Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Nurses National Day of Action Advocates for Safety for Patients and Hospital Workers
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Thousands of nurses rallied across the country last week as part of the National Nurses United (NNU) day of action. The more than 200 actions at hospitals were focused on saving the lives of nurses, other health care workers and patients. The nurses demanded proper infection control practices, most importantly providing nurses optimal personal protective equipment and mandating safe patient care ratios. The registered nurses of NNU also called for the Senate to pass the HEROES Act and for elected officials everywhere to address the underlying conditions that have exacerbated the effects of the pandemic, such as racial injustice, high unemployment and hunger, and the failure to value human lives over profit.
Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 08/10/2020 - 13:22Tags: COVID-19, Community Service
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Ironworker Blazes a Trail for Women of Color
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Consuela Poland is a member of Ironworkers Local 22 in Indianapolis. Having been the only woman of color in her welding class seven years ago, she is now trying to encourage workers like her to join the trade. “Being new to the industry you don’t know what questions to ask, you don’t know who to talk to, no one teaches you that stuff,” she told The Indianapolis Star. “If they don’t feel confident enough to go buy their own supplies, then there’s a chance they won’t keep welding. There’s a chance they give up.” Poland founded the Latinas Welding Guild in 2017 to mentor and empower the Latina community and women in central Indiana through welding. Local 22 in Indiana represents more than 1,000 members in Indianapolis, Terre Haute and Lafayette, and only 11 of those members are women.
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 08/07/2020 - 12:12Tags: COVID-19, Community Service
Economy Gains 1.8 Million Jobs in June; Unemployment Declines to 10.2%
The U.S. economy gained 1.8 million jobs in July, and the unemployment rate declined to 10.2%, according to figures released Friday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The improvements reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that previously was curtailed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to the July job numbers, AFL-CIO Chief Economist William Spriggs tweeted:
Almost 1/3 the job gain reported by @BLS_gov for July was the 502,000 rebound in food and drink establishments, consistent with the combined rise from the household survey for those usually working part-time and continued fall in temporary layoff @AFLCIO
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) August 7, 2020With schools closing early, the seasonal adjustments to local and state education showed up as job gains, but the @BLS_gov reports state and local employment remain over 1 million lower than February. Strong reason for state and local government aid. @AFLCIO
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) August 7, 2020Retail trade continued to show some recovery, @BLS_gov reports 280,000 jobs came back (almost half in clothing stores). But, retail remains 913,000 it's peak in February. @AFLCIO
— William E. Spriggs (@WSpriggs) August 7, 2020Last month's biggest job gains were in leisure and hospitality (+592,000), government (301,000), retail trade (258,000), professional and business services (170,000), other services (149,000), health care (126,000), social assistance (66,000), transportation and warehousing (38,000), manufacturing (26,000), financial activities (21,000) and construction (20,000). Mining lost 7,000 jobs in July.
In July, the unemployment rates declined for teenagers (19.3%), Black Americans (14.6%), Hispanics (12.9%), Asians (12.0%), adult women (10.5%), adult men (9.4%) and White Americans (9.2%).
The number of long-term unemployed workers (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed in July.
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 08/07/2020 - 11:30Service + Solidarity Spotlight: WSLC’s Foundation for Working Families Donates to Those in Need
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of those stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
The Foundation for Working Families (FFWF) is the charitable nonprofit formed by the affiliated unions of the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) to assist working families in times of hardship or disaster. Since the pandemic started in March, the FFWF has been giving $300 grocery store gift cards to families suffering extraordinary economic difficulties. “The Foundation for Working Families is an important part of the WSLC and its affiliated unions’ work,” said WSLC President Larry Brown (IAM). “Helping families get through difficult times, like many are experiencing amid this pandemic, is what unions have always done. We lift each other up, particularly when some of us are struggling, so we can get through those hard times and ultimately share in the prosperity we have created together.” The foundation will soon deliver its one-thousandth gift card since the outbreak started, having given nearly $300,000 in donations to help families get through these difficult times. Click here to donate to FFWF.
Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 08/06/2020 - 16:33Tags: COVID-19, Community Service
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Teachers, School and Your Children
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of those stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
Candace Pinn is a kindergarten teacher in New Rochelle, New York, and a member of the New Rochelle Federation of United School Employees-AFT. Whether schools open or not is one of the biggest questions right now during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more about what might happen and how teachers are feeling during these dangerous times.
Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 08/05/2020 - 14:50Tags: COVID-19, Community Service
Activision Blizzard Game Workers Take Collective Action to Reduce Pay Inequities
Employees of video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc. are comparing their salaries after an internal company survey revealed that more than half of the company’s workers were unhappy with their pay. Activision Blizzard had promised pay increases after conducting a pay equity study, but many game workers have expressed frustration about the raises provided.
The high ratio of CEO-to-worker pay continues to be an issue of concern at Activision Blizzard. Last year, Activision Blizzard’s CEO Robert Kotick made more than $30 million in total compensation, or 319 times the company’s median employee pay. The company's disclosed CEO-to-worker pay ratio did not budge at all between 2018 and 2019.
Even Activision Blizzard’s shareholders are upset. Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services noted that “the CEO’s legacy employment agreement provides numerous overlapping pay opportunities, which raise concerns over potential excessive payouts in the future.” At this year’s shareholder meeting, 43% of votes were cast against the company’s executive pay.
Working people are better able to negotiate a fair return on our work when we have information on rates of play in our workplace. Comparing salaries also can help prevent unlawful pay discrimination based on race or gender. Although 60% of surveyed tech workers reported pressure from their employer to keep salary information secret, sharing pay data is a legally protected right under U.S. labor law.
Game workers create the content that makes video game companies like Activision Blizzard so profitable. The action by game workers at Activision Blizzard is a powerful reminder that working people can reduce pay inequities by coming together collectively. That’s why last year I wrote an open letter pledging our solidarity as a labor movement with game worker organizing efforts.
As Activision Blizzard’s game workers have shown, pay transparency can be the first step to negotiating pay fairness in the workplace. It doesn’t matter if you are a computer programmer or a factory worker; all working people deserve fair pay and a voice at work.
Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 08/05/2020 - 09:50Service + Solidarity Spotlight: South Florida AFL-CIO Rallies for Unemployment Insurance
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of those stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
The South Florida AFL-CIO, led by President Jeffrey Mitchell (TWU), partnered with Rise Up Florida! to protest and rally on Friday at Trump National Doral Miami golf resort. Union members and our allies called on President Trump and U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott to pass the HEROES Act and extend enhanced unemployment insurance. The central labor council purchased two giant rats, one for Rubio and one for Scott, and a Trump inflatable to be part of the event. “Without that money, we cannot continue with our life,” Roy James, a member of UNITE HERE who lost his job at the Miami International Airport in March, told NBC 6 South Florida. “Even with $1,000, I cannot pay my bills because even my rent is $1,500.” After the rally at Trump’s resort, a caravan of union members traveled to the senators’ Miami offices.
Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 08/04/2020 - 10:42Tags: COVID-19, Community Service
Protect Employees and Customers: The Working People Weekly List
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.
Historic Child Care Organizing Victory in California a Win for AFSCME, SEIU: “In a union election victory 17 years in the making, child care providers across California voted overwhelmingly to be represented by Child Care Providers United (CCPU). The organizing campaign was a joint effort of United Domestic Workers/AFSCME Local 3930 and SEIU locals 99 and 521, with 97% of represented workers who voted choosing to join CCPU."
#HeroesActNow: In the States Roundup: “It’s time once again to take a look at the ways working people are making progress in the states. Click on any of the links to follow the state federations on Twitter.”
Union Members Work on Missouri Power Plant: “Members of United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) Local 562 continue to deliver quality work, despite the challenges of working during the pandemic.”
Report: Retail Banks Must Take Urgent Steps to Protect Employees and Customers: “A new report released by the Committee for Better Banks (CBB) shows the urgent need for major financial institutions to protect the physical health of employees and customers and to protect customers’ economic assets. CBB analyzed 12 of the nation’s top banks, with combined total assets of $8.5 trillion and $155 billion in profits last year. The report ranked banks according to worker protections, lending policies, consumer protections and charitable contributions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Executive Paywatch: 1,000-to-1 Pay Ratio CEOs Furlough Workers: “AFL-CIO’s Executive Paywatch report, released today, shows that the imbalance between the pay of corporate CEOs and working people persists as a problem. In particular, the report shines light on the 20 companies with pay ratio disparities higher than 1,000-to-1 that furloughed workers in 2020.”
Machinists Rally for BIW Strikers in Maine: “Members of Machinists (IAM) Local S6 in Maine are entering their sixth week on strike against shipbuilder Bath Iron Works (BIW), but they are staying strong.”
