The Weekly Download

“When a Dollar General stocker named David Williams saw two of his co-workers struggling to subdue a would-be shoplifter who was carrying a knife in 2019, the then-33-year-old kept his mouth shut. Later, when a co-worker asked him why he did nothing, Williams told him the truth.”

“What does it really mean to understand worker power and how it is exercised not just in union halls or during strikes, but in workers’ day-to-day lives? Decades ago, as a graduate student in an oral history seminar at Duke University, I set out to explore history ‘from the bottom up.’ My first project led me to a North Carolina mill town and ultimately to my book Like Night and Day: Unionization in a Southern Mill Town, which explored how grievance procedures, made possible by unionization, improved the lives of cotton mill workers in the decades after World War II.”

“Episode #11 of the Power Half-Hour has arrived! The Power Half-Hour is a livestreamed, fast-paced, bi-weekly roundtable with a rotating group of regular guests. Our guests discuss the biggest labor story of the preceding week and the labor story everyone should be talking about over the next two weeks. Joining Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris for this episode are:”

“There is a path where new technology makes work better and safer, with good union jobs that have fair pay and better job quality. In this vision, working people have economic security, knowing that companies and public agencies must follow rules to make sure technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) is used safely, responsibly, and fairly. These rules put people first, and include worker input in the research and development (R&D) process, during development and deployment, and at the collective bargaining table where they negotiate protections with employers. There is accountability with meaningful enforcement so that employers think twice before designing or using AI systems that hurt workers or communities. Everyday Americans have the power to shape how, when and if new technology is deployed. With workers having a real voice in technology, AI strengthens, rather than weakens, democratic institutions, creating an economy that benefits everyone and ensuring public services are not undermined by improper uses of AI. AI should be about benefiting everyone, not just tech billionaires and corporate shareholders. These principles seek to create that future.”

“A federal court has granted a temporary injunction blocking the Trump administration’s firings of federal employees during the government shutdown. The ruling by Judge Susan Illston of the US district court’s northern district of California came in response to a lawsuit filed by labor unions representing federal workers…On Friday, the Trump administration announced “reductions in force” across seven federal agencies, with at least 4,100 workers affected, citing the shutdown as justification for the firings. Unions representing federal employees – the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) – filed a lawsuit on 30 September, before the shutdown, in response to threats from the Trump administration that it would conduct reductions in force.”

“Pope Leo XIV urged labor union leaders from Chicago on Thursday to advocate for immigrants and welcome minorities into their ranks, weighing in as the Trump administration crackdown on immigrants intensifies in the pontiff’s hometown.  ‘While recognizing that appropriate policies are necessary to keep communities safe, I encourage you to continue to advocate for society to respect the human dignity of the most vulnerable,’ Leo said. The audience was scheduled before the deployment of National Guard troops to protect federal property in the Chicago area, including a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building that has been the site of occasional clashes between protesters and federal agents.”

“In July, the Third Circuit ruled that the Department of Labor (DOL) cannot adjudicate certain employment-related claims essential to its mission, citing the landmark 2024 U.S. Supreme Court case, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy. DOL recently requested rehearing en banc. But in the meantime, DOL’s ability to vindicate workers’ rights remains unclear.”

“For 40 years, Southern workers have been paid less than workers anywhere else, called the “Southern discount.” Today, over one in five workers earns less than $15 an hour. Eight of the ten lowest-wage states are in the South. Southerners are least likely to have health insurance, pensions, or paid leave. States like Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Tennessee don’t even set a minimum wage, leaving workers stuck with $7.25 – or $2.13 for tipped workers. With weak enforcement, wage theft is rampant. In Florida, one in four low-wage workers is paid below the legal minimum as a result. Nearly one in five in Louisiana and Mississippi lives below the poverty line. Child poverty across the South is 18%, but for Black children it’s 30%. This locks generations into poverty before they ever have a chance. This is all by design. After emancipation, lawmakers carved agricultural and domestic workers – jobs held largely by Black workers – out of New Deal protections like the minimum wage and union rights. That legacy remains. Black and Brown Southerners’ work is still systematically devalued.”

