Labor News Update - 05/18/2023

Writers Guild of America Strike Updates

WGA Strike Hub website: https://www.wgacontract2023.org/

Meet the Writers Strike’s Secret Weapon: Hollywood Teamster Leader Lindsay Dougherty https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/05/meet-the-writers-strikes-secret-weapon-hollywood-teamsters-boss-lindsay-dougherty

WGA Leadership Says Long Strike Would Cost Studios More Than A Settlement; Studio Exec Responds – Update https://bit.ly/3o9MbUL

Daytime Emmy Awards Postponed Because Of Writers Strike https://www.kxl.com/daytime-emmy-awards-postponed-because-of-writers-strike/

Dispatches From The WGA Picket Lines, Day 16: Scribes Served Up Tunes, Tacos & Mandalorians In LA, CEO Pay Decried Outside WBD NYC Upfront https://deadline.com/2023/05/writers-strike-weezer-wga-picket-lines-mandalorian-nyc-warner-bros-discovery-paramount-disney-la-1235370797/

Take Action: Stand with Striking Writers https://aflcio.org/2023/5/10/take-action-stand-striking-writers

Labor News

Striking Coke employees represented by Teamsters Local 175 return to work https://www.herald-dispatch.com/striking-coke-employees-represented-by-teamsters-local-175-return-to-work/article_1ddea795-5e1f-5e00-9a3b-dcd21a39a559.html

Worker Power: In the States Roundup https://aflcio.org/2023/5/17/worker-power-states-roundup

Tesla lawyers want court to reconsider Musk tweet deemed 'threat' amid labor dispute https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-lawyers-want-court-reconsider-185051865.html

North Hollywood Dancers Form First Labor Union For Strippers https://lataco.com/strippers-union-la

Strippers and California Club Reach Accord on Union After Long Fight https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/16/business/strippers-union-labor.html

ICYMI - Union Win at Bus Company Electrifies Georgia https://www.labornotes.org/2023/05/union-win-bus-company-electrifies-georgia

Verilife dispensary workers vote to ratify union contract, securing worker improvements https://www.greenstate.com/news/verilife-dispensary-workers-vote-to-ratify-union-contract-securing-worker-improvements/

Steelworkers union in contract talks at Bismarck Bobcat plant https://www.kxnet.com/news/local-news/steel-workers-union-in-contract-talks-at-bismarck-bobcat-plant/

Chicago Sun-Times union agrees to contract with pay raises, bonuses and more https://www.chicagobusiness.com/marketing-media/chicago-sun-times-union-agrees-three-year-contract

Pilots of FedEx Corp's air delivery unit on Wednesday voted "overwhelmingly" in favor of a strike if needed, the Air Line Pilots Association said as it enters the final stages of a contract negotiation with the company. https://www.reuters.com/business/fedex-express-pilots-vote-support-strike-alpa-union-2023-05-17/

A union representing construction workers has tentative agreements with the developers of planned production studios meant to lure film and television filming to Las Vegas. https://news3lv.com/news/local/builders-union-reaches-deal-with-developers-for-new-film-studios-in-las-vegas

WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech says the company and its pilots' union remain far apart on key sticking points — especially wages — as negotiations heat up and the clock ticks down on a strike deadline https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/massive-gap-between-westjet-pilots-union-as-strike-looms-and-bookings-fall-ceo-1.1921348

Politics, Government & Legislation

Kentucky gubernatorial election expected to be one of the top nationwide races https://www.wymt.com/2023/05/17/kentucky-gubernatorial-election-expected-be-one-top-nationwide-races/

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky signals focus on family values in closely watched fall race https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/andy-beshear-ap-daniel-cameron-kentucky-republican-b2340964.html

2023’s biggest election: A resilient Dem governor vs. an ascendant Kentucky GOP https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/2023s-biggest-election-resilient-dem-governor-vs-ascendant-kentucky-go-rcna84704

Michigan House bills would strengthen unions' political fundraising https://www.mlive.com/politics/2023/05/michigan-house-bills-would-strengthen-unions-political-fundraising.html

Millions of job cuts, no Social Security, immediate recession: Here’s how gnarly a national debt default would be https://fortune.com/2023/05/17/how-bad-would-national-debt-default-be-recession-ceiling-social-security/

NLRB News & Decisions 

The National Labor Relations Board will settle a dispute between Code for America and its workers' union over who gets to join. https://statescoop.com/nlrb-to-determine-code-for-america-union-eligibility/ 

Jobs, Business & Economy 

Blue-collar workers could save the US from recession as the tech industry withers https://www.businessinsider.com/recession-oulook-blue-collar-jobs-powering-economy-pay-stability-2023-5 

Workplace Safety

UMWA: 2023 Stand Down to Save Lives https://umwa.org/news-media/news/2023-stand-down-to-save-lives/ 

This Day in Labor History 

The TVA Transforms the South

On this day in labor history, the year was 1933.

That was the day President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Tennessee Valley Authority Act.

The act created the TVA as a federal corporation and was tasked to address the resource development of the region, one of the poorest in the United States.

These included flood control and improved travel along the Tennessee River.

It also meant improved forestry to address soil erosion and facilitation of agricultural production.

Control of water resources required a series of dams, designed to navigate the river and reduce flooding.

Though Wilson Dam had been completed before the establishment of the TVA, the authority had embarked on the construction of sixteen more dams.

During the Depression, the TVA hired tens of thousands of workers for conservation, construction and development.

Historian Erik Loomis notes that though the TVA was one of the region’s largest employers of black workers, the authority also maintained rigid lines of segregation in its workforce.

He adds that though 14 AFL unions eventually worked on dam construction, the agency initially refused to recognize unions.

Workers would wait until 1940 to sign first contacts in the anti-union South.

Today the authority is most well known for its supply of electricity to nearby communities.

It is the nation’s largest public power company and serves about 80,000 square miles in the southeastern United States.

TVA capacity to generate electric power includes some 29 hydroelectric dams, 11 coal fired plants, 3 nuclear plants and several combustion-turbine installations.

It also has several solar and wind installations.

The authority produces more than 130 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year.

The TVA played a critical role in transforming the South by constructing infrastructure necessary for modernization and industrialization.