The Weekly Download

“On Labor Day, Monday, September 2, the Greater Boston Labor Council held their annual Labor Day Breakfast. The event featured many notable speakers, from Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey to labor leaders such as Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Chrissy Lynch. This breakfast was unlike any prior year as it coincided with UniteHere! Local 26's Hotel Workers strike. The breakfast was held outdoors due to the striking workers of the Park Plaza Hotel, and many of the efforts of the event were turned to supporting Local 26's workers.”

“Hundreds of trade unionists and several high-profile Massachusetts politicians gathered outside of the Hilton Park Plaza Hotel for the Greater Boston Labor Council’s annual Labor Day breakfast on September 3. Rather than merely celebrating the holiday, the event turned into a large-scale show of support for the close to 1,000 striking hotel workers in Boston. Originally planned to be held in a hotel ballroom, the event was moved outside so attendees could join the picket line rather than crossing it.”

“Retailers and manufacturers are seeking to mitigate a potentially multibillion-dollar hit if members of the International Longshoremen’s Association go on strike beginning Oct. 1 at 13 of the nation’s major East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. The contract between the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance, which negotiates on behalf of management of the ports, terminals and shipping lines, is due to expire at midnight on Sept. 30. The contract covers 25,000 workers and ports stretching from Boston to Houston, the ILA said.”

“The results are in! Flight Attendants at United Airlines finalized their strike vote last week with 99.99% of voters in favor of authorizing a strike. Over 90% of the membership participated in the vote, and the results are clear: United Airlines Flight Attendants are fed up.”

“More than 10,000 hotel workers across nine cities went out on a rolling strike Labor Day weekend after contract talks with the Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott hotel chains stalled. They are members of UNITE HERE. “We came to the decision to go on strike because of all the success other unions have had,” said Christian Carbajal, a market attendant who has worked at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront for 15 years. “[It’s frustrating] that we have to go this far to be given a fair wage” to live in one of the most expensive areas in the country, he said.”

“The New York Times Tech Guild, which represents more than 600 staffers, on Tuesday voted to authorize a strike in protest of stalled contract negotiations with The Times' management, sources confirmed to Axios. Why it matters: The guild, which was formed in 2022, has yet to secure a contract after more than two years of bargaining. Driving the news: Of the union's 622 workers, 89% participated in the strike authorization vote Tuesday and an overwhelming majority supported the vote to strike. Between the lines: It's unclear when the guild plans to strike, but with the elections coming up, any time in the near future would be problematic for The Times.”

“SACRAMENTO, Calif. — CWA’s Executive Board has authorized a strike against AT&T West, subject to CWA President Claude Cummings Jr. setting a date. Last week, CWA members at AT&T West rejected a tentative agreement for a new contract. CWA’s AT&T West bargaining team resumed negotiations with AT&T today to address the concerns members have about the agreement.”

“NEW YORK – Unionized editorial workers at LexisNexis-owned Law360 have been hard at work in marathon bargaining with Law360 and LexisNexis management, but significant barriers remain, prompting the union to schedule an open-ended strike to begin just after midnight Tuesday.”

“Last month, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt delivered a provocative talk at Stanford's School of Engineering. He claimed that Google is falling behind Anthropic and OpenAI in the latest wave of technological innovation because Google prioritizes engineers' work-life balance over winning the innovation race. The recorded talk went viral on YouTube sparking widespread controversy and heated debate—before mysteriously being taken down. Schmidt’s assertion is puzzling.”

“Minneapolis – Today UNITE HERE Local 17 filed federal unfair labor practice (ULP) charges against Kim’s and Vestalia Hospitality, the restaurant group behind the now-closed Kim’s as well as Young Joni, Pizzeria Lola, and Hello Pizza. Kim’s is required by law to negotiate about matters related to the closure with its unionized staff. Yet, Kim’s first closed its Bronto Bar and then the entire restaurant suddenly and without giving the workers an opportunity to bargain about the decisions.”

“The California Supreme Court recently upheld Proposition 22, a 2020 ballot initiative that classified drivers as independent contractors, though the court found a provision that barred unionization unconstitutional. This November, Massachusetts voters will consider a ballot initiative permitting ride-hailing drivers to unionize, which could open the door to unionization in other states. In California, 30,000 drivers have formed the SEIU-backed California Gig Workers Union, an advocacy organization. Ultimately, only through collective bargaining can gig workers win family-supporting wages and comprehensive benefits and systematically address worker exploitation by app-based gig companies. If Massachusetts app drivers unionize, California will undoubtedly follow.”

“On August 27, about 49 workers at Bookmans bookstore in Tucson, Ariz., made history by becoming the first bookstore in Arizona to unionize by joining UFCW Local 99. Bookmans is a Tucson-headquartered retail chain that buys and sells used goods, including books, music, movies, and games, and the workers are employed in positions ranging from cashiers to department supervisors and managers on duty.”

“Approximately 160 workers at Eos Energy Enterprises in Pittsburgh voted to join the United Steelworkers (USW), marking a significant step in their pursuit of stronger job security, fair wages, and improved working conditions. Eos workers manufacture batteries used to store electricity generated from renewable sources like solar and wind energy. The decision to unionize reflects the workers’ desire for a voice in shaping the future of their jobs in the rapidly expanding clean energy sector.”