“On the heels of Maine Gov. Janet Mills entering the Democratic primary race to face Republican Sen. Susan Collins next year, the United Auto Workers on Wednesday endorsed Graham Platner, the oyster farmer and working-class champion who’s been railing against the oligarchy since he launched his campaign in August. ‘Inequality is out of control in our country. Today, the top 1% have more wealth than the bottom 95% of humanity combined,’ said UAW president Shawn Fain in a statement. ‘Graham understands this, and at a time when too many politicians take their cues from billionaires and corporate lobbyists, he has chosen to stand with the working class.’”

“Despite a letter sent to striking Boeing Machinists from the company’s CEO saying that more time on the picket line will not result in more money, members are still standing strong. In the letter, Boeing CEO Steve Parker told employees that the company’s offers are all within a framework that gives them the best pay and benefits package ever offered to District 837. Members, who’ve been on strike since Aug. 4, overwhelmingly have rejected Boeing’s offers three times.”

“The Walt Disney Company has blocked what could have been a historic labor strike by food service workers at Disney World’s Epcot in Orlando, thereby forcing workers to take a different approach to leverage their demands for a new union contract. Restaurant workers at Epcot’s Italy Pavilion, represented by Unite Here Local 737, are employed by the Patina Group, a Disney contractor. The union — which represents 70 workers at Tutto Italia, Via Napoli, and Tutto Gusto — has been in talks with Patina for a new union contract since earlier this year. Their last contract expired Sept. 30. But after talks remained unsuccessful, union leaders announced in August that workers would vote on whether to authorize union leaders to call for a strike — the first-ever by food service workers on Disney World property — if the company failed to meet their demands for higher pay and stronger benefits.”

“Volkswagen has dug in its heels in first-contract negotiations at its assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where workers won a landslide victory in last year’s union drive. ‘We’re still waiting for the company to agree to a proposal that simply affords us a fair share,’ auto worker Steve Cochran testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on October 8. ‘We are living with health care that forces people into bankruptcy. We are living with no protection from inflation.’”

“As the shutdown entered Day 6 on Oct. 6, a group of federal employees, union members, and community allies gathered at El Presidio Park in Tucson, Ariz., to demand an immediate end to the ongoing lockout. AFGE Local 2391 Vice President Omar Algeciras from the Department of Labor delivered the keynote speech, calling the shutdown ‘a failure that hurts working families and weakens the services Americans depend on.’”

“UAW Local 95 Unit 14 members at Mercyhealth’s East Clinic have reached a major milestone — 100 days on strike. Since July 2, these dedicated health care workers have been standing up not just for themselves, but for their patients. They’re fighting to restore quality care and fair jobs at Mercyhealth, where high-level decisions have turned what should be good, stable caregiving jobs into overworked, underpaid positions that put patient care at risk. On Friday, workers took a moment to celebrate their strength and unity as they continue to push back against an employer that is putting profits before patients.”

“Healthcare conglomerate Kaiser Permanente said on Tuesday that it is facing a labor strike called by the Alliance of Health Care Unions over wages, but has plans in place to continue operations without interruption. The strike that began earlier in the day is scheduled to end at 7 a.m. on October 19, Kaiser Permanente said. The 31,000 members of United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals are among the 46,000 members of the Alliance of Health Care Unions, which will strike Kaiser mainly on the West Coast in California, Hawaii, and Oregon, the union said in a statement on Monday.”

“Unite Here Local 23 members at Hilton-Americas Houston have voted to ratify a new contract, ending a 40-day strike and winning higher wages. Housekeepers, laundry attendants and stewards secured $20-an-hour minimum wage with guaranteed wage increases to eventually bring that number up to $22 an hour by the end of the contract, according to a Oct. 10 news release.”

“Workers at the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition (MEJC) have ratified their first collective bargaining agreement – a major milestone that secures real protections, guaranteed raises and industry-leading benefits. The contract, which runs through 2027, covers about five dozen employees and builds long-term stability for the coalition’s staff. It follows months of organizing and bargaining focused on securing fairness, predictability and sustainability in their work.”