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Gooood morning, Monday morning. I hope everyone had a lovely Cesar Chavez Day and a wonderful Easter, if you celebrate. Here’s this week’s digest.
As I mentioned last week, If you’ve got a…
workshop,
seminar,
panel,
conference,
labor action,
strike,
protest
walkout,
negotiation,
sit-in,
or other item you’d like eyes on, shoot me a message.
I’ll add it to the "Looking Ahead” section and get it front of folks who might be able to join you in solidarity. Seriously. Send me a message. Shoot me an email at mel.buer.reports@gmail.com or mel@therealnews.com, send me a DM on Twitter, send out your last carrier pigeon. If I get the message, I’ll add it to the digest.
Alrighty, on to the rest of the fun—
Notable News in Labor
Hotel workers ratify $1 billion labor pact
After months of consecutive strikes across Los Angeles-area hotels, workers have ratified an historic agreement. According to recent reporting from Cal Matters,
The new contracts for 34 hotels —which include high-end places like the Beverly Hilton and the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills — will raise wages for room attendants, cooks and other non-tipped workers by $10 an hour. Those raises amount to about 40% – 50% increases on average, their union said Monday.
IATSE Local 695 reaches a TA with AMPTP
Negotiations between IATSE and the AMPTP are continuing, with another West Coast Local reaching a tentative agreement on their craft-specific issues. Negotiations will continue through July. According to their recent press release,
IATSE International Vice President Mike Miller commented, “I applaud the leadership shown by Local 695’s Negotiating Committee. Their work to prepare thoroughly for this round of negotiations helped pave the way for this tentative agreement.”
Nevada state employees win longevity pay by fighting through their AFSCME union
Members of AFSCME Local 4041 have reached an agreement with the state of Nevada over longevity pay and other provisions of a recent law, according a recent press release from the union.
“This is a victory for workers and our ability to organize. By having a strong union, we held the state accountable to what we won in the legislature,” said Michael Ahlmeyer, an AFSCME member and a maintenance repair specialist at Truckee Meadows Community College.
Passed in the 2023 legislative session, the AB522 law funded a longevity pay program for state employees with eight or more years of continuous service. The state announced in November that eligible workers covered under a collective bargaining unit would not receive the longevity pay award in AB522.
AFSCME members organized to put pressure on the state to follow the law in AB522 by going to court and signing a petition to hold the state accountable. The March 14 agreement to provide longevity payments to collective bargaining unit members would not have been possible without these member actions.
Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition Initiates Strike Pledge for Three-Day Strike
According to a recent press release by the graduate worker union, “The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition (IGWC) sent out a strike pledge to its members on Monday, March 25th. The strike pledge asks members if they would participate in a three-day strike, from Wednesday through Friday, April 17th, 18th, and 19th.”
“We have no other choice but to ask our members about striking. We have tried all year to engage this administration in dialogue to no avail. Over 1,300 graduate employees signed union cards and asked for a meeting with them. They have even refused to answer our emails. While we love our classes and would much rather teach than strike, we need to make it clear to the university that this kind of disregard and disrespect is unacceptable,” said Katharina Schmid-Schmidsfelden from the Germanic Studies Department.
Journalists’ and Writers’ Unions Call on Congress to Consider Threats to Their Work in AI Legislation
According to recent reporting, “Major unions representing U.S. journalists, writers and other creative professionals are calling on Congress to make these workers’ needs a “core priority” in any upcoming artificial intelligence legislation.”
Presidents of the Writers Guild of America East and West, The NewsGuild and the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians wrote to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Wednesday, urging that Congress “recognize the human ingenuity and creativity essential to a free press, the media and entertainment industry, and our members’ livelihoods” in its work to regulate AI.
‘Solidarity is a verb’: Pittsburgh IBEW local rallies to side of striking newspaper workers
(Workers from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have been on strike since October 2022. Yes, you read that right. Much solidarity and love from a fellow Newsguild sibling.)
Shaken to hear a veteran Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter’s grim update on their shrinking strike fund, Layhew sprang into action.
“They have been through so much,” Layhew said of the NewsGuild-Communications Workers of America members who walked out in October 2022 over health care, wages and audacious attacks on their contract. “I really felt for them.”
A chief steward, Layhew rallied his co-workers at Duquesne Light Co., passing the bucket for donations and leading nearly 20 members to join the picket line after their shift in early March.
Union push at Mercedes sparks legislative pushback
Anti-union legislative battles continue in the South—According to recent reporting,
The anti-union fight in "right-to-work" Alabama is getting Republican backing in the Alabama Legislature. With the United Auto Workers' (UAW) aggressively attempting to unionize non-union car producers in the state, like Mercedes Benz in Vance, another front has been opened in the anti-union battle.
As some 70% of the non-union auto workers in Alabama have signed cards in an attempt to set a union vote, a new bill introduced in Montgomery would prohibit companies receiving state economic assistance from voluntarily recognizing a union.
