BlueCollarWriter Labor News Update

Labor News Update - 09/13/2023

#HotLaborSummer Strike Coverage

There’s still no end in sight for the Hollywood strikesThe actors union hasn’t heard from the studios since its members went on strike nearly two months ago, a source said, and there’s no imminent deal for the writers union, either.

Drew Barrymore Dropped as National Book Awards Host After Strike BacklashThe actor and TV host’s decision to return her talk show to the air, bypassing striking writers, made her a magnet for criticism, online and off.

TikTok Blocked Search Results for the WGA on Monday, Claiming the Term Violated GuidelinesThe reasoning given by a TikTok spokesperson raises more questions than answers.

AMPTP Denies Rumors of Dissent in Its RanksPlus support for the strikes at Venice and TIFF, a Star Trek picket, and film distribution (Taylor’s Version).

Union Solidarity Coalition Auction: Jeremy Allen White-Signed Apron, Dinner with Bob Odenkirk and a Tom Waits Fedora Among Items Up for GrabsWant to grab dinner with Bob Odenkirk or a Hawaiian shirt signed by Weird Al? Well, now’s your chance. The Union Solidarity Coalition, an organization founded this year by Hollywood writers a…

Unions Are Adeptly Using Social Media to Take Down Hollywood’s Elite | PRO InsightIt’s very clear who’s winning in the public eye, and it’s not the studios The post Unions Are Adeptly Using Social Media to Take Down Hollywood’s Elite | PRO Insight appeared first on TheWrap.

The United Auto Workers may soon strike. Every American should support them | Bernie SandersWorkers at the big three carmakers earn less now in real dollars than they did 15 years ago – as their CEOs make more and more. Their fight is everyone’s fight

‘The Cost of Doing Nothing Is Much Higher’: Big Three Auto Workers Prepare to StrikeTwo days before their contract expires at midnight Thursday, the Auto Workers (UAW) are poised to strike the Big 3 automakers—General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis—to recoup concessions made over the past two decades, end tiers, boost wages, and fight for a shorter workweek and other quality-of-life demands. The auto companies are preparing for a strike, given the UAW’s new fighting spirit, on display in rallies and on the shop floor.

UAW may opt to strike targeted auto plants if no deal reached - sourcesThe United Auto Workers union may opt to strike targeted auto plants if they fail to reach new contracts with the Detroit Three automakers before a Thursday night deadline, sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

Auto workers could go on strike within days. Here's what to know.More than 140,000 UAW members are threatening to walk off the job on Friday unless Detroit automakers agree to their demands.

UAW plans unusual strike, sources say. Here are the detailsThe union plans to target certain plants across all three Detroit automakers and then escalate actions to more plants in waves.

So Ready to StrikeConventional wisdom tells us we would rather not strike if we can avoid it. Labor Notes’ Secrets of a Successful Organizer says to start small and build escalating campaigns of bigger and riskier actions. This is not the attitude, however, at Stellantis’s stamping plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Over the past month, the strike is all anyone talks about. It’s been decades since Stellantis-predecessor Chrysler faced a major strike, so even those with high seniority are excited about their first opportunity to go out.

How the transition to electric vehicles factors into autoworkers union contract talksThe auto industry's transition to electric vehicles is a complicating factor in tense union talks, proving to be both a headwind for the UAW and, in some ways, a source of leverage.

NBC Nightly News Is Spreading Anti-Union PropagandaRather than seizing the opportunity to cover one of the most important labor stories of our time, NBC Nightly News’ coverage of the potential United Auto Workers strike has checked off pretty much every anti-labor trope in the book.

Striking Nurses Rally In Essex County Outside Home Of Hospital CEONurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital have been striking for higher staffing levels and salary increases.

Labor News

Unions Put More Money in the Pockets of Black Folks - Word In BlackOver 100 years, unions have helped Black families move into the middle class with increased wages and better working conditions.

Jesus, Labor AgitatorThe worker from Nazareth ‘Stirreth up the people!’ and made himself an enemy of the rich and powerful.

The Machinists (IAM) Organizing Department won a hard-fought two-year campaign to represent 103 workers at Vaderstad Inc., an agricultural equipment manufacturer in Wahpeton, North Dakota. Production workers at the facility make air seeders and tillage equipment.aflcio.org/2023/9/12/service-solidarity-spotlight-iam-wins-campaign-100-plus-new-members-north-dakota-farming

Unionized Wood River workers prepare for contract vote, strike possible -unionUnionized refinery workers at Phillips 66's 356,000 barrel per day Wood River refinery in Roxana, Illinois, are preparing to vote on a final contract proposal with the refiner, according to union leaders on Monday.

Philly Orchestra players reject a new contract as their old one expiresThe musicians, seeking higher and better benefits, already took a strike authorization vote last month.

Metro Transit employees vote to authorize strikeMembers of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1005 — which represents bus drivers, rail operators, mechanics and other Metro Transit employees — cast their votes on Sunday and Monday; 94% favored a strike.