Members of Rockford United Labor Help Build a ‘Strong Neighborhood House’: “Members of Rockford United Labor, led by President Bill Corey (UBC), are working with contractors to build a new United Way ‘Strong Neighborhood House’ in Rockford, Illinois.”
Labor Radio–Podcast Weekly: Manufacturing, Union Dues and More: “The latest episode of the ‘Labor Radio–Podcast Weekly’ features manufacturing, union dues and more.”
Apprentices Help Conserve Marine Life in the Chesapeake Bay: “Earlier this month, apprentices at the Plasterers and Cement Masons (OPCMIA) Local 592 training center in New Jersey finished constructing 60 reef balls that were loaded up and sent off to their new home in the Chesapeake Bay.”
Fire Fighters Rack Up Organizing Wins Across the South: “The Fire Fighters (IAFF) union has organized four new bargaining units in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia over the past few weeks. These are significant organizing wins for the union and part of its strategy to increase membership within the IAFF across the South.”
On the Passing of the Rev. C.T. Vivian and the Hon. John Lewis: “Over the weekend, the civil rights community suffered the loss of two giants in the movement—the Rev. C.T. Vivian (95) and Rep. John Lewis (80). As the nation grapples with protests and demands for racial equality, we remember their unwavering commitment to social, racial and economic justice. Both friends to labor and colleagues of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., their lives were the embodiment of ‘good trouble, necessary trouble.’”
Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council Fights for Workplace Safety Enforcement: “Too many front-line workers across the country are working in fear for their health and safety. As the federal government fails to intervene by mandating safety and health guidelines, many states are not acting, either.”
San Diego’s Labor Movement Holds Food Distribution Event: “On Saturday, members of the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, led by Executive Secretary-Treasurer Keith Maddox (IAM), held a food relief drive-through at Palomar College.”
IBEW Women’s Committee Raises Money for Dubuque Area Labor Harvest: “The Women’s Committee of the Electrical Workers (IBEW) 11th District, made up of IBEW women from Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, has been raising money to help support workers in need during this time of crises by collecting bottles and cans and through private donations from its members.”
An Unstoppable Force for Change: What Working People Are Doing This Week: “Welcome to our regular feature, a look at what the various AFL-CIO unions and other working family organizations are doing across the country and beyond. The labor movement is big and active—here’s a look at the broad range of activities we’re engaged in this week.”
Keeping Kids Safe Never Stops: “Colorado AFL-CIO President Josette Jaramillo (AFSCME) is a lead caseworker for the Department of Social Services in Pueblo County, Colorado. For Jaramillo, work never stopped when COVID-19 hit.”
Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 08/03/2020 - 11:57Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Union Members in Arizona Donate Supplies, Masks to Navajo and Hopi Nations
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of those stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
The Arizona AFL-CIO, under the leadership of Executive Director Fred Yamashita (UFCW), took part in a donation delivery of nonperishable food, supplies and “Union Yes” face masks to the Navajo and Hopi nations.
Along with the AFL-CIO, Electrical Workers (IBEW) locals, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 99 and Teamsters Local 104, the state federation dropped off more than $10,000 worth of donations and over 2,000 masks. Safeway also donated several thousand bottles of drinking water. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez thanked all those in attendance, calling them “friends of the Navajo Nation.”
The state federation is facilitating another drop-off of supplies and donations in the coming weeks, including a $15,000 donation from the AFL-CIO and a $10,000 donation from Local 99.
Native American tribes have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic in Arizona and many other parts of the United States.
Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 08/03/2020 - 10:50Tags: COVID-19, Community Service
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Historic Child Care Organizing Victory in California a Win for AFSCME, SEIU
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of those stories every day. Here's today's story.
In a union election victory 17 years in the making, child care providers across California voted overwhelmingly to be represented by Child Care Providers United (CCPU). The organizing campaign was a joint effort of United Domestic Workers/AFSCME Local 3930 and SEIU locals 99 and 521, with 97% of represented workers who voted choosing to join CCPU. “This has been a long time coming,” UDW Assistant Executive Director and AFSCME Vice President Johanna Hester said Monday. “This win gives 40,000 family child care providers in California the opportunity to bargain for higher pay, better training and increased access to care for every child who needs it.” With AFSCME’s and SEIU’s strong support, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law the Building a Better Early Care and Education System Act (A.B. 378) in September, paving the way for this historic victory, one of the largest union organizing wins in America so far this century.
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 07/31/2020 - 12:33Tags: COVID-19, Community Service
#HeroesActNow: In the States Roundup
It's time once again to take a look at the ways working people are making progress in the states. Click on any of the links to follow the state federations on Twitter.
