BlueCollarWriter Labor News Update

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Labor News Update - 02/24/2023

Labor

AFSCME and Lightfoot reach deal to avoid a strike 

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/afscme-union-reaches-tentative-deal-avoid-chicago-strike


YouTube Music Strike Reaches Day 14; Alphabet Workers Stand Strong

https://aflcio.org/2023/2/24/service-solidarity-spotlight-youtube-music-strike-reaches-day-14-alphabet-workers-stand


Teamsters balk at Yellow Corp.’s proposed changes

https://landline.media/teamsters-balk-at-yellow-corp-s-proposed-changes/


Sun Country Airlines flight attendants picket amid contract negotiations

https://www.startribune.com/sun-country-airlines-flight-attendants-picket-amid-contract-negotiations/600253641/


Major League Soccer Players Formally Affiliate with AFL-CIO

https://aflcio.org/2023/2/23/major-league-soccer-players-formally-affiliate-afl-cio


Soccer Association Joins AFL-CIO, Adding to Sports Union Roster

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/soccer-association-joins-afl-cio-adding-to-sports-union-roster


Future imperfect: North Carolina's labor groups try to move beyond sordid past

https://greensboro.com/news/state-and-regional/future-imperfect-north-carolinas-labor-movement-tries-to-move-beyond-sordid-past/article_8a4fa90c-b378-11ed-b64e-4334b3b6ac46.html


IBEW Local 98 recruiting female electricians

https://www.phillyvoice.com/ibew-local-98-recruiting-female-electricians-atei-98-employment-elaine-mcquire-teila-allmond-mark-lynch-jr-rosies-girls-0599927/


Starbucks eludes U.S. agency's bid to shield pro-union workers from firings

https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/business/starbucks-eludes-us-agencys-bid-to-shield-pro-union-workers-from-firings-100827737/


'Nuking A Town With Chemicals To Get A Railroad Open' & Railroad Labor With SMART's Jerad Cassity

https://youtu.be/j6hawlR02KE


Crew tried to stop train before toxic derailment, NTSB preliminary report says

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2023/2/23/2154620/-Overheated-wheel-bearing-caused-Ohio-train-derailment-NTSB-preliminary-report-says?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=labor


CWA President Chris Shelton Announces Retirement

https://cwa-union.org/news/cwa-president-chris-shelton-announces-retirement

Jobs & Economy 

Swedish telecom company Ericsson will lay off 8,500 workers as part of its cost-cutting measures, the company confirmed to CNBC on Friday.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/24/ericsson-layoffs-8500-employees-to-be-cut-from-workforce.html


Walmart workers at Bethlehem distribution center given 90 days to find new jobs; company denies mass layoff

https://www.mcall.com/2023/02/23/bethlehem-distribution-center/


Robot window washers are here to clean our skyscrapers

https://www.axios.com/2023/02/24/robotic-window-washers


Here's some bad news for employees looking for raises, remote work and shorter work weeks

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-some-bad-news-for-employees-looking-for-raises-remote-work-and-shorter-work-weeks-203048824.html


Workers report a 4-day workweek improves health, finances and relationships: It ‘simply makes you happy’

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/24/worlds-biggest-4-day-workweek-experiment-shows-big-health-benefits.html


Google tells employees in its Cloud unit to share desks and attend the office on alternate days

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-tells-employees-cloud-unit-114904344.html


Airlines Are Posting Big Profits After Raising Fares, Cutting Costs

https://www.wsj.com/articles/after-bleeding-billions-airlines-profits-are-soaring-53acdb2e


Labor Celebrates Black History Month

Black History Month Profiles: Linda Hunt

https://aflcio.org/2023/2/24/black-history-month-profiles-linda-hunt


Black History Month Profiles: Clint Brown

https://aflcio.org/2023/2/24/black-history-month-profiles-clint-brown


The TWU celebrates #BlackHistoryMonth by honoring Claudette Colvin, a civil rights activist who, at 15 years old, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a crowded city bus to a white passenger. Claudette’s arrest occurred 9 months before the famed incident w/Rosa Parks.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02c5UJsaxJTUYGad65WDp5NsPW1sFWD8hAtzAjGdHjGawzcYBrhqU4ktySUFCtYvVSl&id=100064870594792&mibextid=Nif5oz


This #BlackHistoryMonth the TWU is recognizing Andrew Jackson Beard & his contributions to rail safety. Born enslaved, Beard went to work for the railroad after emancipation. He lost his leg in a coupling accident, prompting him to invent multiple devices to make coupling safer. In 1887, the same year Beard's first coupling invention was patented, Congress passed the Federal Safety Appliance Act, which made it illegal to operate any railroad car without Beard’s inventions.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02hg9pWt9AfAsTGyzCfbqy1Muy8u7xLtSNgdK1R3vfuARakcXAss2U49awZTYgNxZwl&id=100064870594792&mibextid=Nif5oz


Pullman's Porter Museum Has Honored The Black Railway Workers For 28 Years. Now, It's Ready To Expand

https://blockclubchicago.org/2023/02/23/pullmans-porter-museum-has-honored-the-black-railway-workers-for-28-years-now-its-ready-to-expand/


Politics & Legislation

Kentucky: Lexington high school students stage walkouts over anti-LGBTQ legislation

https://t.co/eW9CxX2D5l


Kentucky: Stop the 'paycheck deception' scam--tell your legislators to vote no on HB 364 and SB 7

https://ky.aflcio.org/news/stop-paycheck-deception-scam-tell-your-legislators-vote-no-hb-364-and


Ypsilanti leaders throw support behind unions, repeal of Michigan right-to-work laws

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2023/02/ypsilanti-leaders-throw-support-behind-unions-repeal-of-michigan-right-to-work-laws.html


Wage Theft

4 Florida restaurants with the same owner had to give over $250,000 of back pay to staff after the Department of Labor said they only paid servers tips

https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-restaurants-fined-for-not-paying-servers-wages-overtime-dol-2023-2


Joliet nurses sue Ascension Saint Joseph for wage theft

https://www.shawlocal.com/the-herald-news/news/2023/02/23/joliet-nurses-sue-ascension-saint-joseph-for-wage-theft/


After they won their wage theft cases, they waited years to get paid. Some still wait.

https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/wage-theft-philadelphia-enforcement-judgments-20230223.html


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Matt Alley - Blue Collar Writer 


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