Our latest roundup of worker wins includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life.
AFM Reaches Tentative Agreement with Broadway League: Powered by an overwhelmingly supportive strike authorization vote, American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 802 announced in the early hours of Thursday that its members have successfully secured a tentative agreement with the Broadway League. Actors’ Equity Association (Equity) members on Broadway won their new agreement last week, meaning all eyes were on the musicians who bring Broadway performances to life. AFM members have been without a contract since August and were prepared for a walkout if a deal wasn’t reached by Thursday morning. “United in solidarity, Local 802 Broadway musicians are thrilled to announce that we reached a tentative agreement at 4:30 am with the Broadway League that will avert a strike scheduled to begin later today,” AFM Local 802 President Bob Suttmann said in a press statement. “This three-year agreement provides meaningful wage and health benefit increases that will preserve crucial access to healthcare for our musicians while maintaining the strong contract protections that empower musicians to build a steady career on Broadway.”
Equity and Broadway League Reach Tentative Agreement: Actors’ Equity Association (Equity) announced on Saturday that the union has reached a tentative agreement on a new production contract with The Broadway League. The union represents stage actors and stage managers who were prepared to strike in order to secure the affordable health care and fair scheduling that they deserve. Their union brothers, sisters and siblings—represented by American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 802—who work as musicians on Broadway are still in negotiations for a deal that ensures higher wages, better insurance coverage and protections from layoffs. “After a marathon mediation session lasting until 6 a.m., Equity and The Broadway League have reached a tentative agreement on the Production Contract,” said Equity Executive Director Al Vincent Jr. in a press release. “This three-year agreement saves the Equity-League Health Fund while also making strides in our other priorities including scheduling and physical therapy access. Now we will bring the deal to our members for ratification, and in the meantime, we are putting our full support behind AFM Local 802 as they work with the League to reach a deal that averts a strike." “We are thankful that our brothers and sisters in labor at Actors’ Equity have reached an agreement. Local 802 is still in negotiation for a fair contract, and everything remains on the table, including a strike,” said Robert Suttmann, Local 802’s union president.
SEIU Members Overwhelmingly Ratify LA County Contract: Members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 721 who work for Los Angeles County successfully ratified the new contract they reached on Friday after a powerful two-day unfair labor practice (ULP) strike earlier this year. County workers walked off the job in late April in response to the county stalling negotiations and violating labor law by surveilling and retaliating against union members. This massive 50,000 person strong work stoppage showed the strength of their unity and helped secure a tentative agreement just two months later. The deal includes major wins like a 7% cost-of-living adjustment increase, new grievance language, a commitment to fill county vacancies and more. “From our historic ULP Strike, to our countless practice pickets and acts of civil disobedience at the Hall of Administration—LA County members never backed down,” Local 721 said in a social media post. “Because we stood strong, organized, and united, we won a Tentative Agreement that’s now officially ratified! This victory belongs to every worker who took a stand and demanded respect. Congratulations, LA County members!”
Staff at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Form Union: Staff at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) joined the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 70, last month after securing voluntary recognition. Workers at the government watchdog nonprofit, as well as management, are enthusiastic about beginning negotiations so they can establish a contract that will help continue CREW’s critical advocacy work. “CREW United is a testament to both our commitment to CREW’s work and our belief in its values. This effort is about building a stronger, fairer workplace where we can bring our best selves to CREW’s critical mission,” said Honora Overby, a member of the CREW United Organizing Committee. “We are grateful for management’s openness and excited to collaborate on building lasting structures that will support our staff and strengthen CREW’s impact.”
Activision Blizzard’s Platform and Technology Workers Join CWA: In yet another win for video game workers, staff in Activision Blizzard’s Platform and Technology department voted last week to form a union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The newly recognized union members perform a number of essential roles for the game developer and are represented by CWA locals 9510 and 6215. Their roles include software engineers, project and product managers, and graphic designers for Battle.net, the platform that houses all of Blizzard’s online products and services. Workers within the new bargaining units also work on localization, quality assurance testing and customer support for the company’s other products. “I’ve been at Blizzard for nearly 20 years, and I’ve seen so many incredible colleagues in the industry come and go for preventable reasons—either for better compensation or as a result of layoffs. Our culture is our people, and we can’t afford to lose that,” said organizing committee member and Principal Software Engineer Daniel Weltz in a press release. “We are forming a union to hold leadership accountable and to ensure that we can focus on building amazing experiences for the gaming community.”
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Sutter Health Workers Secure New Tentative Agreement: More than 4,700 SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) members at eight Sutter Health facilities across Northern California have successfully leveraged a major strike threat to reach a tentative agreement on their new contract. Nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, environmental services, food services, x-ray technicians, respiratory therapists and other essential staff voted overwhelmingly earlier this month to authorize a work stoppage in response to bad faith bargaining from Sutter executives. The power of their unity paid off, and members will now vote on a deal that includes wins like a 14% across-the-board raise, protections for health care and retirement benefits, and more. “This tentative agreement shows that when we stand united, we can win improvements that protect both healthcare workers and our patients,” said Dinora Garcia, a dietary clerk from Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport. “Reaching this agreement wasn’t easy but we stood together to advocate for worker and patient safety, improved staffing levels, and fair wages and benefits that reflect the vital work we do every day.”