BlueCollarWriter Labor News Update
Labor News Update - 04/11/2023
Labor News
Teamsters end strike at Sysco in Indianapolis, declare "victory" with new contract
A new twist of the knife from Warrior Met Coal
https://umwa.org/news-media/news/a-new-twist-of-the-knife-from-warrior-met-coal/
University of Michigan grad union strike can continue, judge rules https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2023/04/university-of-michigan-grad-union-strike-can-continue-judge-rules.html
Workers at the Ocean Spray facility in the Grays Harbor region have voted overwhelmingly to ratify their most recent collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Local 252. The workers oversee the production of juice concentrate and Craisins, the popular fruit snack. https://www.streetinsider.com/dr/news.php?id=21487456&gfv=1
The unions representing striking workers at the AdvanSix plant here are accusing the company of trying to divide union membership by offering pay raises to slightly more than half of the workers.
Teamsters held the line on union proposals during supplemental negotiations with UPS last week. While some progress was made on various proposals from the union, the overall pace of bargaining remains slow as UPS refuses to discuss economic provisions. Thirteen supplemental negotiating committees met last week, pushing the company hard on member proposals for more holidays and sick days, improved bidding and grievance procedures, more full-time jobs, and fixes to payroll issues. Other topics discussed in bargaining sessions last week included seniority lists, part-time overtime, MRAs, vacation accruals, breaks for part-timers, 6th punch, seniority rights for part-timers, and meal periods. https://teamster.org/2023/04/teamsters-hold-the-line-on-member-proposals-as-ups-refuses-to-talk-money/
Strike averted: Cub Foods, union workers reach tentative contract agreement
Telework can aid understaffed Social Security Administration: union
Officials with the nation’s largest federal employee union on Monday sounded the alarm on the staffing crisis at the Social Security Administration, warning that without a substantial budget increase and fundamental workforce policy changes, customer service could deteriorate even further.
Boston Teamsters rally to prepare Aug. 1 UPS strike
https://www.workers.org/2023/04/70324/
Barnes & Noble Education WWorkers Seek to Unionize, Extending Organizing Wave https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-06/barnes-noble-education-workers-seek-to-unionize-extending-organizing-wave?leadSource=uverify%20wall
Politics, Government & Legislation
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president has agreed to testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in April, the union confirmed to The Hill.
On March 29, former Washington State Labor Council Path to Power student Chelsea McElroy, a member of the Tacoma Public School Board and SEIU Local 925, spoke with some 30 students in the 2023 Path to Power class. One of the primary concerns the students voiced was the financial costs of campaigns. When asked for her advice about how much money a campaign requires, McElroy said, “Child care workers are broke, so I ran broke and I won broke, and I’m going to keep running and winning!”
Teacher union fights special education loan bill for NYC private schools
Union teachers say education 'deregulation' bill advanced by Indiana House is a 'slap in the face'
Cement Workers’, Teamsters’ Pensions Receive Additional PBGC Funding
The PBGC paid out $438 million in additional funding to the NYS Teamsters Conference Plan and smaller amounts to three other plans.
https://www.ai-cio.com/news/cement-workers-teamsters-pensions-receive-additional-pbgc-funding/
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) and Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) were both friends with one of the five people killed Monday in a mass shooting at Old National Bank in Louisville. Beshear said Thomas Elliot, a senior vice president at the bank, was one of his "closest friends," and one of two friends killed in the mass shooting. "Tommy Elliot helped me build my law career, helped me become governor, gave me advice on being a good dad," Beshear said. "He was an incredible friend." Scott said Elliot was a friend and his "banker for many years."
https://news.yahoo.com/kentucky-governor-florida-u-senator-042315536.html
North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) was looking for panelists for a March 8 presentation to members of Congress and their staff, and asked the Oregon Building Trades Council to find someone to take part. United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 290 nominated Kasey Finegan as someone who sets an example of participation in her union. The panel would be a chance to tell her story. The event took place in a Capitol conference room during Women in Construction Week. NABTU president Sean Garvey introduced the panel, followed by national AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler. Women have doubled in the construction workforce in the last decade, Garvey said, but that means going from 2% to 4%. There’s a lot of room for growth, and Finegan told members of Congress that she feels like she’s part of a culture change.
https://nwlaborpress.org/2023/04/apprentice-tells-her-story-at-the-capitol/
Ousted Tennessee legislator Justin Jones reinstated after Nashville council vote —
The council suspended the rules to allow an immediate vote on Jones’ seat. Less than an hour later, Jones was sworn in on the steps of the State Capitol.
Jobs, Business & Economy
FedEx Overhaul Contemplates a Future With No Drivers on Payroll
The Top-Paying Jobs in Cannabis
https://www.greenmarketreport.com/top-paying-jobs-cannabis/
A University of Michigan survey unveiled a concerning statistic. About 39% of nurses in Michigan say they intend to leave their jobs in the next year.
https://news.yahoo.com/u-m-survey-finds-39-031818817.html
OPM urges federal agencies to extend job deadlines amid USAJobs outage https://www.federaltimes.com/management/career/2023/04/10/opm-urges-federal-agencies-to-extend-job-deadlines-amid-usajobs-outage/
Missouri's recreational cannabis market drives growth in higher-paying jobs
https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2023/04/10/missouri-cannabis-job-growth.html
Under Elon Musk, Twitter has antagonized multiple major news organizations by labeling them state-funded media, appears to have eased restrictions on Russian government accounts and made crude jokes on the front of its headquarters and on Musk's own Twitter display name.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/10/tech/elon-musk-twitter-antics-turnaround/index.html
This Day in Labor History
On this day in Labor History the year was 1934. That was the day that labor organizer Frank Norman disappeared from the Lakeland, Florida area and was never heard from again. It is believed he was kidnapped and murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan. Norman was organizing citrus workers in the northern part of the state.
Donate
Enjoying what we do at BlueCollarWriter Labor Media and the services we provide? Then please considering donating. BCW Labor Media is 100% crowdfunded by pro-union supporters like you and we would like to keep it that way, but it takes readers like you to pitch in so we can continue our mission and providing the news that matters to workers like you.