Alaska State AFL-CIO:
#Alaskans are mailing @lisamurkowski and @SenDanSullivan to pass the #HeroesActNow to provide essential funding for the USPS. #SaveThePostOffice @AFLCIO #1u @NALC_National @APWUnational pic.twitter.com/LPEi5X0Xxr
— Alaska AFL-CIO (@AKAFLCIO) July 29, 2020Arizona AFL-CIO:
Vote for Senator @Rios_Rebecca for AZ Senate in #LD27 in the August 4th Primary! #AZLabor2020 #Labor2020 #VOTE pic.twitter.com/OBcuZynIYV
— Arizona AFL-CIO (@ArizonaAFLCIO) July 13, 2020California Labor Federation:
ICYMI: The vote for California Child Care Providers United represents a massive win for workers. #UnionsForAll #ChildCareisEssential https://t.co/LPalsABeis @SEIU @AFSCME @SEIULocal99
— California Labor Federation #BlackLivesMatter (@CaliforniaLabor) July 30, 2020Colorado AFL-CIO:
Thank you @GovofCO for putting the health and safety of Coloradans first! https://t.co/Lu1JAJIN7X
— Colorado AFL-CIO (@AFLCIOCO) July 16, 2020Connecticut AFL-CIO:
CT @AFLCIO President Sal Luciano: "We are grateful to @GovNedLamont for signing an executive order today that will help hundreds, and possibly thousands, of essential workers who were stricken with #COVID19." Full statement: https://t.co/8pLbbEv6r1 pic.twitter.com/smFzaE14Ij
— Connecticut AFL-CIO (@ConnAFLCIO) July 24, 2020Florida AFL-CIO:
“What people need to do to protect themselves is to get a collective voice for a union or else their employer has no reason to listen to them,” Appelbaum said, noting Target’s past resistance to a unionized workforce."https://t.co/mlCRFySw8Q
— Florida AFL-CIO (@FLAFLCIO) July 29, 2020Georgia State AFL-CIO:
?Action Alert ?The $600 unemployment boost is critical to helping families keep food on the table and rent paid- but the extended unemployment is expiring tomorrow. Don't let @SenLoeffler leave workers behind.
☎️Call 866-832-1560 #HEROESAct pic.twitter.com/TaJoNq2xNb
Indiana State AFL-CIO:
.@SenateMajLdr & the @SenateGOP have proposed a massive reduction in unemployment benefits that would increase hardship for already struggling families.
What do we really need? To #Savethe600 and #ExtendUI! pic.twitter.com/eGaXBjPoU3
Iowa Federation of Labor:
An overwhelming majority of American voters support at least $1 trillion in federal aid to our states, cities, towns and schools. @SenateMajLdr: Go back to the drawing board because it's clear the next relief package MUST have this aid. #FundtheFrontLines pic.twitter.com/i7u0bLNmBp
— Iowa AFL-CIO (@IowaAFLCIO) July 30, 2020Maine AFL-CIO:
A Winterport small business owner explains why she couldn't qualify for a PPP loan & why she is depending on @SenAngusKing & @SenatorCollins to extend the full $600 weekly benefit to save her home & her business. https://t.co/ycAPoyKFVp #mepolitics
— Maine AFL-CIO (@MEAFLCIO) July 28, 2020Maryland State and D.C. AFL-CIO:
Today is the day when @GovLarryHogan’s moratorium on evictions expires, putting 290,000 MDers at risk of homelessness due to losing their jobs because of COVID-19. Governor, please extend the moratorium. Please help working families stay in their homes. pic.twitter.com/4TCqmWzeCj
— Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO (@MDDCStateFed) July 25, 2020Massachusetts AFL-CIO:
The Massachusetts AFL-CIO is proud to endorse another group of candidates for the upcoming 2020 elections. These candidates have demonstrated that they will be champions for working people and in their respective communities. See below?
