The Weekly Download

“In this blogcast, Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris is joined by Sharon Block, the Executive Director of the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School, and Bill Samuel, the former director of government affairs at the AFL-CIO. Watch now to see the first ever "buy or sell" episode on Power At Work. Learn if Block, Samuel, and host Harris are "buying" or "selling" certain predictions about the labor movement.”

“This new series, “Students & Solidarity,” is aimed at one of those groups: college students. It will be written by college students, for college students, and presented periodically over the course of the next several months. And it includes links to a long list of Power At Work posts, blogcasts, and podcasts that can provide additional information for those who want to learn more. This is the inaugural article in the “Students & Solidarity” series, which we hope will make unions and the labor movement more understandable and more accessible to a younger audience, although readers of all ages are cordially invited to enjoy these posts, as well. Our experience on our college campus is that unions, although a powerful force in the United States, are often misunderstood by our classmates, or not understood at all. If we do it right, this series of posts will put a small dent in that problem.”

“Perhaps the biggest obstacle to organizing, for workers everywhere, is fear of retaliation. This is an even greater factor when the workers are undocumented immigrants. Not only do you fear being suspended or fired, but the idea of being deported if the employer calls immigration, and being separated from your family, multiplies the fear.”

“Gig and nonstandard workers–those working outside full-time, direct-hire, long-term employment–are among the most excluded group of workers. Black, Brown, queer, disabled, and young workers are more likely to lack access to the benefits and protections of traditional employees. Yet, their experiences are crucial for shaping a more inclusive economy.”

“New waves of workers are standing up and demanding fair treatment on the job — from the fast food workers of the Fight for $15 to the workers at companies like Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, and Volkswagen that are fighting for a union and a fair contract. But as these workers have made significant gains, they’ve simultaneously run into huge barriers: our broken democratic systems. That’s why one of the most important priorities for advancing worker power is democracy reform. In particular, that means reforming the anti-democratic filibuster in the U.S. Senate and ending partisan and racial gerrymandering, which have made state legislatures unresponsive to worker needs.”

“The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) plays a vital role in the United States’ workforce development system, funding programs that provide training, employment, and support services to millions of workers, particularly those facing significant barriers to employment. Yet, since it was first enacted in 1998, WIOA has lacked a critical layer of accountability: The funding process governing public workforce development programs does not adequately ensure that federal workforce development dollars are not awarded to companies that have recently violated labor laws. The ‘Representation of Compliance’ provision of the current WIOA reauthorization Senate discussion bill (US Senate 2024, sec. 191(1)(B)) aims to close this gap by preventing employers who violate labor laws from receiving federal funding—a critical measure to protect workers and deter unlawful employer practices that undercut both worker power and safety and high-road business practices.”

“The Supreme Court’s opinion in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo was not exactly something most workers were likely to discuss in the break room.  Every time I’ve tried to explain it to non-lawyers, I find myself struggling to explain the concept of “deference,” and what it means in the real world for courts to apply less deference to an agency’s interpretation of a statute.  But now, in Hudson Institute of Process Research Inc. v. NLRB, the Fifth Circuit has provided a good illustration of how Loper Bright has given right-wing judges a green light to take rights away from workers.”

“A number of mostly Republican-controlled states have weakened child labor protections in recent years and a second Trump administration would likely escalate the deregulatory push, as per plans laid out in Project 2025, according to a report released Wednesday. The 55-page report, Protecting Children From Dangerous Work, was prepared by Governing for Impact, the Economic Policy Institute, and Child Labor Coalition. It includes harrowing stories of teenagers killed on the job, documents right-wing plans for increased minor involvement in dangerous work, and calls for action by the U.S. Labor Department to strengthen and codify legal protections for workers under age 18. Child labor violations in the U.S. nearly quadrupled between 2015 and 2022, according to Labor Department data.”

“In the past two years, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has gone on strike twice against studios, partially for artificial intelligence (AI) protections. The union’s “surprise” deals with AI companies for voice actors to license “digital voice replicas,” announced this year, led to immediate controversy among voiceover artists who expressed concern and excitement about AI’s future in the industry.”

