09/18/2024 - 4:00pm
Don't Forget to Register to Vote: 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).
Alaska AFL-CIO:
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO:
Connecticut AFL-CIO:
Florida AFL-CIO:
09/18/2024 - 4:00pm
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: CWA Wins Tentative Agreement at AT&T Southeast
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.
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) announced on Sunday that the union has reached a tentative agreement (TA) with AT&T Southeast, ending the longest telecommunications strike in the region.
The new contract covers technicians, customer service representatives, and other workers who install, maintain, and support residential and commercial services in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Wages and health care costs were key issues for members. The deal includes across-the-board wage increases of 19.33%, with additional 3% increases for wire technicians and utility operations, and provisions that hold health care premiums steady in the first year and then lowers them in the second and third years.
“I believe in the power of unity, and the unity our members and retirees have shown during these contract negotiations has been outstanding and gave our bargaining teams the backing they needed to deliver strong contracts,” said CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. “CWA members and retirees from every region and sector of our union mobilized in support of our bargaining teams, including by distributing flyers with information about the strike at AT&T Wireless stores.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Wed, 09/18/2024 - 10:02
09/17/2024 - 3:00pm
Happy National Voter Registration Day
The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy. It’s the beating heart of our country’s civil rights—and our labor movement.
That’s why we’re celebrating National Voter Registration Day—the single largest voter registration day in the country. We’re reaching out to make sure you, your family, co-workers, neighbors and friends are ready to exercise our democratic rights.
The voter registration deadline is approaching in many states over the next few weeks. Some states have deadlines during the first week of October.
So we have two important questions for you.
1. Will you take a moment to review the voter registration deadlines in your state?
Find information about your state’s voting laws and deadlines through our partner Ballot Ready.
2. Will you make sure your voter registration is correct and up to date? Or, register to vote for the first time. We have all the tools you need on our website:
betterinaunion.org/register
It’s important to check your voter status early, so you don’t miss any registration deadlines and are ready when Election Day rolls around.
Thank you for getting ready to vote in November! Our vote is our voice, and we’ll need every voice during this election to make sure we protect our contract, our jobs, and our freedoms.
Kenneth Quinnell
Tue, 09/17/2024 - 12:54
09/17/2024 - 3:00pm
Hispanic Heritage Month Profiles: Amanda Filpo
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 Amanda Filpo of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART).
Amanda Filpo is an active SMART Local 28 member in New York City. She is a leader in her union and serves on SMART’s BE4ALL committee.
Kenneth Quinnell
Tue, 09/17/2024 - 10:03
09/17/2024 - 3:00pm
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Mercury Ballroom Stagehands in Louisville Vote to Form Union
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.
On Thursday, stagehands at the Louisville, Kentucky-based Mercury Ballroom voted unanimously to join Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 17.
The unit will include around a dozen staff at the Mercury Ballroom, which is one of the city’s premier venues for live music, performances and other events. Local 17 already represents its counterparts at other major stages throughout the city. This resounding victory marks the third crew at a Live Nation venue to organize in recent months, following successful votes by workers at Denver’s Summit music hall and Marquis Theater earlier this summer.
“This win demonstrates IATSE Local 17’s commitment to representing locations of all sizes,” said Local 17 Business Agent Greg Campbell. “The workers who support these types of clubs are the foundation of the live event music industry. From amphitheaters and clubs to opera houses and Broadway, all entertainment workers deserve the voice and protections that a union brings.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Tue, 09/17/2024 - 10:02
09/16/2024 - 8:30pm
Help Make Air Travel Safe: 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.
Boeing Workers Vote Overwhelmingly to Strike, in Defeat for Troubled Company: “Boeing workers picketed outside the company’s plants in Washington state early Friday morning after voting overwhelmingly to strike. Tens of thousands of machinists voted Thursday to reject a proposed deal between the company and the union that would have significantly boosted pay and benefits even as it fell short of other union demands. Some 96% of members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 voted in favor of the strike—far more than the two-thirds needed to launch the work stoppage.”
Harris Pushes for Labor Reforms, Union Support: “In an election year, Labor Day kicks off the official campaign season, and Vice President Kamala Harris kicked hers off with a bang. She had rallies in Detroit, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh, all major cities in battleground states. Joined by local elected officials in each place, vice presidential nominee Tim Walz in Milwaukee, and President Biden in Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, flanked by AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, teachers' union leaders Becky Pringle (National Education Association) and Randi Weingarten (American Federation of Teachers), Harris gave a rousing speech that reminded us that we have organized labor to thank for the eight-hour workday, pensions, paid vacations and health care, worker benefits that have now become standard.”
Trump and Harris, with Divided Labor Records, Grapple for Pennsylvania’s Union Voters: “The AFL-CIO, the largest umbrella organization for U.S. unions, gave Harris a lifetime score of 98% on her Senate voting record. Walz got a 93% rating for his votes from the AFL-CIO when he served in the House of Representatives. He belonged to the National Education Association, the nation’s largest labor union, while working as a high school teacher.”
TSA Officers Help Make Air Travel Safe. Workers Deserve Protections from Congress: “As the vice president for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 777, which represents Transportation Security Officers at airports across Wisconsin and Illinois, I work on behalf of the hundreds of transportation security officers who ensure that our passengers fly safely in and out of airports in those states. We take pride in on our work, and with over six million passengers flying in and out of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport in 2023 alone, there's a lot of work to take pride in.”
AFL-CIO, Entertainment Unions Unveil Federal Priorities for Nonprofit Artists and Journalists: “The Department for Professional Employees, a trade department of AFL-CIO, the largest labor federation in the U.S., has put forward a slate of new federal policies it hopes can create more sustainable careers in the nonprofit arts and media sectors. The policies, which speak to concerns from nonprofit workers across 12 unions, including Actors’ Equity, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE and more, call for stronger labor protections as part of federal funding received through the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, gaining seats on federal grantmaking councils for working professionals and updating federal grants in these areas, so that the funds are not limited to just one production or project.”