— Massachusetts AFL-CIO (@massaflcio) July 29, 2020Michigan State AFL-CIO:
GET THE FACTS: Find out whether your State Representative is a friend of labor based on key votes taken this legislative session >>> https://t.co/A3JWuykQPZ pic.twitter.com/T8DfXAmxkh
— Michigan AFL-CIO ? (@MIAFLCIO) July 14, 2020Minnesota AFL-CIO:
If Congress doesn't act before the end of August, more than 13,000 federal workers at USCIS will be furloughed. Visit https://t.co/pisKgZRlp9 to take action today to save the jobs of these hardworking Americans. #SaveUSCIS pic.twitter.com/UUW16X3G5s
— Minnesota AFL-CIO (@MNAFLCIO) July 30, 2020Missouri AFL-CIO:
Protect yourself and others. Wear a mask. pic.twitter.com/WXYpdyrfyV
— Missouri AFL-CIO (@MOAFLCIO) July 28, 2020Montana State AFL-CIO:
"...it doesn’t take a real reach to guess why out of state real estate developers, investors, and pharmaceutical companies would see donating to Gianforte as a sensible investment." https://t.co/u7aERhdZT9
— Montana AFL-CIO (@MTaflcio) July 28, 2020Nebraska State AFL-CIO:
Essential meatpacking plant workers need essential protections. Join me in signing this petition to tell local health departments to take action. https://t.co/XmikPYk7l6
— Nebraska State AFL-CIO (@NE_AFLCIO) July 28, 2020Nevada State AFL-CIO:
If Congress doesn't act this week, more than 13,000 federal workers at USCIS will be furloughed. Visit https://t.co/Hr8ViM0g8Y to take action today to save the jobs of these hardworking Americans! #SaveUSCIS pic.twitter.com/6GDtEiDafq
— Nevada State AFL-CIO (@NVAFLCIO) July 29, 2020New Hampshire AFL-CIO:
Leadership matters - Chris Sununu, we need safe schools. My Turn: Schools need more than ‘flexible’ guidelines https://t.co/73wN0PAuis
— NewHampshire AFL-CIO (@NHAFLCIO) July 29, 2020New Jersey State AFL-CIO:
Our frontline heroes are getting sick at their workplaces, but they must prove that their infection with COVID-19 coronavirus was job-related to get their well-deserved workers compensation benefits.https://t.co/rkzwob1Kw3
— New Jersey AFL-CIO (@NJAFLCIO) July 27, 2020New Mexico Federation of Labor:
This is a non-partisan issue. Our families need help now! #Savethe600 #ExtendUI pic.twitter.com/sHeXTt087e
— NMFL (@NMFLaflcio) July 30, 2020New York State AFL-CIO:
$10 billion PER WEEK! That’s how much money our families will be losing out on if @SenateMajLdr, @SenateGOP, and @RealDonaldTrump get their way! Tell your Senators to #Savethe600 NOW! #ExtendUI pic.twitter.com/fWw5gRIwIK
— NYSAFLCIO (@NYSAFLCIO) July 30, 2020North Carolina State AFL-CIO:
Patricia is one of many that relies on the $600 weekly boost to unemployment benefits to support her family. We need to #Savethe600 before it expires tomorrow! Congress must #ExtendUI! #WeAreTheEconomy pic.twitter.com/cHgjbuPfFs
— NC State AFL-CIO (@NCStateAFLCIO) July 30, 2020North Dakota AFL-CIO:
Rally attendees deliver message to Sen. John Hoeven's office in Grand Forks | Grand Forks Herald https://t.co/NMJnNOaXL1
— North Dakota AFL-CIO (@NDAFLCIO) July 30, 2020Ohio AFL-CIO:
A good cause if you have a few dollars to donate. https://t.co/Jqo3wAoZoi
— Ohio AFL-CIO (@ohioaflcio) July 29, 2020Oregon AFL-CIO:
“Oregon’s immigrant communities have received more than $10 million in disaster relief through the Oregon Worker Relief Fund since its launch on May 10, according to the coalition of advocacy groups that pushed to establish the program.” https://t.co/OHOgE911Wa
— Oregon AFL-CIO (@OregonAFLCIO) July 30, 2020Pennsylvania AFL-CIO:
Nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians have filed for unemployment insurance since March. #ExtendUI #SaveThe600 #HEROESActNOW pic.twitter.com/0lUYgEPHZu
— PA AFL-CIO (@PaAFL_CIO) July 30, 2020Rhode Island AFL-CIO:
Lawmakers more responsive to working class in districts with strong unions, data show https://t.co/y9MFrfOux8 #1u #Unions #UnionStrong #Solidarity
— Rhode Island AFL-CIO (@riaflcio) July 28, 2020Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council:
Communities of color continue to be disproportionately impacted in many ways by the COVID-19 pandemic.https://t.co/RxOW4G6xRh
— Tennessee AFL-CIO (@tnaflcio) July 30, 2020Texas AFL-CIO:
Members from the San Antonio AFL-CIO demand #HeroesActNow
Call Senators Cornyn and Cruz at 1-866-832-1560 @AFLCIO @TexasAFLCIO @CWAUnion @CWA6186 @TexasAFT pic.twitter.com/8F9vlRkQe1
Virginia AFL-CIO:
Thanks @8NEWS ! Check out the story on the new workplace standards below! https://t.co/8qZTnEsvaW
— Virginia AFL-CIO (@Virginia_AFLCIO) July 17, 2020Washington State Labor Council:
That's right, Matt. Everyone should take the time to read @WashingtonEA's thoughtful explanation of why we need to put #SafetyFirst at our schools this fall: https://t.co/QoBMaqueRv https://t.co/C6hD1PDGky
— Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO (@WAAFLCIO) July 30, 2020West Virginia AFL-CIO:
