For Pride Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various LGBTQ+ workers who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States.

Check out the members we've already profiled:

• Andrew Tallett
• Jenny Reeves 
• Logan Howard
• Temika M. Cook
• Martha Grevatt
• Hunter Chumbley
• Mae apGovannon
• Sasha Romero
• David Haskins
• Rachelle Martin
• Desi Navarro

Tags: Pride

David Groves is an inspiration to union communicators everywhere and the importance of his work building The Stand to uplift worker stories cannot be overstated. Thank you for your dedication to the labor movement.

My career at the WSLC has given me a front-row seat and an active role in historic events and campaigns. From the WTO Seattle protests to the demise of “free trade.” From Boeing’s f—ups to the Freedom Foundation’s f—wits.

For example, I’ll never forget joining former WSLC President Rick Bender at the Secretary of State’s office in the Capitol building in 1998 as he filed Initiative 688 to raise the minimum wage. No pomp or press conference. He unceremoniously filed the paperwork and paid the $5 fee while, across the building in the legislative chambers, U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich was addressing Washington’s Republican-controlled (!) House and Senate.

I got to design the I-688 petition and the admittedly primitive campaign logo – that’s my signature on the dollar bill — and I spent many lunch hours and ferry commutes collecting signatures. In the end, I-688 qualified for the ballot using only volunteer signature gatherers, it passed by a two-thirds majority, and Washington became the first state in the nation to automatically increase its state minimum wage each year to adjust for inflation.

That is the power of Washington’s union movement being put to use, as it often is, to benefit all workers in our state, and to show the nation what is possible.

In those heady early days after I became the communications director, I represented the WSLC and promoted labor’s advocacy on local television and radio news shows. I once even took on a Boeing CEO on the front page of The Seattle Times for saying that Washington sucked. But I soon eschewed the role of spokesperson to focus on lifting up the work of rank-and-file members and elected leaders of Washington’s union movement.

So I returned to my journalism roots and began reporting labor news, and in the process, chronicling our history. It began with the creation of the WSLC’s first website, the most popular feature of which was WSLC Reports Today (Updated DAILY…Almost Every Day!™) It included an original WSLC report or two and also linked readers to each day’s news related to unions and working people in the commercial press.

If that sounds familiar, that was the template for what would become The STAND.

Launched on May Day 2011, this “newsstand about taking a stand” was a unique undertaking: a daily news service curated and edited by a person, not via keyword searches or automated news aggregators. It’s been a labor-intensive project (in both senses of the word), but it’s been worth it. The award-winning STAND has become an important tool for publicizing unions’ activities, campaigns and causes, and it has demonstrated and promoted transparency in Washington’s labor movement.

I’ve been truly fortunate to get to do this important work for more than 32 years. Like many of the people I write about every day, I’ve enjoyed the benefits and stability of a good Union job. (Thanks, OPEIU Local 8!) During my tenure at the WSLC, I married the love of my life, bought a home, and raised/launched three wonderful children—the youngest of whom is following in her dad’s footsteps working as a labor communicator! I’m not ready to retire just yet, but I’m excited about trying something new for Act III of my career.

Thank you to the WSLC officers, past and present, for their guidance and inspiration and for trusting me with the production of a daily electronic newspaper. Thank you to all of the WSLC staffers over the years who taught me about labor movement, supported my work, and indulged my sense of humor. Thank you to the many leaders and rank-and-file members of WSLC-affiliated unions who I have had the absolute honor of working alongside these many years.

I leave confident that the WSLC and The STAND are in good hands. Continue to expect great things from the best AFL-CIO state federation in the country.

Thanks for reading.

This post originally appeared at The Stand.

Pride Month Profiles: Desi Navarro

For Pride Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various LGBTQ+ workers who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today's profile is Desi Navarro of the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

Desi Navarro is a senior clerk with the City of Tucson and a vice president of CWA Local 7000. In addition to being on the national CWA Women’s Committee, she is a member of the CWA Pride Caucus and Arizona Pride At Work. Navarro has been an activist her entire life and will continue to fight for equity, workers’ rights and the LGBTQ+ community. Navarro and her wife, Amanda, have a 4-year-old daughter named Poppy. When she’s not pursuing justice, she enjoys spending time with her family and exploring the Arizona desert.

Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 06/11/2024 - 09:38

Tags: Pride

For Pride Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various LGBTQ+ workers who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today's profile is Rachelle Martin of AFSCME.

Rachelle Martin is a member of the Washington Federation of State Employees (AFSCME) employed by the Washington State Department of Health. She is also the president of the Thurston-Lewis-Mason Central Labor Council and CascadiaNow!, where she works toward a liberated society based on helping people embrace their full selves in support of each other. 

Tags: Pride

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

After five years of negotiations between Alden Global Capital and a joint bargaining committee, journalists at eight Tribune Publishing-owned outlets voted overwhelmingly to ratify a historic first contract.

Tribune, a newspaper print and online media publishing company, was acquired by hedge fund Alden Global Capital in 2021. When this deal went through, The NewsGuild-CWA members were in the midst of bargaining for a contract and had expressed concern about the purchase given that the hedge fund had a reputation for aggressively cutting staff during media company takeovers. But despite these hurdles, journalists remained steadfast in their fight and are now celebrating a contract that includes guaranteed raises, protection of their 401(k) match, increased job security and much more. The deal covers newsrooms at Orlando Sentinel, Tidewater (The Virginian-Pilot, Daily Press, The Virginia Gazette and Tidewater Review), Morning Call, Suburban Chicago Tribune (The Beacon-News, The Courier-News, The Naperville Sun and The Daily Southtown), Design and Production Studios, Hartford Courant and Tribune Content Agency.

“Helping organize our union in 2018 gave me agency I have never felt in my career,” said Suburban Chicago Tribune Guild unit chair and member bargainer Wendy Fox Weber. “Six years later, we finally have a contract with Alden Global Capital. The company fought us every step of the way, and everything in that contract is thanks to the work of a dedicated group of member bargainers. I am honored to have helped bring it to ratification.”

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

As of early Monday morning, more than 27,500 Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) workers are now members of Fairfax Education Unions (FEU)—an alliance between Fairfax Education Association (FEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) affiliate, Fairfax County Federation of Teachers (FCFT). Teachers, counselors, librarians, bus drivers, custodians, teaching assistants and other critical staff members who make the ninth largest school district in the country run voted by a massive margin to organize for the wages, benefits, and voice on the job they deserve.

“Today’s message is clear: Persistence works, and the 1.75 million members of the AFT look forward to supporting Fairfax educators as they build a sustainable future for themselves, the public schools and the students they serve,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten in a press release. “We will have their backs as they bargain to ensure that every Fairfax public school is a place where parents want to send their kids, educators want to teach, and kids thrive.”

Check out FEU’s announcement on social media here.

For Pride Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various LGBTQ+ workers who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today's profile is David Haskins of AFSCME.

David Haskins has been with the United Domestic Workers of America (UDW/AFSCME Local 3930), serving as the pride liaison, for about nine years. He brought UDW to the San Diego Pride Festival last year and has developed various events and programs honoring LGBTQ+ individuals within the community. He is currently working on a project to show why UDW celebrates Pride in July.

For Pride Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various LGBTQ+ workers who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today's profile is Sasha Romero of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM).

Local 802 member Sasha Romero, principal trombone of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, is the first transgender person to hold a principal brass seat in a major U.S. orchestra. She says the visibility afforded by her position gives her both a platform and responsibility to help lift up others in the community. Romero strives to find ways for LGBTQ+ students to be seen and heard. “Trans students often reach out to me, and I offer them a safe space to talk,” she said. Outside of the studio, Romero acknowledges her position as a prominent example for others. “LGBTQ+ musicians often tell me that my simply existing in this role has helped them to see that their own aspirations are possible. If you don’t see yourself out there, you begin to doubt you can do it.” 

Our latest roundup of worker wins includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life.

Eight Tribune Units Ratify Historic First Contract: After five years of negotiations with Alden Global Capital, journalists at eight Tribune publications voted overwhelmingly to ratify a historic first contract. The two-year contract includes raises, maintenance of existing employer 401K matches for all employees currently participating, union-sponsored health insurance, new holiday pay for part-timers, an additional bereavement day, carryover of one week of vacation to the following year, guaranteed severance pay if a reduction in force were to occur, just cause provisions preventing arbitrary discipline and termination, a formalized grievance and arbitration process, notice requirements and seniority provisions for layoffs, recall rights, social media protections, byline/credit line rights, rights to a safe and sanitary workplace, among others. “We finally did it: Orlando Sentinel workers have secured a union contract for the first time in the newspaper’s 148-year history, establishing two years of raises, protecting our retirement plans and overall setting the foundation to build a stronger newsroom,” said Cristóbal Reyes, a member of the Orlando Sentinel Guild and joint bargaining committee. “This could not have happened without the passion and resilience of our members and our commitment to standing with our comrades at sister guilds throughout the Tribune chain from the bargaining table to the picket line, as we staged a historic one-day walkout. Four long years battling with ‘the Darth Vader of the newspaper industry’ have brought us to this moment, and we have no intention of slowing down. Soon it will be on to the next battle, but we fully intend to bask in the history we are building together.” Newsrooms covered by the contract include: Orlando Sentinel, Tidewater (The Virginian-Pilot, Daily Press, The Virginia Gazette, and Tidewater Review), Morning Call, Suburban Chicago Tribune (The Beacon-News, The Courier-News, The Naperville Sun, and The Daily Southtown), Design and Production Studios, Hartford Courant, and Tribune Content Agency.

AFSCME Members at Philadelphia Museum of Art Win Longevity Settlement: Members of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) Union—a chapter of Philly Cultural Workers United, AFSCME Local 397, and an affiliate of AFSCME District Council 47—and management have successfully settled a contract dispute, ensuring longtime workers get the longevity pay they deserve. In fall 2022, after two years of negotiations and a three-week strike, members ratified a quality contract that met workers’ needs and concerns. Wins included provisions like hourly wage increases, affordable health care options, paid parental leave and longevity raises. However, in April of this year, members reported that the museum had been shortchanging many staff who are contractually guaranteed to receive that agreed-upon longevity pay. Local 397, the union for cultural workers across Philadelphia, condemned this attempt at undermining the deal and a grievance was filed immediately while workers gathered thousands of petition signatures calling for PMA to do right by its dedicated workers. All this coordinated pressure paid off late last month when Philly Cultural Workers United announced it had reached an agreement with the museum that enforced the contractual language around the longevity pay members had ratified. “Public petitions, stickers, buttons, testimonials, memes, all staff meeting actions, press outreach, political outreach. A full 10 months of perseverance, collaboration, solidarity, and care went into getting to today—longevity payday,” said Philly Cultural Workers United Vice President Amanda Bock on social media. “Proud of and thankful for all my union siblings who knew that sticking together and fighting for one another was how we would win this thing.”

UFCW Members Ratify First Union Contract at Minnesota Half Price Books Stores: Workers from four Twin Cities Half Price Books locations voted to ratify their first union contracts on Friday, ensuring that their jobs are protected, safe and sustainable. Half Price Books is a chain of new and used bookstores in the United States—staff in Minnesota were the first in the nation to form a union with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). Workers in the Twin Cities, who organized with locals 663 and 1189, sparked a wave of collective action that has already spread to stores in four other states. Members in Coon Rapids (Northtown), Roseville, St. Louis Park and St. Paul won their union elections in 2022 and now have secured new contracts with wins like wage increases of 33%, a functional grievance procedure, protections for transgender workers and much more. “Through the hard work of the entire bargaining committee, we have shown all of our coworkers the priceless value of having a union contract. This is going to help everyone at Half Price Books, and it will continue for decades to come,” said Aaron Kerr, who works at the Roseville location.

Firefighters Ratify Contract to End Boeing Lockout: At the end of last week, Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local I-66 members at Boeing ratified a new contract with the aerospace company that includes key wins for workers like improved pay and a better seniority scale, ending the weekslong lockout. The four-year agreement includes wage increases of 2% to 3% per year and guaranteed overtime, increasing average annual pay by up to $21,216. These wins bring Boeing’s firefighter wages closer to parity with the pay scales at local fire departments. The union negotiating team also secured a one-time $1,000 signing bonus and some other compensation improvements that allow workers to reach top-level pay faster than the previous proposals. Workers returned to their jobs on Saturday, continuing their critical fire-prevention and medical emergency response work that has saved Boeing billions of dollars in insurance premiums. “Boeing Local I-66 fire fighters stood tall in the face of a multi-billion-dollar company trying to break their ranks. The entirety of the Labor Movement stood with them, as did President Biden,” said IAFF General President Edward Kelly. “We’re grateful our rank-and-file members got the contract they deserve, which provides them with fair pay for their critical work.” “This was a David and Goliath story, and I don’t think Boeing expected us to stand together and fight the way we did,” said I-66 Local President Casey Yeager in a press release. “The pay was important, but our members also wanted to be respected because we love Boeing, and those employees are like family. This contract shows us that Boeing values the work we do.”

New Jersey Transit Workers Ratify New 3-Year Contract: The Transport Workers Union (TWU) announced on Sunday that New Jersey Transit workers have voted to ratify a new three-year agreement with the transit agency. NJ Transit is the country’s third-largest provider of bus, rail and light rail transit, connecting major destinations in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia. Represented by Local 2001, the car inspectors, mechanics and coach cleaners who make safe public transportation possible in New Jersey voted with 80% of members in favor of the new contract. Wins include pay raises, the addition of Veterans Day as a contractual paid holiday and another paid sick day, bringing the total to six. The deal also has no givebacks to management, ensuring that previously secured wage and benefits improvements remain unchanged. “I want to congratulate Local 2001 for negotiating a new contract that betters the quality of life for our hardworking New Jersey Transit workers and their families,” said TWU Rail Division Director John Feltz.

Newark Teachers Union Reaches Tentative Agreement with School District: The Newark Teachers Union (NTU)—an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)—and the district announced a tentative agreement on Friday that would increase the starting salary and give educators a 4.5% raise for each of its five years. The five-year agreement would give educators raises averaging 22.5% over the life of the contract and a $3,000 increase in the starting salary for teachers (raising it to $65,000 per year) in order to help combat understaffing and attract new, talented staff members. Additionally, the contract would empower teachers to select and design curriculum within their subject areas, putting their expertise in the drivers’ seat and ultimately helping students. The bargaining unit includes teachers, classroom aides, guidance counselors and other roles such as psychologists and reading specialists. “We felt the best way to get a contract that helps Newark students succeed and thrive would be to be partners, not combatants,” NTU President John M. Abeigon said. “What makes this contract transformational and a model for other districts is that teachers will have a genuine voice in all aspects of Newark education, including having seats on committees that deal with instruction issues and district operations.”

The U.S. economy gained 272,000 jobs in May, and the unemployment rate was up slightly to 4.0%, according to figures released Friday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

May's biggest job gains were in health care (+68,000); government (+43,000); leisure and hospitality (+42,000); professional, scientific, and technical services (+32,000); social assistance employment (+15,000); and retail trade (+13,000). Employment showed little or no change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; and other services.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for teenagers (12.3%), Black Americans (6.1%), Hispanics (5.0%), adult men (3.8%), adult women (3.4%), White Americans (3.5%), and Asian Americans (3.1%) showed little or no change in May.

The number of long-term unemployed workers (those jobless for 27 weeks or longer) was little changed in May and accounted for 20.7% of the total number of people unemployed.