White House Calls for Stronger Labor Standards Across Federal Agencies: “President Joe Biden signed an executive order Sept. 6 calling on federal agencies to adopt a series of ‘high-road labor standards,’ according to an announcement from the White House, continuing the administration’s push toward expanding the federal workforce while pushing certain standards. The announcement calls the move the ‘first in history to specify a clear list of labor standards that all Federal agencies should look to prioritize.’”
Tim Walz Is a Dream Pick for the Labor Movement: “Walz has a strong Labor record to match. In a July 29 letter urging Harris to choose Walz, 26 Minnesota Labor leaders noted that Walz enacted paid family and medical leave for all families, provided unemployment insurance to hourly school workers, expanded the collective bargaining rights of Minnesotans, provided free school meals to every Minnesota student, appointed a Labor lawyer to lead the state Department of Labor and Industry, signed a tough law against wage theft by corporations and developers, and made it illegal for employers to force working people to attend anti-union meetings. The centerpiece of Walz’s Labor policy is… a law he signed in May 2023 that the news website Minnesota Reformer described as potentially ‘the most significant worker protection bill in state history.’”
Approval of Labor Unions Nears Record High: Gallup: “Seven in 10 Americans say they approve of labor unions, just shy of the record-high approval rating for organized labor, according to a new Gallup poll. The survey, released Monday, found 70% of Americans approve of labor unions, while 23% disapprove and 7% have no opinion. This is 1 point shy of the 71% reading in 2022, which marked the highest approval rating since 1965.”
A Campaign Kickoff, an Ode to Labor: “In an election year, Labor Day kicks off the official campaign season, and Vice President Kamala Harris kicked hers off with a bang. She had rallies in Detroit, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh, all major cities in battleground states. She was joined by local elected officials in each place, Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz in Milwaukee, and President Biden in Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, flanked by AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, teachers’ union leaders Becky Pringle (National Education Association) and Randi Weingarten (American Federation of Teachers), Harris gave a rousing speech that reminded us we have organized labor to thank for the 8-hour workday, pensions, paid vacations and health care, worker benefits that have now become standard. Those benefits didn’t come without a fight, nor did the establishment of Labor Day.”
Walkout for Washington: “On Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 12 p.m. PT, AFSCME Council 28/WFSE-represented public service workers at state agencies, community colleges and four-year universities will Walkout for Washington to demand livable wages, safe staffing levels, and respect for the Washingtonians that depend on their services. Public workers organized in other unions are also joining these walkouts in a show of solidarity.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Thu, 09/12/2024 - 11:05
09/16/2024 - 8:30pm
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Oshawa Power Workers Ratify New 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.
Members of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 636 who work at Oshawa Power in Ontario, Canada, ratified a new three-year collective bargaining agreement. The old contract was set to expire in February 2025. The new contract goes into effect Nov. 1 and runs through Nov. 1, 2027. It provides the workers with increases in wages, benefits, premiums and allowances.
Kenneth Quinnell
Mon, 09/16/2024 - 10:02
09/16/2024 - 2:00pm
Hispanic Heritage Month Profiles: Omayra Sánchez
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 Omayra Sánchez of the Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU).
Omayra Sánchez became chief shop steward among food service employees at Eglin Air Force Base shortly after the workers won their first union contract with ITPEU/OPEIU Local 4873 last year.
Kenneth Quinnell
Mon, 09/16/2024 - 10:18
09/12/2024 - 11:30am
Service & Solidarity Action: 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding
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.
In the wake of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, tens of thousands of emergency workers, construction workers and others rushed to the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to assist in rescue and recovery operations.
Those near ground zero were exposed to a toxic mix of dust and fumes from the collapse of the twin towers and the fires that lingered. Twenty-three years later, many of these individuals are suffering from serious cancers, respiratory diseases and other serious health problems.
We made a promise to provide medical care and take care of those who became ill because of that tragic day in American history. Unions led the fight to create the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program, and now we need to act again.
The WTC Health Program is once again facing a budget shortfall that will start to impact care and lead to budget cuts in 2028. The shortfall would occur just as we expect more people to need the program’s care due to an increasing number of 9/11 cancers.
Survivors of 9/11 live in every single state and in 434 of 435 U.S. congressional districts. Every member of Congress should support legislation to fully fund this program.
In partnership with Citizens for the Extension of the James Zadroga Act, will you call your members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor the bipartisan 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2024?
We hold in our hearts the memory of the flight crews of the four hijacked jetliners; the heroic firefighters, police officers, and other first responders who put themselves in harm’s way; and everyone we lost on that terrible day. We also remember the construction workers who worked tirelessly to move the wreckage and reclaim bodies, and the health care workers who saved so many lives. Their sacrifice and solidarity will never be forgotten.
We cannot leave behind anyone still suffering today.
Kenneth Quinnell
Thu, 09/12/2024 - 10:50
09/11/2024 - 5:00pm
Never Forget: What Working People Are Doing This Week
Welcome to our regular feature, a look at what the various AFL-CIO unions and other working family organizations are doing across the country and beyond. The labor movement is big and active—here's a look at the broad range of activities we're engaged in this week.
Actors' Equity:
AFGE:
AFSCME:
Alliance for Retired Americans:
Amalgamated Transit Union:
American Federation of Teachers:
American Postal Workers Union:
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA:
Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers:
Boilermakers:
Bricklayers:
Communications Workers of America:
Department for Professional Employees:
Electrical Workers:
Heat and Frost Insulators:
