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.
America’s Most Powerful Union Leaders Have a Message for Capital: “I sat down with four of America’s top union leaders—Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO (the federation of U.S. trade unions); Claude Cummings, president of the Communications Workers of America [CWA]; Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers [AFT]; and Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants [AFA-CWA], to talk about what’s happened and where they go from here. What follows is a lightly edited transcript of a conversation that took place on Feb. 21 in Washington, D.C….Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO: Seventy-one percent of the public supports unions generally, and 88% of young people under the age of 30 do.”
Vice President Harris Highlights Union Apprenticeships, Infrastructure Investment in Madison Visit: “Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale, also part of the entourage that accompanied Harris, called Biden ‘the most pro-union president in our history’ and applauded the executive order. ‘We in the labor movement are pleased to see President Biden and Vice President Harris are working to improve the lives of working people and especially young people seeking apprenticeships,’ Bloomingdale said in an interview after the visit.”
Costume Designers Guild Gains Nationwide Support from Hollywood Stars and Labor Unions for Pay Equity Demands: “As crew contract conversations get underway with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the Costume Designers Guild’s fight for pay equity has gained support from stars and labor groups. Earlier this year, the guild launched Pay Equity Now, a movement designed to spotlight the organization’s decadeslong fight for pay equity and gender equity.”
Fairfax Connector Service to Resume Friday After Successful Labor Negotiations End Strike: “Fairfax Connector service resumed on Friday, March 8, after successful labor negotiations between ATU [Amalgamated Transit Union] Local 689 and bus operator Transdev ended a 15-day strike, officials announced Wednesday evening. The bus service has been suspended since about 630 bus operators, mechanics and utility crews went on strike on Feb. 22 during contract negotiations. The union and Transdev had reportedly been in talks over a new contract since October 2023, but after 12 bargaining sessions, union leaders claimed the bus operator had been ‘slow-walking the talks’ and ignoring most of their key priorities.”
U.S. Rep. Pocan Announces He Invited AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler to State of the Union: “Today, U.S. Representative Mark Pocan [Wisconsin], co-chair and co-founder of the Congressional Labor Caucus, announced he was bringing Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, as his guest to this year’s State of the Union. President Shuler represents more than 12 million workers nationwide, including thousands of Wisconsinites. ‘Congressman Pocan is a champion for working people, and I’m honored he invited me to view the State of the Union with him,’ said Shuler. ‘Too often in D.C., the State of the Union gets looked at through what boxes get checked or how many times a word is said—and those details matter, of course—but it’s also important to step back and realize that the sum of President Biden’s actions have resulted in launching another industrial revolution with transformational policies for workers and communities that will last for generations.’”
State Officials Hear from Industry, Labor on Embracing AI Without Leaving Workers Behind: “On Monday, the task force heard from Oshkosh Corporation [Senior Vice President and] Chief Information Officer Anupam Khare and AFL-CIO Technology Institute Director Amanda Ballantyne. Ballantyne, with the AFL-CIO, focused her comments on how government and industry can embrace AI [artificial intelligence] in a way that doesn’t harm workers. She said the labor movement sees AI as both a potential and a challenge. In general, she said, labor leaders like technology that makes work safer and more efficient, but they are concerned AI could degrade work or automate jobs away. She said the government and private industries need to work with organized labor to ensure AI is a net positive for working people. Ballantyne said including provisions related to artificial intelligence in collective bargaining contracts is one way to achieve that, pointing to AI provisions negotiated by the screenwriters’ and actors’ unions. She also said the AFL-CIO is advocating for more education and workforce development programs at the local level to help train workers on artificial intelligence, so they are not left behind in the transition.”
A Transformative Training for Union Organizers: “The AFL-CIO Organizing Institute partnered with the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, last week to offer a three-day training for organizers to learn the skills they need to win and to move the labor movement forward. Nearly 40 organizers participated in this dynamic training, including representatives of the IBEW [Electrical Workers], IAM [Machinists], OPEIU [Office and Professional Employees], AFGE, UFCW [United Food and Commercial Workers], AFSCME, SPEEA [Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace], IFPTE [International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers], NALC [National Association of Letter Carriers], IUPAT [Painters and Allied Trades], MLK Labor, NEA [National Education Association] and SEIU.”
We All Share the Same Fight: “Recently, the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations released data that showed the number of striking workers in the United States climbed 141% from 2022 to 2023. That’s numbers-backed proof of the energy and hope that we feel every day, isn’t it? We are in a generation-defining moment—one in which workers are rightfully seizing our power and unrigging our economy so that it works for everyone, not just the ultra-wealthy. Researchers documented 470 work stoppages involving about 539,000 workers last year. These work stoppages resulted in a total of roughly 24,874,522 strike days.”
The Labor Movement Is Empowering Working Women: “Women’s History Month is a time to reflect on the paths paved by women before us while also recognizing the barriers that still exist today. This includes gender wage gaps that vary by race and ethnicity and lack of access to affordable childcare or paid maternity leave for working moms. However, my grandmother, my mother and I are living proof that women do not always have to compromise family life for career life—you can have both if you have a union job. My life story is a testament to how the labor movement empowers working women and why our movement must continue opening doors for women, young workers, immigrants and all working people who can benefit from a union job. The momentum we are seeing around the labor movement today is a result of people demanding what they deserve. A study by the Department of the Treasury in 2023 found that unions help to close the wealth inequality gap and grow the American middle class.”
Keystone Resort, Colorado, Ski Patrol Submits Petition to Unionize: “Today, after many weeks of worker-led organizing efforts, a majority of Keystone Resort, Colorado, ski patrollers have chosen to file for a union representation election at the National Labor Relations Board. They are organized as the Keystone Ski Patrol Union (KSPU) into CWA [Communications Workers of America] Local 7781, the United Professional Ski Patrols of America (UPSPA). 70% of eligible ski patrollers signed union cards. The patrol has also asked Keystone management for voluntary recognition of their union.”
Latest AFL-CIO Lawmaker Ratings Show Deep Partisan Split: “It should come as no great surprise, but the AFL-CIO’s annual study of lawmakers’ key votes showed a highly partisan split last year on issues workers really cared about: Democrats and the Senate’s three independents for; Republicans against—really against. ‘Working people fought to elect champions in Congress who together with President Biden have delivered on key priorities, including ensuring we have the freedom to organize and form unions,’ AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement about the voting study.”
IATSE and Teamsters Warn of Another Hollywood Strike at Massive Rally: ‘Put Your Helmets On’: “Negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are set to begin on Monday. The Theatrical Stage Employees [IATSE], Teamsters [IAM] and Hollywood Basic Crafts will jointly bargain health and pension benefits. Over the next few months, IATSE, IAM and Hollywood Basic Crafts will then bargain their separate agreements, with the hope of having the deals ratified by the deadline. At the rally, Matthew Loeb, international president of IATSE, struck a somewhat more moderate tone than O’Brien, repeatedly emphasizing, ‘There’s enough to go around.’”