09/27/2024 - 2:30pm
Hispanic Heritage Month Profiles: Tiffany Roman
Throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Hispanics and Latinos have made to the labor movement. Today's profile features Tiffany Roman of AFGE.
Tiffany Roman has been an AFGE member and licensed practical nurse for the Department of Veterans Affairs since 2018. She is currently the southern Colorado vice president for AFGE Local 1117. She is also the national chair of AFGE’s Hispanic Coalition (HISCO) and the AFGE District 11 HISCO coordinator. Roman recently became president of the newly established Rocky Mountains chapter of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. She is a single mother and is pursuing her master’s in social work.
Kenneth Quinnell
Fri, 09/27/2024 - 11:10
09/26/2024 - 8:30pm
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: UAW Members at Ford's River Rouge Tool and Die Unit Reach Tentative Agreement
Working people across the United States regularly step 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.
UAW members working at Ford's new tab tool and die unit in the River Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan, reached a tentative agreement one day ahead of its strike deadline. The more than 500 workers in the tool and die unit will review the details of the agreement and hold a ratification vote in the coming days. Last week, the union said it would go on strike on Sept. 26 if local contract issues were not resolved. Core issues included job security, wage parity and work rules.
"If ratified, the agreement will set a new standard for the skilled trades at Ford," the union said.
Kenneth Quinnell
Thu, 09/26/2024 - 09:33
09/26/2024 - 2:30pm
Hispanic Heritage Month Profiles: Liz Sorenson
Throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Hispanics and Latinos have made to the labor movement. Today's profile features Liz Sorenson of the Communications Workers of America (CWA).
Liz Sorenson has served as president of the Nevada State AFL-CIO since 2017. She began her career over 40 years ago and in 1990 transferred to Nevada Bell, where she served as a steward, organizer, lobbyist and officer for CWA Local 9413. She was hired as CWA District 9 staff representative and, later, area director/political director. Sorenson has run the Nevada State AFL-CIO political walk program since 2000. She was elected as a board member of the Nevada State AFL-CIO in 2009 and is currently serving her second term as president after being re-elected in 2021.
Kenneth Quinnell
Thu, 09/26/2024 - 09:33
09/25/2024 - 2:30pm
Hispanic Heritage Month Profiles: Monica Martinez
Throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Hispanics and Latinos have made to the labor movement. Today's profile features Monica Martinez of AFSCME.
Monica Martinez is a clinical care partner at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles and serves as vice president of the patient care unit for AFSCME Local 3299. She takes great pride in making sure her neighbors have access to quality medical care. Martinez is always there for her patients and co-workers, showing up at the picket line and the bargaining table to strengthen her community and win respect and dignity for their essential work.
Kenneth Quinnell
Wed, 09/25/2024 - 09:57
09/25/2024 - 2:30pm
Knocking Doors for Pro-Worker Candidates: In the States Roundup
It's time once again to take a look at the ways working people are making progress in the states. Click on any of the links to follow the state federations on X (formerly Twitter).
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO:
Connecticut AFL-CIO:
Florida AFL-CIO:
Georgia State AFL-CIO:
09/25/2024 - 2:30pm
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Apple Store Employees in Oklahoma City Ratify Their First Union Contract
Working people across the United States regularly step 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.
Workers at the Apple Store in Oklahoma City's Penn Square Mall voted to ratify their first collective bargaining contract. The workers are members of Apple Retail Union-CWA Local 6016. They began organizing in early 2022, and the parties reached a tentative agreement in early September after a unanimous strike authorization vote in August and a store picket. This is the second group of Apple retail workers to secure a contract.
The three-year contract includes wage increases of up to 11.5%, worker involvement in scheduling, guaranteed paid time off to vote, a safer and more democratic workplace, a grievance and arbitration process, the establishment of joint Safety and Health and Working Relations committees, job protection in the event of a store closure or relocation, severance pay, guaranteed paid time off, health and other benefits.
Kenneth Quinnell
Wed, 09/25/2024 - 09:55
09/24/2024 - 7:30pm
Hispanic Heritage Month Profiles: Hilda G. Cortes
Throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Hispanics and Latinos have made to the labor movement. Today's profile features Hilda G. Cortes of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS).
A 22-year Federal Aviation Administration veteran, Hilda G. Cortes manages environmental safety and health and technical training for the agency’s Houston district. She began her federal service as a college student. An active PASS member, she is also the national director of education for the National Hispanic Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees.
Kenneth Quinnell
Tue, 09/24/2024 - 10:00
09/24/2024 - 7:30pm
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Culinary Union Celebrates Las Vegas Strip Becoming 100% Union with Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su
Working people across the United States regularly step 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 UNITE HERE’s Culinary Union and Bartenders Union reached a new contract with the owners of the Venetian late last month, workers and labor leaders are celebrating that every resort on the Las Vegas Strip now officially recognizes the union.
The Culinary Union and the Department of Labor (DOL) acting Labor Secretary Julie Su held an event recognizing this historic victory on Thursday. This first-time union contract covering more than 4,000 of The Venetian Resort team members has been a fight 25 years in the making.
“We are proud to celebrate a new day here at the Venetian,” said Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer for the Culinary Union. “The fight to unionize the Venetian has been one of the longest and most significant in Culinary Union’s 89-year history. From standing up to anti-union billionaire Sheldon Adelson in 1999, to winning the right at the U.S. Supreme Court to picket and protest on sidewalks in front of Las Vegas casinos, and now securing a historic first contract, workers never gave up….This victory today is also a testament to the leadership of the Biden–Harris administration, whose unwavering commitment to ensure workers can organize and win a union has been a source of great strength.”