North Chicago care center nurses picket for better work-life balance; ‘We need enough time off between shifts so (we) ... don’t make mistakes’Coleman was among dozens of nurses holding an informational picket and rally outside the Capt. James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center Thursday in North Chicago to better help them care for the veterans and active duty military personnel they serve.

From UPS to Detroit Three automakers, US labor unions flex muscleA tight U.S. labor market, expiration of cyclical contracts and high living costs have triggered tough negotiations for pay hikes and other benefits by workers and strikes and protests across industries.

NLRB News, Summaries & Decisions

NLRB Rules in Favor of UMWA, Blocking Decertification Vote at Warrior Met Coal - UMWAUMWA International President comments on the recent NLRB ruling, blocking a decertification vote at Warrior Met Coal.

Politics, Legislation & Government

California Assembly Passes Bill Supported By WGA & SAG-AFTRA That Would Provide Unemployment Insurance For Striking WorkersA bill that would provide unemployment insurance to striking workers in California passed the state Assembly on Monday and now is headed to the Senate Labor Committee and then to the Senate floor. …

Dozens of unions in Ohio coming together to oppose controversial higher education billThe union coalition, "We are Ohio," along with 73 additional unions sent a letter to Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens, asking him and his fellow Republican lawmakers to scrap SB 83, a higher education bill the unions say would prevent members from striking or having bargaining negotiations on key issues.

It’s Time to Reclaim the Promise of Economic Rights in the U.S.The fight for social democratic policies can help inspire a progressive resurgence in America. A new book provides a roadmap.

From Forward Kentucky: A message from young voters in KentuckyYoung adults are paying attention to this election, with specific concerns on their mind. Who do they think will address those concerns? The people in the picture above.KENTUCKY YOUNG DEMOCRATS EXECUTIVE BOARD

Louisville Public Media: Teachers unions and other state employee organizations can continue collecting dues through payroll deduction for now. Meanwhile, Attorney General Daniel Cameron has filed an appeal.By JESS CLARKFranklin Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate ruled against a 2023 Kentucky law that prohibited teachers unions and most other state employee labor organizations from collecting membership dues through payroll deduction.

Cameron Dodges Responsibility, Refuses to Rule Out Using Opponent’s Kids In Attack AdsFrankfort, Ky. - Last week, a Rand Paul-backed PAC supporting Daniel Cameron’s campaign stepped over the line by releasing an ad featuring Governor Andy Beshear’s daughter. While Governor Beshear has drawn a clear line ruling out ever using or condoning the use of an opponent’s child in an attack ad, Cameron has refused to commit to this basic step.

Workplace Safety

LaborPains.org | Do Unions Improve Workplace Safety?Do unions make a discernible difference in preventing workplace injuries? A majority of Americans believe so. According to a poll by the Employment Law Alliance, 63% of respondents listed workplace safety as a major factor driving support for unionization. Real-world data tells a different story. In 2018, the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine released a study that analyzed seven years of data

This Kentucky man is inspiring fellow amputees while spreading the word about job safety

Jobs, Economy & Business

What a UAW Strike Could Mean for Your Ability to Find a Car to BuyShould the UAW call its first strike since 2019, new-car incentives could evaporate ahead of a return of overpriced used cars.

Unions Are Having a Moment. Investors Should Take Heed.A possible UAW strike shows organized labor’s growing clout, and could lead to higher inflation.

Labor History in 2:00

September 13 - Beating Teachers in the StreetsOn this day in Labor History the year was 2013. Riot police used tear gas and water cannons to clear out Zocalo Square in Mexico City. The square was occupied by protesting teachers. The teachers had been on strike for weeks. They wanted changes made to education reforms that had been passed by the Mexican government.

September 13 - AtticaOn this day in Labor History the year was 1971. That was the day that the state police stormed Attica Correctional Facility in New York. Four days earlier the inmates had taken over the prison. One guard was killed. The guards were members of AFSCME Council 82. The prisoners demanded improvements to their brutal living conditions in the overcrowded prison. Police retook most of the prison. But the inmates held guards hostage in Cell Block D. One of the prisoners, Elliot James Barkley explained the takeover. “We are men. We are not beasts and we do not depend to be beaten or driven as such. The entire prison populace, that means each and every one of us here, have set forth to change forever the ruthless brutalization and disregard for the lives of the prisoners here and throughout the United States.” When the state police stormed the prison they dropped tear gas from helicopters. They fired 3,000 rounds, firing on the prisoners and hostages indiscriminately. They killed 29 inmates and 10 hostages. The police claimed the prisoners had killed the hostages. They also accused the inmates of committing atrocities against the guards. Public outrage swelled against the inmates, including racially-charged hate directed at the black prisoners. But autopsies proved that all those killed had been felled by police bullets. Attica became rallying cry for those concerned about prison conditions. It has been referenced by many in movies andsongs, including John Lennon’s Attica State

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