“The material changes ushered in under the aegis of artificial intelligence (AI) are not leading to the abolition of human labor but rather its degradation. This is typical of the history of mechanization since the dawn of the industrial revolution. Instead of relieving people of work, employers have deployed technology—even the mere idea of technology—to turn relatively good jobs into bad jobs by breaking up craft work into semi-skilled labor and by obscuring the labor of human beings behind a technological apparatus so that it can be had more cheaply. Employers invoke the term AI to tell a story in which technological progress, union busting, and labor degradation are synonymous. However, this degradation is not a quality of the technology itself but rather of the relationship between capital and labor. The current discussion around AI and the future of work is the latest development in a longer history of employers seeking to undermine worker power by  claiming that human labor is losing its value and that technological progress, rather than human agents, are responsible.”

“On July 22, the day after President Biden announced he wouldn’t seek reelection, members of Carpenters Local 971 filed into their union hall in Reno, Nevada, for their monthly meeting. During a break, Adrian Davis, a self-described “political nerd” and union member of five years, asked a fellow carpenter for his thoughts on Kamala Harris. The carpenter shook his head, saying he planned on voting for Donald Trump, as he had in the past. Incredulous, Davis rattled off a list of legislation Joe Biden had signed: the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act. Just north of town, Carpenters union members were expanding U.S. Highway 395. Out east, in the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, they were building a massive battery recycling plant. And just weeks before, the Biden-Harris administration had selected the area as one of 12 regional tech hubs to receive a second round of funding from the federal government, along with hubs in Wisconsin, New York, Georgia and Florida. The new funding, of $21 million, will support workforce development in Northern Nevada’s burgeoning lithium industry, in what promises to be a boon for local construction unions.”

“On a sunny August morning in this agricultural town, before temperatures soared to 103 degrees, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra stood outside the small public library. He came to talk about the Biden administration’s efforts to protect farmworkers from extreme heat and wildfire smoke, two emerging public health issues at the forefront of the climate crisis. “There are still not enough protections for workers that are picking the food that we eat,” Becerra told a group of local reporters and government officials, who outnumbered the farmworkers in the audience.”

“Today, the UAW released a new political video highlighting the corporate greed and price gouging behind the surging cost of basic needs. As part of the Stand Up movement, the union is activating tens of thousands of its members in Michigan and other key battleground states to turn out the vote for endorsed candidates in 2024 including the Harris-Walz presidential ticket.”

“As it happens, the decision to side with labor in this case is not just good coalitional politics; it’s also good policy. As finance has become ever more detached from the real economy and the fate of any given town or nation, labor unions have started to fill the void. USW’s current contract with US Steel requires ongoing capital investments in domestic facilities, 60 days’ notice for major acquisitions, and “the earliest practicable notification” of buyout offers so that the union can organize a counterbid. In this case, Nippon announced the deal before consulting with the union. This pattern has been ongoing, with the company leaking union communications instead of waiting for their response, and US Steel making pledges via press release rather than enforceable contracts. This month, the union alleged that US Steel’s CEO is attempting to inflate share prices and save his $70 million change-in-control bonus rather than put production on a sustainable footing.”

“The Republicans treated labor strictly as theater. I have confidence that American workers are not going to fall for the Republican pro-labor cosplay that Donald Trump, his running mate Sen. JD Vance and others in their party put on the stage at the RNC. Trump and Vance are confused about how cosplay works. When adults dress up to pretend to be something they’re not, everyone else is in on the joke.  Trump and Vance seem to think, however, that American workers aren’t going to notice their costumes and will go along with being the butt of the Republicans’ joke.”

“Boeing faces a possible strike as early as Friday if most of the U.S. planemaker's factory workers in the Pacific Northwest vote on Thursday to back a work stoppage and reject a tentative deal that has enraged many of them. Roughly 30,000 workers who produce Boeing's 737 MAX, 767 and 777 jets in Portland, Oregon, and the Seattle area will vote on their first full contract in 16 years. A key union negotiator has acknowledged that many of the workers are angry because they wanted bigger wage hikes and other improvements. The path to a strike, however, is far from clear. According to the union, unless a two-thirds majority votes to strike, the deal is approved, whether or not a second vote focused on contract support passes.”

“The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists announced Thursday that the makers of 80 video games have agreed to the union’s proposed AI terms as the video game performers’ strike rages on. Under the condition that they abide by the union’s artificial intelligence rules, those games are now temporarily exempt from the walkout, and actors have been cleared to work on those titles during the strike. Companies that have entered AI agreements with SAG-AFTRA include Little Bat Games (“Vampire Therapist”), Studio Wildcard (“Ark: Survival Evolved”) and Lightspeed L.A. (“Last Sentinel”).”

“On August 1, over 100 members of UFCW Local 152 who work at St. Mary’s Center for Rehabilitation in Cherry Hill, N.J., ratified a new contract. The members in this unit are employed as certified nursing assistants, and in the dietary, housekeeping, and maintenance divisions and other positions at the facility. The three-year contract guarantees annual wage increases for all members in this unit. In addition, a new longevity pay adjustment has been introduced, rewarding long-term service with up to an extra $2.00 per hour on base pay.”

“North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) was proud to stand with President Biden today to witness today’s signing of the Good Jobs Executive Order. This signing marks another major milestone by the Biden-Harris Administration in their fight for higher labor standards across federal government funded programs. This Executive Order solidifies the Administration’s ongoing efforts to embed worker protections for our nation’s workforce, ensuring federal funding prioritizes projects that adopt fair wages, safe working conditions, and respect for workers’ rights.”