“This contract now brings the Las Vegas Strip to a 100% unionized workforce,” said Secretary Su. “When President Biden says the middle-class built America and unions built the middle class, he's talking about all of you….We want to make sure that a [good] job like that is available to every worker, to every family, in every community all across the country, and you are showing that that is possible here. So thank you for what you have done.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Tue, 09/24/2024 - 09:59
09/24/2024 - 1:00pm
‘An Indispensable Weapon’: The Working People Weekly List
Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List.
U.S. Labor Secretary Helps Celebrate Union Contract at Venetian: “Standing in front of a sculpture spelling out the word ‘Love’ in the Palazzo-Venetian waterfall atrium, Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su compared the Culinary Union Local 226’s first contract with the Venetian and Palazzo to a marriage. ‘I’ve never known workers that are trying to organize a union because they don’t want to work with their employer,’ Su said Thursday at a contract celebration. ‘They want the employer to do well, and that shared success is the...future of the romance that you all solidified here today.’”
Machinists’ Union President Rallies Striking Workers at Boeing’s Gresham Facility: “Around 33,000 of Boeing’s unionized workers on the West Coast have been on strike since early Friday. That includes over 1,000 workers in Gresham. The walkout comes as the machinists’ union continues to negotiate toward better wages and pensions.”
Nevada Unions Rallying to Amplify Kamala Harris’ Campaign: “Every day, more and more people are signing up to help knock on doors and make phone calls for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, a Las Vegas union official said. ‘We were trained by (the Harry Reid) machine,’ said Susie Martinez, executive secretary for the Nevada AFL-CIO, referring to the late U.S. senator’s work organizing Democrats in Nevada. ‘You’ve got to get out there. You’ve got to pitch your story.’ While the Culinary Union’s ground game for Democrats dominates headlines, other labor organizations have kicked off their own—sometimes joint—efforts.”
'An Indispensable Weapon': Harris Mobilizes Diverse Labor Force in the Sun Belt: “President Joe Biden has often proclaimed that he is the most pro-union president in history, a declaration that Democrats often tied to his appeal to white working-class voters in the Midwest. Now serving as the party’s standard-bearer, Vice President Kamala Harris is building her own coalition by mobilizing a more diverse and expansive labor force in a different part of the country. Harris is tapping into the organizational strength of a network of union groups that have a significant membership of women and people of color in the Sun Belt, a battleground region Democrats are aiming to keep out of former President Donald Trump’s column this fall.”
Ten Ways Project 2025 Could Undermine Workers’ Rights: “But those public stances and declarations stand in stark contrast with the blueprint for what Republicans want to do if and when they retake the White House. Project 2025 is an almost 900-page document laying out an agenda for the next Republican president in detail, and it lists a multitude of priorities that would, if enacted, harm workers’ pay, safety and ability to organize. Taken as a whole, the priorities the authors describe are ‘so unbelievably anti-union, anti-worker, anti-anybody but corporate interests,’ said Sharon Block, executive director of the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School.”
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler Speaks at Wisconsin Convention: “Liz Shuler speaks at the Wisconsin’s 33rd biennial AFL-CIO convention at the La Crosse Center on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024.”
Arapahoe County Facilities Workers Latest to Unionize Under 2022 State Law: “Workers with Arapahoe County’s Facilities and Fleet Management department voted to unionize Friday, acting on a new Colorado law that allows county workers to organize. Workers voted 30-15 in favor of forming a union with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Colorado local.”
More Than 30,000 Boeing Unionized Machinist Aircraft Workers Out on Strike: “At midnight, Friday, September 13, workers stood on picket lines at every gate of Boeing’s giant aircraft plant on Logan Avenue in Renton, Wash., holding up their picket signs and chanting ‘Strike, Strike, Strike.’ Mostly youthful members of International Association of Machinists (IAM) District 751, they were among the 33,000 Boeing workers who voted a day earlier by a resounding 94.6% to reject the proposed contract and by 96% to go on strike—far more than the two-thirds majority needed to approve a walkout.”
AT&T, Unions Reach Agreement to End Strike; Alabama Workers Back on the Job Monday: “AT&T Southeast and AT&T West and the Union of the Communications Workers of America have reached a tentative agreement that puts an end to the longest telecommunications strike in the south’s history. A release from the CWA said the union reached ‘strong tentative agreements’ with AT&T Southeast and AT&T West to end the 30-day strike in nine states, including Alabama. CWA members will return to work Monday.”
GE Workers Hold Rally with Louisville Union Leaders Demanding Better Wages, Working Conditions: “General Electric Haier workers in Louisville are making their voices heard. Employees of the company met at the IUE-CWA Local 761 union hall on Poplar Level Road on Saturday. A rally was organized by the union and called for members to stand together and demand fair wages, better working conditions and affordable health care.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Tue, 09/24/2024 - 10:34
09/23/2024 - 6:30pm
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Castlevania Studio Animation Workers Ratify First Union Contract
Working people across the United States regularly step 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.
Animation workers at Powerhouse Animation Studios in Texas overwhelmingly voted to ratify their first union contract, with 96% of members voting to approve the agreement. Details of the contract were not immediately available. The more than 100 workers produce games like Castlevania and include both production workers and artists at the studio, folding in roles such as animator, background designer and production assistant.
“This is one of the strongest agreements we have been able to negotiate, and the crew’s resolve to their priority issues is the reason,” said Steve Kaplan, business representative of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 839. “I also want to acknowledge the work Powerhouse and its leadership team put in. We all had to be flexible to get to the finish line, and they showed their commitment to being a productive partner with the Union in the negotiations.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Mon, 09/23/2024 - 09:50