“Let’s face it, America’s bankruptcy system is a scam. It’s rigged to siphon off millions of dollars from working-class communities and send it to Wall Street.” #wvpol https://t.co/M0rv5MdGpS
— West Virginia AFLCIO (@WestVirginiaAFL) July 28, 2020Wisconsin State AFL-CIO:
TWU, NYU Collaborate on Study Of Impact of Coronavirus on Workers https://t.co/ipKYSwcXe3
— WI AFL-CIO (@wisaflcio) July 30, 2020 Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 07/31/2020 - 09:29Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Union Members Work on Missouri Power Plant
Members of United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) Local 562 continue to deliver quality work, despite the challenges of working during the pandemic.
The UA and its leaders recognized their members who are working at the Portage Des Sioux Power Plant in Missouri. “It is amazing to walk on the site and see our men and women doing such quality work. They really do make each jobsite better every day. [We’re] very proud of everyone for their hard work,” said Local 562 Business Representative William Doherty.
Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 07/30/2020 - 16:12Tags: COVID-19, Community Service
Report: Retail Banks Must Take Urgent Steps to Protect Employees and Customers
A new report released by the Committee for Better Banks (CBB) shows the urgent need for major financial institutions to protect the physical health of employees and customers and to protect customers' economic assets. CBB analyzed 12 of the nation's top banks, with combined total assets of $8.5 trillion and $155 billion in profits last year. The report ranked banks according to worker protections, lending policies, consumer protections and charitable contributions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nick Weiner, lead organizer for CBB, said:
Throughout the pandemic, CBB has heard from bank workers across the country about the lack of safety measures and financial protections both for employees and their customers. This led us to do a deep, comprehensive review of how U.S. banks have responded to COVID-19 and ensure that, as new cases are skyrocketing, bank executives know what they must improve. While banks’ poor grades did not surprise us, the inconsistencies across the banking industry around worker and customer protections is truly alarming and speaks to the urgent need to secure a place at the table for front-line workers. In 2008, taxpayers ended up footing the bill for bailing out Wall Street and big banks for malfeasance perpetrated on millions of homeowners, while working people lost their homes and were left struggling. With 30 percent of Americans missing their housing payments in June and experts warning of a looming housing apocalypse, we cannot afford to make that same mistake again.
Read the full report and sign the petition that calls on the banks to take the following steps:
- Form a committee to develop industrywide policies in support of the health and financial well-being of front-line workers and consumers.
- Provide front-line workers with increased protections, including hazard pay, paid sick leave, adequate personal protective equipment and job security.
- Increase employment levels, improve training and transparency of policies to ensure communities, ensure customers and small businesses receive the real financial support they need, including increased flexibility for customers in need and waiving fees for customers, while maximizing support for small businesses.
Tags: COVID-19
Executive Paywatch: 1,000-to-1 Pay Ratio CEOs Furlough Workers
AFL-CIO's Executive Paywatch report, released today, shows that the imbalance between the pay of corporate CEOs and working people persists as a problem. In particular, the report shines light on the 20 companies with pay ratio disparities higher than 1,000-to-1 that furloughed workers in 2020.
AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler (IBEW) expanded on this new feature of the report:
With the COVID-19 shutdowns earlier this year, we saw many CEOs take salary cuts as a token of their solidarity with furloughed workers. While these CEO salary cuts made for good headlines, they are mostly window dressing. Base salary makes up less than 8% of total compensation for CEOs of S&P 500 companies. Most CEO pay is in equity awards. The real story in executive compensation was that companies ramped up their equity awards to senior executives at the beginning of this year. Meanwhile, millions of working people have been furloughed or laid off due to COVID-19 related shutdowns. This disparity represents a fundamental imbalance in our economy. Working people are being treated as disposable employees. Now these cast-off workers, as a result of COVID-19, are at risk of having their unemployment benefits cut.
