NEWS ROUNDUP

Taking ‘the Union path’ | AFGE organizing | Sonic the Union Hedgehog

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

 

LOCAL

 

► From Teamsters 174 — Grady Excavating drivers become members of Teamsters Local 174 — The construction-industry Teamster family has grown yet again, this time with the addition of a group of 71 drivers from Grady Excavating who ratified their first contract with Teamsters Local 174 this weekend. Teamsters Local 174 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks said:

“These workers have had a front-row seat to the stark difference between Union and nonunion working conditions and pay, and they have now chosen to follow the Union path. We look forward to demonstrating the value of that decision from here on out.”

 

AEROSPACE

 

► From Aviators Maldives — Boeing plans to set up a final assembly line in India — This is a significant development for the country’s aerospace industry as with an annual sourcing of over $1 billion from India, Boeing is already a major player in the Indian market. The establishment of a FAL would further strengthen the company’s presence and could potentially lead to increased investment and job creation in the country.

 

THIS WASHINGTON

 

► From the Seattle Times — WA Republicans propose making new long-term care tax optional — A group of Republican state senators want to make it optional to participate in Washington’s new long-term care insurance program — and associated payroll tax — a change supporters say would threaten the first-of-its-kind program meant to help Washingtonians pay for care as they age. Sen. Andy Billig (D-Spokane), who leads Democrats in the Senate, said that making the program optional “is tantamount to killing it.”

 

THAT WASHINGTON

 

► From the Federal News Network — Federal pay raises have lagged private sector for more than a decade, data shows — In January, federal employees received their largest raise in two decades. But even that 4.6% bump wasn’t enough to keep pace with rising wages in the private sector, according to 2023 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Which might help explain this…

► From AFGE — AFGE local unions power June organizing success — The American Federation of Government Employees ended June with another overall net increase of 1,362 members. One local signed up 90% of people attending New Employee Orientation by focusing on the immediate benefits of being part of the union and what they could do about the issues important to workers.

► From Roll Call — Biden’s long-term care agenda faces headwinds — President Joe Biden has made it a major policy goal to improve long-term care options for older adults and people with disabilities by improving the working conditions of the people who care for them. But some lawmakers, state and industry officials say his proposals are not realistic as long as workforce shortages continue and low Medicaid reimbursement rates remain in place.

► From the AP — Supreme Court justices and donors mingle at campus visits. These documents show the ethical dilemmas — The Associated Press obtained tens of thousands of pages of emails and other documents that reveal the extent to which public colleges and universities have seen visits by justices as opportunities to generate donations -– regularly putting justices in the room with influential donors, including some whose industries have had interests before the court.

 

NATIONAL

 

► From Vice — SEGA of America workers vote to unionize — Workers at Sega of America, the North American branch of the Japanese company behind Sonic the Hedgehog, voted on Monday to form the first multi-departmental video game union in the U.S. The workers are based out of the company’s California offices in Irvine and Burbank. They have unionized as the ​​Allied Employees Guild Improving SEGA (AEGIS-CWA), with the Communications Workers of America.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Ready for a voice at work? Get more information about how you can join together with co-workers and negotiate a fair return for your hard work. Or go ahead and contact a union organizer today!

► From CWA — In an historic vote, CWA elects Claude Cummings Jr. President and Ameenah Salaam Secretary-Treasurer — Cummings is the first Black man elected as CWA President. Salaam, who was elected by acclamation, is the first Black woman to serve as Secretary-Treasurer. Cummings succeeds Chris Shelton who stepped down after serving as president for eight years and spending 55 years mobilizing, representing and organizing with CWA.

 

► From CBS News — UPS union chief says negotiations at “standstill” after employees vote for strike — The latest round of negotiations between UPS and the union representing its employees have broken down without an agreement. Unionized employees overwhelmingly voted in favor of going on strike if a deal isn’t reached by the end of this month. The general president of the union representing the UPS workers, Sean O’Brien, joined CBS News to talk about the situation.

► From The Hill — Five things to know about UPS strike as Teamsters contract talks fail

► From The Hill — Lawmakers keep a close eye on writers’ strike with no end in sight — The standoff between writers in the WGA and studio chiefs started in May, and hinges on profit sharing in the form of residual rates and writers’ getting paid for their time as opposed to simply for their product. Many Democrats in Congress have been sounding notes of solidarity with writers.

► From the AP — Threats of a strike heating up even before UAW begins negotiations with automakers — Whenever the United Auto Workers union begins negotiating a new contract with Detroit’s three automakers, threats of a strike are typically heard on the floor of the old Chrysler transmission plant in Kokomo, Indiana. This year, the talk is a little louder. Besides the usual haggling over wages, pensions and health care, the union has set its sights on a more consequential goal: It is determined to secure a foothold in the joint-venture plants that will manufacture electric vehicle batteries in the years and likely decades ahead.

► From The Intercept — California grad students won a historic strike. UC San Diego is striking back with misconduct allegations and arrests. — Since ratifying a contract, workers at University of California San Diego have faced what they say is an escalating retaliation campaign.

► From the Washington Post — That full-time job? Now it’s part-time. — Businesses are starting to cut workers’ hours, forcing hundreds of thousands of people into part-time roles, in what could be an early warning sign for the economy.

 

The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.

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