“NEW YORK – 11 days ahead of the 25th annual New Yorker Festival, the magazine’s most star-studded and high-profile event, the New Yorker Union, a bargaining unit of The NewsGuild of New York, has settled on a Tentative Agreement with parent company Condé Nast. Days after a Strike Authorization Vote was passed unanimously, and a support pledge signed by dozens of New Yorker staff writers began to circulate, management began to make movement in key areas such as pay, job security and company policies that govern employees’ ability to perform work outside of company time.”

“There has been a doubling of petitions by workers to have union representation during President Joe Biden’s administration, according to figures released Tuesday by the National Labor Relations Board. There were 3,286 petitions filed with the government in fiscal 2024, up from 1,638 in 2021. This marks the first increase in unionization petitions during a presidential term since Gerald Ford’s administration, which ended 48 years ago. During Trump’s presidency, union petitions declined 22%. President Joe Biden said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press that the increase showed that his administration has done more for workers than his predecessor, Donald Trump, the current Republican nominee who is vying to return to the White House in November’s election.”

“...Dixon is a member of 1199SEIU’s Weekend Warriors –– union members who voluntarily canvass various neighborhoods, and sometimes other states, to help boost voter education and registration for the upcoming elections. Local unions like 1199 recruit volunteers and bus them to battleground states in ongoing efforts to encourage voter participation. Union members say they are compelled to get information to voters about this year’s candidates and what the results of this presidential election could mean to union families.”

“(Bethesda, Md.)—Today, retail workers at the Bethesda Row Apple store in Maryland filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board. Over 70% of the group of 59 workers have signed union authorization cards, including workers in a range of retail, repair, and other job roles. The Bethesda Row Apple store workers will be represented by CWA.”

“Federal officials claim Starbucks cut workers’ hours at hundreds of unionized stores without bargaining over it — and they want the coffee chain to pay up. The general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint late Thursday alleging that Starbucks made the scheduling changes in late 2022 and early 2023 and didn’t consult the union. As a result, shift supervisors and baristas at 290 stores saw their hours reduced. Once workers have formed a union, it’s generally against the law for the employer to make changes to pay and scheduling without negotiation. Starbucks insisted in a statement that it didn’t violate the law.”

“AFGE National President Everett Kelley issued the following statement: “Our members at FEMA have been targeted by vile and baseless conspiracy theories and lies spread by rightwing extremists. Not only are these types of rhetoric an affront to our sense of shared decency and civic values, they undermine the ability to deliver assistance to those who need it the most. Words have consequences, and the fact that the rhetoric has caused actual threats of violence should inspire a moment of reflection for those parroting these absurd, dangerous, and outright lies.””

“It had been nearly 15 years since the public safety professionals of Rhode Island Council 94 had their pensions and retirements upended. But thanks to years of dogged activism, their futures will look a lot brighter come Jan. 1. That’s when changes to Rhode Island’s pension system are set to take effect, finally bringing many AFSCME Rhode Island public safety professionals’ retirements in line with their law enforcement counterparts, providing a huge boost to recruitment and retention for these critical jobs.”

“CWA members at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PG) have proven their mettle as a fighting union, standing strong as their strike against the newspaper surpassed two years this week. To mark the strike’s second anniversary, strikers took their demands directly to the corporate executives and board members responsible for violating the strikers’ rights and federal labor laws, with a mobile rally and billboard truck targeting the Post-Gazette office and the homes of union busters, executive editor Stan Wischnowski, parent company BCI board member and Block family heiress Emily Escalante, publisher, board vice chair and PG owner John Block, and BCI board member Ronald Davenport.”

“Boston, Mass. — Nearly 700 additional Boston hotel workers went on strike today, among 5,000 hotel workers on strike nationwide as coast-to-coast labor disputes continue to impact the hotel industry. 5,060 hotel workers are on strike at Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Omni hotels across the country. The latest Boston strikes include the largest hotel in Boston and the oldest continuously operating hotel in the country, bringing the city’s total to nearly 1,300 hotel workers on strike. More strikes could begin soon.”

