BlueCollarWriter Labor News Update

Labor News Update - 09/19/2023

#SolidaritySeason Strike Coverage

UAW to strike at more US auto plants if no progress made by FridayThe United Auto Workers union said it would announce on Friday more plants to strike if no serious progress was made in talks with Ford, General Motors and Chrysler-parent Stellantis, adding to pressure on the Detroit Three automakers.

Live updates: United Auto Workers, UAW, go on strike against GM, Ford and StellantisThe United Auto Workers' strike against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis has entered its third day. Follow here for the latest.

UAW Worker: ‘These Jobs Were Gold Standard’ - NerdWalletUnited Auto Workers is on strike against the Big Three auto companies. One UAW worker says they just want to "get back to a better standard of living."

UAW strike, Day 4: GM threatens to send 2,000 workers home, Ford cuts 600 jobsAutoworkers are on strike at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, an unprecedented move by the United Auto Workers union. Already, there are ripple effects.

Michigan auto supplier plans to lay off hundreds due to UAW strikeCIE Newcor, which makes components, said it plans to possibly lay off 293 people for one month due to the UAW strike.

Bernie Sanders to Big 3 CEOs: “It is time for you to end your greed.”Transcript: In an explosive speech at a Detroit autoworker rally, Sanders railed against stock buybacks and called on CEOs to negotiate a fair contract.

The Big 3 Want You To Think Striking Workers and the Climate Are at Odds. They’re Not.Mainstream media coverage of the UAW strike has implied that workers’ demands stand in conflict with achieving climate goals. That’s BS.

Dems come out in support for UAW strikes, as Republicans criticize push for EVs ⋆ Michigan AdvanceFollowing the expiration of contracts at midnight, state leaders and lawmakers on the state and national stage are weighing in as the United Auto Workers (UAW) union begins its historic strike on Michigan’s Detroit Three automakers. With support from other labor groups, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the American Federation of State […]

Haven't been paying attention to the UAW strike? What you need to know | CNN BusinessAmerica’s auto industry is facing a historic challenge.

Teamsters Stand with UAW for Fair Contract at Big 3 Automakers(WASHINGTON) – The following is a statement from Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien on contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers and Fo

Working people feel a new sense of power and leverage. They’re looking at work in a different way. Use our map to see where workers are on strike across the country.aflcio.org/strike-map

Find a Picket Line

Working people want safe jobs with good health care, flexibility, sick leave, and where they feel respected and valued.

Click on the map in the link to see where workers are on strike across the country.

Striking Hollywood writers, studios to resume negotiations on WednesdayNegotiators for the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood's major studios will resume contract talks on Wednesday to try and end a work stoppage that has disrupted production for more than four months.

Writers union will resume strike negotiations with studios this weekThe WGA and the AMPTP will start talking again. Dual writers and actors strikes have shut down Hollywood.

Drew Barrymore, Bill Maher, 'The Talk' walk back decision to resume production amid strikes after backlashBarrymore announced the news on social media Sunday, saying she wants to apologize to anyone she "hurt."

‘The Jennifer Hudson Show’ Delays Its Premiere amid Ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes'The Jennifer Hudson Show' has pushed back the premiere of its second season, PEOPLE has learned

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher Urges Members To Approve Strike Authorization Against Video Game CompaniesSAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher, saying that “right now is the time to show our solidarity,” is urging her members to authorize a strike against the video game industry. The guild, wh…

What’s the state of the Hollywood strikes?On the AMPTP’s identity crisis, Drew Barrymore, the fall TV calendar, and whether this will ever end.

Star studded strikes: Celebrities show up for WGA, SAG-AFTRA picketsAs the Writer's Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes reach milestones, look back on who has shown up on the picket lines in the "Summer of Strikes."

13 Celebs Who Got Called Out For Seemingly Being Against The Ongoing Hollywood StrikesKim Kardashian, who's set to star in the next season of <i>American Horror Story</i>, was called out for physically crossing the WGA picket line to get to set.

The Talk Shows Have Labor PainsThe Hollywood strikes and the trouble at “The Tonight Show” are a reminder that hosts are not just your TV friends. They’re also people’s bosses.

More than 90% of OHSU nurses vote to authorize strikeOHSU nurses last went on strike more than 20 years ago. Time for breaks, personal safety, and unease over a proposed merger with Legacy are among the challenges in negotiations.

Ford also faces strike at Canadian plants Monday night | CNN BusinessThe strike by the United Auto Workers union isn’t the only labor problem that automakers, and US car buyers, need to worry about. Unifor, the union that represents autoworkers in Canada, is preparing to go on strike against Ford on Monday night.

Health care workers in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. authorize strike against Kaiser Permanente, joining thousands across the nation - Maryland MattersOne of the main concerns from the union is persistent staffing shortages, which impacts the ability to take care of patients and contributes to longer wait-times.

Approximately 150 workers at six locations of Seattle-based sandwich maker Homegrown went on strike Thursday over contract negotiations. The workers say the company offers unaffordable health insurance and provides no employment guarantee to workers in case the company is sold. The workers are members of UNITE HERE Local 8.aflcio.org/2023/9/18/service-solidarity-spotlight-unite-here-members-homegrown-strike-over-job-insecurity

Phoenix Sky Harbor workers vote to strike, file OSHA complaint - Daily IndependentTwo groups of airport workers are speaking out about what they say are dangerous working conditions and low wages at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Hormel meatpackers in Austin, Minn. reject contract offer, setting the stage for strikeThe United Food and Commercial Workers union in a statement called on company leadership to come back to the bargaining table.