The Executive Paywatch website is the most comprehensive, searchable online database tracking CEO pay. Key highlights of this year's report:
- In 2019, CEOs of S&P 500 companies received, on average, $14.8 million in total compensation.
- The average S&P 500 company CEO-to-worker pay ratio was 264-to-1.
- S&P 500 CEO pay has increased, on average, $3.4 million over the past 10 years. Meanwhile during the same period of time, the average U.S. production and nonsupervisory worker’s pay increased just $8,360. From 2018 to 2019, the average production and nonsupervisory worker received barely more than a $1,500 raise, bringing their total pay to $41,442.
- Abercrombie & Fitch had the highest disclosed ratio of CEO-to-worker pay of any public company: 4,293-to-1. Abercrombie’s CEO received $8.4 million in total compensation compared to the company’s median worker who received less than $2,000 in compensation.
The data presented is particularly striking given that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the highest unemployment levels since the Great Depression. Nearly 15% of workers were unemployed in April of this year compared to a high of 10% unemployment after the 2008 Wall Street financial crisis.
The report highlights the importance of passing the HEROES Act to address the negative effects of the pandemic on working people. Shuler said: “We are demanding that the Senate pass the HEROES Act and provide the relief that working families need. The HEROES Act will extend unemployment insurance while keeping companies that paid more than $1 million in executive pay from getting refunds of previously paid corporate income taxes.”
Visit the Executive Paywatch website and read the full report.
Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 07/29/2020 - 15:28Tags: Paywatch
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Machinists Rally for BIW Strikers in Maine
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of those stories every day. Here's today's story.
Members of Machinists (IAM) Local S6 in Maine are entering their sixth week on strike against shipbuilder Bath Iron Works (BIW), but they are staying strong. On Saturday, IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. and IAM General Vice President Brian Bryant addressed hundreds of Local S6 members and community allies at a rally, saying that Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics, “is showing the nation what corporate greed looks like.” Martinez said, “This company is taking our Maine jobs and subcontracting them to outside contractors who take their paychecks back to Alabama, Mississippi and other places outside our state….I think we need to stand up and question [BIW President] Dirk Lesko on this $45 million tax break.” Some 4,300 members of IAM are on strike in the largest current strike in the United States. U.S. Senate candidate Sara Gideon and allied elected officials also spoke at the rally.
Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 07/29/2020 - 14:12Tags: COVID-19, Community Service
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Members of Rockford United Labor Help Build a ‘Strong Neighborhood House’
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of those stories every day. Here's today's story.
Members of Rockford United Labor, led by President Bill Corey (UBC), are working with contractors to build a new United Way “Strong Neighborhood House” in Rockford, Illinois. The Strong Neighborhood House is being built to create a safe place for residents of the area to interact with law enforcement, obtain human service resources they may not be directly connected to and to provide children with learning experiences that may not otherwise be readily available. Contractors are donating the supplies and union members are providing the labor.
Kenneth Quinnell Tue, 07/28/2020 - 11:55Tags: COVID-19, Community Service
Labor Radio–Podcast Weekly: Manufacturing, Union Dues and More
The latest episode of the "Labor Radio–Podcast Weekly" features manufacturing, union dues and more.
On the latest Activate LIVE podcast, Owen Herrnstadt, chief of staff at the Machinists (IAM), takes a look at presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's new manufacturing proposal: "We are tired of hearing about all the jobs that are being re-shored. When we know our members are out of work, when we know their jobs are still going to China, when we know their jobs are still going to Mexico and what we really need are real solutions that are going to put U.S. workers back to work and put our economy back together."
On the Firefighter Kingdom podcast, arson investigator Capt. Ramon Martinez: "Our specialty is fire. We don't go out and look for pulling people over for DUI’s. We don't look for domestic violence, but when we do show up on scene, it's, it's incredible because we have the knowledge of being a fireman and we're able to see the fire for what it is."
Labor Express Radio host Jerry Mead-Lucero highlights reports from the Work Week podcast on the West Coast, the Heartland Labor Forum in Kansas City and the Building Bridges radio show in New York City: "I've been mentioning on our recent programs how excited I am that Labor Express Radio is now a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network, a network of now over 50, and it keeps growing labor movement orientated radio programs or podcasts from across the USA. I never knew that there were so many of us out there, and that is one of the network's goals; to make all of us more visible to all of you out there. So to celebrate this new partnership, I thought I would provide you a small sample of what the network has to offer, a sort of coast-to-coast tour."