This Union Is Organizing to Save Boeing From Itself
According to absolutely fantastic reporting from Don McIntosh,
Many eyes will be on the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) this year as the union takes part in one of the most significant labor negotiations of recent times. Boeing is one of just two major commercial aircraft makers in the world. It’s an export powerhouse and a standard-bearer for American industrial and technological achievement. It’s also a company that’s overdue for a course correction.
With contracts settled, Culinary Union eyes aggressive growth in 2024
After ten months of successful negotiations, the Culinary and Bartenders union has its eyes set on expanding their reach to new properties in Las Vegas. (Editor’s note: Fuck yeah.) Here’s some good recent reporting to check out.
Already Nevada’s largest union with more than 60,000 members and a potent political force feted by state and national Democrats, an ambitious growth strategy for Culinary will have sizable effects on the state’s economic and political climate.
It will also likely affect the state’s overall unionization rate: 12.4 percent of wage and salary workers in 2023 were union members, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, above the national average of 10 percent. The relatively high unionization rate makes Nevada an outlier given its status as a “right-to-work” state, meaning that unions cannot compel workers to be members as a requirement for their job.
Other notable news items include Sega workers ratifying their contract, Boston University grad workers staying on the picket line until demands are met, and a number of important labor-related headlines from our siblings in Washington state.
Analysis and Commentary
Electric Lit/Lynne Feeley: “Transformative Solidarity Can Empower Ordinary People in This Terrible Time”
A great interview with Lead Hunt-Hendrix and Astra Taylor about their new book, “Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea.”
[T]hey believe that solidarity—the type that respects and retains our differences—can transform society. Their book leaves readers with a real sense that solidarity is the only way out of the mess we’re in. As they write, “Either solidarity forever or our time is up.”
The Valley Labor Report: “NEW DATA: Union Members $100,000 More Wealthy Than Non Union Members | LAST WEEK IN SOUTHERN LABOR”
Jacobin/Eric Blanc: “Worker-to-Worker Unionism: A Model for Labor to Scale Up”
At the heart of the current uptick in union organizing at companies like Starbucks has been “worker-to-worker unionism.” That model could be key to scaling up organizing and revitalizing the labor movement.
Remembering the 113th Anniversary of the Triangle Fire
A livestream of the annual memorial commemoration of the tragedy by local unions, firefighters, activists, and students.
On March 25, 1911, 146 workers—mostly young, immigrant women—were killed in a horrific fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory at Washington Place and Greene Street in lower Manhattan. Inadequate fire escapes, locked doors, and an overall disregard for worker safety contributed to the tragedy.
Politico/Tom McGrath: “Liz Shuler Wants AI to Reinvigorate the Labor Movement”
Interesting piece. Lemme know what y’all think in the comments about this one.
Shuler’s main goal — not easily accomplished, given the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence and the hurdles that unions still face — is for labor to have “a seat at the table,” as she puts, in the roll-out of AI, meaning she wants workers to have a voice in everything from how technology is developed to how it’s regulated to how it’s deployed in individual companies. Among the companies is AI innovator Microsoft, with whom the AFL-CIO recently inked a new partnership that gives workers the kind of input Shuler talks about.
The Valley Labor Report: “KNUCKLEDRAGGER: NLRB Defends Workers’ Right to Call Bosses Names”
In These Times/Rand Wilson and Peter Olney: “Labor’s 2024 Political Dilemma”
Another interesting perspective. Take a look.
However, despite the success of the “Uncommitted” campaign, and after other efforts to see if the Democrats might be able to change course and find a more suitable candidate for the Left to rally around (and barring what would be a surprising move by Biden to step back from the 2024 nomination), it seems clear we’ll have a replay of 2020: Biden vs. Trump.
While in some ways it may seem to be contradictory, we believe that the more labor raises the drumbeat for a cease-fire in Gaza, the better off we will be in November.
Unions by the Numbers
Last week, there were 54 filings for union representation across the United States. Here are some that stood out to me.
Tech workers at Pirates Dinner Theater in Buena Park, CA - right down the road from the recently unsuccessful union effort at Medieval Times - has filed for representation with IATSE.
90 employees at DC Central Kitchen have filed for representation with the Teamsters
And, just for kicks, here’s a great recent post from over at NLRB Edge, which has become a regular read for me.
Looking Ahead
Once again, I’m looking for folks to send in some items that you think would be great to have in this section. For now, the best I’ve got for you is a reminder that Labor Notes 2024 Conference is right around the corner, so if you managed to grab a spot with the rest of the union siblings in Chicago, I’m sending my love and solidarity to you all.
Now that I think about it, if you’ve got union meetups planned for Labor Notes, send me a link! I’ll make sure folks know you’ve got something fun planned for your siblings.
Thanks again for checking out the newsletter, my friends. Leave a comment below, send me an email to say hello, share this with your friends. I’m happy to be a part of this great labor movement!! Thanks for sticking around, I’ll see you next week.
-Mel
Appreciate the link you posted to our article, "Labor’s 2024 Political Dilemma” in In These Times!