Flight attendants threaten strikes over low pay and unpaid workAlaska Airlines, American and United could all be disrupted as air crew demand fairer share of vast profits

Nurses set to strike at SSM Health hospitalNurses at Saint Louis University Hospital in St. Louis are set to begin a 24-hour strike on Sept. 25 to advocate for better patient safety and workplace conditi

Labor News

40k workers represented by Culinary Union now working under expired contract at these propertiesThe Culinary Union announced that 40,000 workers at MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn/Encore properties are now working under expired contracts since Friday.

SEPTA must negotiate contracts with nearly all its labor unions amid looming financial crisisAt least 14 separate bargaining units represent SEPTA’s vast workforce and the transit agency faces contract negotiations with almost all of them in the coming months.

Union concerned about possible program, faculty cuts at SUNY PotsdamA union that represents more than 37,000 State University of New York employees is voicing concerns about possible cuts at SUNY Potsdam.

From the 'Nanny' to Fain the firebrand to the man who made UPS pay $170,000, here are the new faces shaking up America's top unionsEveryone is getting to know the names of Shawn Fain, Sean O'Brien and Fran Drescher, if they didn't already know.

NY Times Staffers Bid Farewell to Sports Desk With a ProtestTimes staffers in the guild demonstrated outside HQ on a rainy Monday, railing against the paper ditching its sports desk in favor of non-unionized writers at The Athletic.

Curaleaf marijuana retail employees in Phoenix return to work after 1-day strikeWorkers at a Curaleaf marijuana store in central Phoenix went on a daylong strike to protest a wrongful termination and operational policies.

Dartmouth Hoops Specifies Union Push Amid Unfair Labor ClaimsLast week, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for the recognition of 15 men’s basketball players at Dartmouth College as a uni…

Local union invites Marietta youth to free fishing event SaturdayLocal boys and girls age 2 to 15 and their families will learn about conservation and the joys of fishing in a free event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Buckeye Park in Marietta. Take Kids Fishing Day is sponsored by the Ohio AFL-CIO and is organized by the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance and […]

NLRB News, Summaries & Decisions

Summary of NLRB Decisions

Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come for You? NLRB Has Company Officials Arrested for Non-Compliance

Week of September 5 - 8, 2023

Week of August 28 - September 1, 2023

Jobs, Business & Economy

Striking unions impacting the economy at a level not seen in decadesSo far, the UAW stoppage has impacted just a small portion of the workforce with limited implications for the broader economy.

Ford, GM Stocks Fall as UAW Contract Talks RestartUnited Auto Workers President Shawn Fain rejected Stellantis’ offer of a 21% pay increase. Auto makers have responded to the strikes with temporary layoffs.

Businesses near Louisville Ford plant brace for closingUAW has called for a stand up stirke.

The Big Employer Still Adding Jobs and Boosting Pay: The GovernmentAs many companies slow down hiring, the public sector is adding workers.

Politics, Legislation & Government

UAW president downplays White House involvement in strike talksUAW President Shawn Fain said the union and Ford, General Motors and Stellantis remain "far apart" on several issues with the strike in its fourth day.

As Trump woos Detroit unions, Democrats urge Biden to join UAW strikersThe strike has posed a political puzzle for the president, who must figure out how far to go to stand with the UAW workers.

Teamsters support bill requiring a human in self-driving vehiclesOpponents say mandating backup drivers in autonomous vehicles will slow the innovation.

Former Kentucky governor Brereton Jones has died at 84A former Kentucky governor has died.

KDP: Daniel Cameron's Real Education AgendaKENTUCKY DEMOCRATIC PARTYFrankfort, Ky. - Despite his campaign’s desperate attempts to rebrand Daniel Cameron’s previous attacks on public education, he can’t hide his real education plan from Kentuckians. Daniel Cameron has:

Mitch and Joe, tell us moreTwo of the most important leaders in the country are over 80. Yet, we know very little about the state of their health, including their brains. Al Cross says we deserve more.

Labor History in 2:00

September 19 - The Solidarity MarchOn this day in Labor History the year was 1981. More than 400,000 union members marched in labor’s first Solidarity Day demonstration in Washington, D.C. The demonstration was called by the AFL-CIO to protest the Reagan administration’s policies and the firing of striking air traffic controllers.

September 19 - The End of My Sweet JennieOn this day in Labor History the year was 1977. That was the day that is remembered in Youngstown, Ohio as “Black Monday.” The Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company announced plans to close its doors laying off more than 4,000 workers. Youngstown was a steel town. During the first half of the twentieth century, plants were booming. Youngstown was a union town, a stronghold for the United Steelworkers by the 1940s. But by the 1970s the once booming steel industry was going bust in Youngstown. More and more jobs moved overseas and to states with less union protections. Black Monday began a devastating series of plant closings. Two years later Brier Hill Mill closed, followed in 1980 by US Steel. In 1985 it was Republic Steels’ turn. By the early 1990s, the steel industry, which had once employed 40,000 people only had 1,000 workers left in Youngstown. William Lawson, the Executive Director of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, recalled the impact of the closings. “Over the course of my high school career, many boys and girls I had known in grade school left—some in the middle of school years, most during the summers—as their parents accepted transfers…to work in other plants around the country, or lost their jobs and went out in search of employment elsewhere.” In 1997, the Jeanette Furnace at the shuttered Briar Hill plant was dynamited, despite preservationists’ efforts to save it. Bringing down the “Sweet Jennie” furnace became symbol of Youngstown’s economic ruin, memorialized in Bruce Springtseen’s song Youngstown.

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