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.
Project 2025 Provides a GOP Blueprint for Destroying the American Labor Movement: “Consequently, the nation’s labor movement saw Trump’s past record and agenda for the future for what they were. In a statement issued on July 18, 2024, Liz Shuler, president of the national AFL-CIO, declared, ‘In his first term as president, Donald Trump was a disaster for workers and our unions.’ Moreover, ‘the Trump Project 2025 agenda lays out his plan to turbocharge his antiworker policies, eliminate or control unions, and eviscerate labor laws and workers’ contracts.’ Consequently, ‘a second Trump term would put everything we’ve fought for―good jobs, fair wages, health care, retirement security, worker security―on the chopping block.’”
Thousands of Fred Meyer Employees Go on Strike Through Labor Day Weekend: “Nearly 5,000 employees at 28 Fred Meyer stores in and around Portland, Oregon, went on strike early Wednesday morning. The employees, represented by United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555, plan to continue the strike for almost a week. Unless a deal is reached with Fred Meyer management, the grocery store workers won’t return to work until 8 a.m., on Tuesday, Sept. 3. UFCW says employees are striking over Fred Meyer’s violation of labor laws amid contract negotiations between grocery store management and the union. The union has filed several unfair labor practice charges against Fred Meyer, claiming that the company is ‘refusing to provide essential information for current negotiations’ and advertised benefits to employees the company hasn’t actually proposed at the bargaining table.”
Americans’ Approval of Labor Unions Near Highest Level Since 1960s: “Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO labor federation, argued in a speech in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday that union influence would be pivotal in the race for the White House. The federation, which includes 60 unions, says that 22% of voters in Pennsylvania are either union members or retirees who’d been in unions. ‘We can run up the margins where it counts, we have built an organizing machine that can mobilize on a dime and we have built a singular trust and connection with workers, families and neighbors,’ Shuler said. ‘There is no question that the road to the White House runs through America’s union halls.’”
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler Delivers State of the Unions Address: “AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler urged union members to vote and get others to the polls for the Harris-Walz ticket because the unions and workers’ rights are on the line in the 2024 elections. Shuler stressed the importance of the labor movement and the role of unions in communities across America during a speech at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C.”
Missouri AFL-CIO President Looks Ahead to Labor’s Impact on 2024 Elections: “Missouri holds a unique distinction among Republican-dominated states: having a robust and politically significant organized labor community. Individual unions often play a major role in campaigns for statewide and state legislative offices. And although organized labor is a core constituency of the Democratic Party, labor unions in Missouri have gotten involved in Republican primaries—especially when GOP contenders have pro-labor views. During an episode of the “Politically Speaking Hour” on St. Louis on the Air, Missouri AFL-CIO President Jake Hummel discussed how labor unions are approaching the upcoming election cycle. And that includes how his group endorsed Democrat State Rep. (Mo.) Crystal Quade and Republican Lt. Gov. (Mo.) Mike Kehoe during last month’s primary races for governor—something he said was somewhat unusual.”
The Real Reason NWSL Players Are Walking Out in ‘We Said Now’ Shirts: “On Aug. 25, Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, congratulated the players from the Washington Spirit and Kansas City Current (the first teams to play since the new collective bargaining agreement was announced) on such an historic accomplishment. ‘By ending the draft, they’ve won the right to shape their own futures—a victory for all workers,’ Shuler wrote on Twitter. ‘This is the power of unity! #wesaidnow.’”
‘Barely Surviving’: Some Flight Attendants Are Facing Homelessness and Hunger: “America’s largest flight attendants union, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), said in a recent news release that many members working with Alaska Airlines have reported financial insecurity, including some who have ‘experienced homelessness, lived in their car, lived in a shelter or endured some combination of these circumstances.’ An employment verification letter from American Airlines showing a projected starting pay of $27,315 per year recently went viral, with some calling it a ‘poverty verification’ letter that could be used to apply for government assistance programs such as food stamps. American Airlines confirmed that the letter reflects the current base rate for first-year flight attendants on reserve, without premiums or incentives.”
The Workers’ Mic Reflects on the DNC: “Listen in while Phil shares his interviews with AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter Jr., Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Choose Chicago Richard Gamble and many others.”
Interview with AFL-CIO President Shuler: “My [Sari Beth Rosenberg’s] exclusive interview with Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO.”