On The Break Time Breakdown podcast, Mark and Jeremy talk union dues: "You're paying $120 a month to make $2,000. I said, 'Go to any nonunion company and get that $2,000 from him and have health insurance and have a pension.'"
On America’s Work Force Radio, Labor lawyer Joyce Goldstein, on the Trump National Labor Relations Board: "This board has overturned well over a dozen precedents. And in every single case—every single case—it's been in favor of an employer and against workers in their unions."
Plus, Labor History in 2: Chicago Stockyards Workers Kick Off Historic 1919 Strike.
Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 07/27/2020 - 12:28Tags: Podcast
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Apprentices Help Conserve Marine Life in the Chesapeake Bay
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of those stories every day. Here's today's story.
Earlier this month, apprentices at the Plasterers and Cement Masons (OPCMIA) Local 592 training center in New Jersey finished constructing 60 reef balls that were loaded up and sent off to their new home in the Chesapeake Bay. The Coastal Conservation Association will place them there to provide an improved aquatic habitat for a wide range of marine life. The reef balls were built as part of the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance’s Work Boots on the Ground program, putting union members’ skills to work and fulfilling the mission of the program by uniting the labor movement through conservation.
Kenneth Quinnell Mon, 07/27/2020 - 11:55Tags: COVID-19, Community Service, Union Sportsmen's Alliance
Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Fire Fighters Rack Up Organizing Wins Across the South
Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we'll showcase one of those stories every day. Here's today's story.
The Fire Fighters (IAFF) union has organized four new bargaining units in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia over the past few weeks. These are significant organizing wins for the union and part of its strategy to increase membership within the IAFF across the South. The IAFF has been organizing firefighters in large- and medium-sized cities to help bring the power of collective bargaining to unrepresented workers. “We decided to organize not only to formalize our relationship with the fire board, but also to develop a health and wellness program,” said David Silva, president of the newly formed IAFF Local 5271 in Irmo, South Carolina. “Our members want to focus on cancer prevention and to protect their overall health.”
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 07/24/2020 - 10:18Tags: COVID-19, Community Service
On the Passing of the Rev. C.T. Vivian and the Hon. John Lewis
Over the weekend, the civil rights community suffered the loss of two giants in the movement—the Rev. C.T. Vivian (95) and Rep. John Lewis (80). As the nation grapples with protests and demands for racial equality, we remember their unwavering commitment to social, racial and economic justice. Both friends to labor and colleagues of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., their lives were the embodiment of “good trouble, necessary trouble.”
AFL-CIOJohn Lewis, a revered member of Congress serving in Georgia’s 5th District for more than three decades—and the longest-serving member of the Congressional Black Caucus—carried his passion for equal rights throughout his career. He began his fight for civil rights by using his young voice to dismantle the Jim Crow South. At age 23, Lewis was the youngest person to speak at the historic 1963 March on Washington. He also participated in lunch counter sit-ins, joined the Freedom Riders in their quest to register Black voters, and helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Most notably, Lewis was on the front lines of the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to demand African Americans’ constitutional right to vote.
C.T. Vivian was a minister, civil rights leader and key adviser to King, organizing critical civil rights campaigns that shaped our country. His work spans more than six decades beginning with sit-in demonstrations in Peoria, Illinois, in the 1940s—more than a dozen years before the momentous lunch counter protests made national news. Referred to by King as "the greatest preacher to ever live," Vivian was a national director of affiliates for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and an active participant in the Freedom Rides in Mississippi, which made headlines across the South.
President Obama honored both Vivian and Lewis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, noting their lifelong work and commitment to the movement for equal rights.
The labor and civil rights communities mourn their deaths and take this moment to celebrate the incredible work they led. In remembrance of their legacies, we will continue to carry the torch for social justice and equality for all.
As we face a new wave of vicious attacks aimed at dismantling the voting rights for which these brothers so valiantly fought, we must be more resolved than ever to restore the Voting Rights Act, combat voter suppression and ensure every eligible voter in our nation is registered. As Lewis once said, “The vote is precious. It is almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in a democracy." It is our duty to protect and defend this tool, and may the passing of these civil rights giants renew our commitment to the fight for fairness, equity and justice.
Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 07/23/2020 - 12:04