“There is a credible call for a general strike in the United States in four years. The call first came from the United Auto Workers after its fall 2023 stand-up strike, in which the union took on the Big Three carmakers simultaneously in rolling, surprise work stoppages. All three contracts that emerged are slated to expire on the same day: May 1, 2028, International Workers’ Day. This is not the first time UAW has aligned the Big Three contracts, but what the union did next is remarkable. It put out a challenge to the US labor movement: “We invite unions around the country to align your contract expirations with our own so that together we can begin to flex our collective muscles,” UAW announced on October 29, 2023.”

“UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital nurses cite understaffing, lack of resources, and "horrendous working conditions" as the main reasons for authorizing a strike. A press release from the SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania union states that on Oct. 7, Western Psych nurses "voted unanimously to authorize a strike." The decision comes a little over two months into workers negotiating a new union contract with UPMC after their previous contract expired on Sept. 30.”

“After the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) authorized a strike Sept. 23 in protest of low wages, the musicians’ union reached an agreement with management at the Kennedy Center Sept. 27, before the NSO’s season opener. The musicians unanimously voted in support of a strike over their lower salaries in comparison to other major orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony, after remaining in a stalemate over contract negotiations since May. As a result, the Musicians Union Local 161-710, the union that represents members of the NSO, picketed at the Kennedy Center for the first time since 1978.”

“Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab factory workers held a large rally in Seattle on Tuesday to demand a better wage deal, mounting pressure on new CEO Kelly Ortberg to end a bitter strike that has plunged the planemaker further into financial crisis. Hundreds of striking workers packed the main hall at their union's headquarters chanting ‘Pension! Pension! Pension!’ and ‘One day longer, one day stronger!’...Around 33,000 of Boeing's unionized West Coast workers, most in Washington state, have been on strike since Sept. 13, demanding a 40% wage increase spread over four years and halting production of the planemaker's best-selling 737 MAX and its 767 and 777 widebodies.”

“When it was announced in October of 2023, Kaiser Permanente’s massive settlement with California regulators over its inadequate mental health care services to its patients briefly raised hopes among Kaiser workers. They saw the settlement, which included a record $50 million fine and a required plan of correction, as an opportunity for the health giant to lead on mental and behavioral health care. A year later, those hopes have been dashed. Kaiser’s leadership has yet to even agree with the state on the action plan to improve its services. And now thousands of mental health care professionals in Southern California are on the brink of a strike. An Oct. 21 strike date was announced Friday morning by the National Union of Healthcare Workers. It came after months of bargaining on a new contract yielded little movement on key issues related to mental health care services. The union represents about 2,400 Kaiser Permanente psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, addiction medicine counselors and marriage and family therapists in Southern California.”

“Pilots with Denver-based Frontier Airlines took the first step toward a possible strike on Tuesday. About 97% of pilots participated in a strike authorization vote. Of those, 99% voted in favor of a strike if necessary, according to Captain Michael Maynard, chairman of the Air Line Pilot's Association [sic] executive council. ‘This is one step along the way,’ said Captain Alan Christie with Frontier Airlines. Christie said pilots have been negotiating a new contract with Frontier leaders for about a year. According to Christie, the last time Frontier's 2,200 pilots received a new deal was nearly 5.5 years ago.” 

“When employees at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island voted to unionize in 2022, the result was seen as a major victory for organized labor. A year earlier, the documentarians Brett Story (“The Hottest August”) and Stephen Maing (“Crime + Punishment”) got on the ground with the workers and the organizers; in their engrossing new film, “Union,” they show how the vote’s outcome was hardly assured.”

“Ryan Sanders is the kind of voter whose support may ultimately decide the presidential race. A resident of Erie County in Pennsylvania, Sanders describes himself as “middle of the road”: He leans conservative, but he also said he tends to oscillate between either side of the center. In his early 40s, he’s young, like many swing voters. And above all, he said he wants a presidential candidate who is “honest” — a trait consistently prized by those who remain undecided.”