staffing levels. National Nurses United is among the unions lobbying for federal staffing standards, arguing that safer conditions are needed to keep nurses from ‘leaving the healthcare field in droves’ and making the crisis worse for workers who remain, NNU President Deborah Burger said at a Thursday press conference.”
https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/federal-nurse-staffing-ratios-bill-reintroduced/646426/
AFT President Randi Weingarten Delivers Major National Address 'In Defense of Public Education': “American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten has issued a clarion call to defend public education, transform learning and support children as the institution comes under existential threat from extremist, culture-war peddling politicians. In an address to the National Press Club, the leader of the 1.7 million-member union urged civil society to fight for the future of public schools and help kids learn in the face of relentless attacks from the far-right intent on dismantling the schools that 90 percent of kids attend. ‘Attacks on public education are not new. The difference today is that the attacks are intended to destroy it. To make it a battlefield, a political cudgel,’ Weingarten said.”
Anti-Union Bill Moving Through Florida Legislature
https://thebradentontimes.com/anti-union-bill-moving-through-legislature-p26136-158.htm
#ICYMI Starbucks fires union organiser days after Howard Schultz testified in Senate about union-busting campaign
https://news.yahoo.com/starbucks-fires-union-organiser-days-000049848.html
What Unionized Starbucks Workers Think of Howard Schultz’ Testimony to Bernie Sandershttps://inthesetimes.com/article/starbucks-howard-schultz-bernie-sanders-union-labor-congress-sbwu
From the ARA: Report Shows Social Security Expansion is Affordable
https://ky.aflcio.org/news/ara-report-shows-social-security-expansion-affordable
Business and Jobs
Multi-billion-dollar manufacturing investment bringing thousands of jobs to Mingo County, West Virginia
Microvast Advanced Membrane Inc. to build $504M Kentucky facility, creating 560 full-time jobs
Renovation of Kentucky Warehouse Aligns With Governor's Push for Agritech Jobs
New battery plant bringing 450 new jobs to Shelby County, Kentucky
https://www.wlky.com/article/new-battery-plant-new-jobs-shelby-county-kentucky/43441582
Marvel's longtime chairman Ike Perlmutter is out, part of the layoffs that he advocated for...
https://www.comicsbeat.com/ike-perlmutter-laid-off-at-marvel-redundant/
This Day in Labor History
On April 5, 1989, then-United Mine Workers of Ameeica (UMWA) President Richard Trumka called a selective strike against Pittston. Some 1,700 miners from Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia went on strike. The strike lasted nearly 11 months and the key turning point was the takeover of Pittston's Moss 3 plant by UMWA members. Moss 3 was the third largest coal preparation plant in the world at the time and central to Pittston's operations. The takeover was a last resort, as the miners believed they couldn't win without being more active in securing a victory.
https://aflcio.org/2022/1/13/pathway-progress-pittston-coal-strike-1989
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