(SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA) - For the three years that he worked at Z & Y Restaurant, a mainstay of San Francisco’s Chinatown, John Wang said he has never received overtime pay or state-mandated meal breaks, despite often working 11 hour shifts, six days a week. One of the few servers who spoke fluent English, Wang eventually learned of his more»

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - National Nurses United’s (NNU) long campaign for safe staffing in U.S. health care picked up heavyweight Congressional supporters in early September as U.S. Representatives Richard Neal (Democrat-Massachusetts) and Frank Pallone (Democrat-New Jersey) want to mandate safe staffing in nursing homes. The backing of the two lawmakers more»

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) is calling on Federal and State Legislators to build on the success of the cannabis industry in creating high quality, better paying jobs for hard-working Americans. A new report released by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) finds Unionization was key to ensuring new jobs created in the more»

In response to the escalating humanitarian crisis for Haitians and other forced Migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border, National AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond has released the following statement: Working People in the Americas face increasing levels of displacement due to extreme push factors such as political instability, natural disasters, more»

(SEATTLE, WASHINGTON) - Construction work on several major tech company expansion projects - including those by Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Facebook, have slowed to a crawl as the region largest Carpenters’ Union halted work over a wage dispute. On Thursday (September 16th), 2,000 Northwest Carpenter Union Members walked off the job and began more»

Members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) - who are employed by Nabisco/Mondelez in Portland, Oregon, Aurora, Colorado, Richmond, Virginia, Chicago, Illinois and Norcross, Georgia, have voted overwhelmingly to accept a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Approval of the contract ends the more»

(MILAN, ITALY) - Amazon.com Incorporated has struck a deal with Italian Trade Unions promising to engage with them more in the running of operations in the country. The framework agreement, seen by Reuters, comes shortly after news that a group of Canadian Workers are seeking to Unionize as Amazon continues to manage discontent among some Workers at its more»

(KENSINGTON, MARYLAND) - The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) International Union and Mondelez International announced Wednesday (September 15th) that a Tentative Agreement has been reached that could end a Strike against the company’s Nabisco operations. The walkout by BCTGM Members started in August and has affected more»

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - A Bill in the House of Representatives would give a huge boost to American-made, Union-made Electric Vehicles (EVs). Under the proposal, Union-built EVs will be given an additional $4,500 tax incentive. This tax credit would kick in for vehicles made by General Motors, Ford and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler). All of these companies more»

(STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA) - Throughout Supervisory Narcotics Agent Tom Moore’s 23-year law enforcement career, he has worked cases involving drugs, child abuse and murder. Recently, the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 2245 (Council 13) Member found himself as the lead Agent in an investigation by the more»

(PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA) - Richard Trumka, the former National AFL-CIO President who died last month, was the classic example of a Union Leader. A native of Greene County, in Southwestern Pennsylvania, he was a Coal Miner before he got a law degree. He then went to lead the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) before joining the leadership of the more»

(LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA) - Fran Drescher and Joely Fisher have been chosen by The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’ (SAG-AFTRA) national Membership to fill the respective roles of President and Secretary-Treasurer, two of the Union’s highest-ranking offices. Their two-year terms began immediately upon the more»

(LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA) - Maria, 58, rapidly sews one piece after another, deftly operating her sewing machine with the kind of skill that comes from her many years of experience as a Seamstress - but at just three cents for each label sewed and five cents for adding a trim to a piece of clothing, she never manages to make more than $6 an hour. Maria, more»

(SPRINGDALE, ARKANSAS) - Tyson Foods will provide Vaccinated Front-Line Workers with up to 20 hours of Paid Sick Leave as part of its COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate, the company announced late last week. The new policy is the first national U.S. agreement to provide Paid Sick Leave to Meatpacking Workers, according to the United Food & Commercial Workers more»

In the early 20th Century, the rapid industrialization of the United States produced unbelievable amounts of wealth for businesses and industrialists. This era, known as the Gilded Age, saw the rapid growth of the U.S. and global economy. Businesses saw little regulation from the Federal Government, so while power and wealth were being concentrated in the more»

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - As Labor Day approaches and economic conditions in the U.S. remain tenuous, Americans' 65% approval of Labor Unions is once again the highest it has been since 2003. Public support for Labor Unions has been generally rising since hitting its lowest point of 48% in 2009, during the Great Recession. Gallup's initial reading of the more»

(NEW YORK CITY) - Half of American Workers are in favor of vaccine requirements at their workplaces, according to a new poll, at a time when such mandates gain traction following the Federal Government’s full approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. The poll from The Associated Press (AP)-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that about more»

(WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS) - The ongoing strike of hundreds of Union Nurses at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester is now officially the longest such work stoppage in state history. The Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) Strike reached 177 days on Tuesday (August 31), which the Union says breaks the previous record set by a strike at Burbank Hospital more»

On Sunday (August 29th), on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and Baton Rouge were hit with yet another devastating hurricane. Throughout the day, the city was battered with winds that were upwards of 140 mph and intense rain bands that led to flooding throughout the area. The storm left much of the Louisiana and Mississippi Coast more»

(BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS) - Javier Gonzalez used to send money every two weeks to his 85- and 90-year-old parents in his home country. He had to stop because his employer, Boston Marriott Copley Place, terminated Gonzalez and 230 of his Co-Workers last September, after temporarily laying them off at the start of the Coronavirus Pandemic. They made up more more»

(SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND) - The fatal shooting early this month of a Bus Driver in Baltimore once again emphasizes the need to protect Transit Operators from violent passengers, Amalgamated Transit Union President (ATU) John Costa says. Isaac Caldwell, an ATU Local 1764 Member and Driver for MTA MobilityLink, the sub-contracted para-transit van arm of more»

When a group of Workers at the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) broke the news to their boss that they’d agreed to Unionize in February 2020, they did it in the form of a greeting card: “Congratulations on your baby girl Union!” After a tense few months of deliberation, management told the group they’d voluntarily recognize more»

(CHICAGO, ILLINOIS) - Colectivo Coffee, the Wisconsin-based chain with five Chicago-area locations, is set to become the largest Unionized Workforce at a U.S. coffee chain after a contentious battle for over a year between organizers and management. Preliminary returns from an April election showed a deadlock with seven challenged ballots remaining. Over more»

(MERRILL, WISCONSIN) -Workers formerly employed at a Merrill window manufacturer who were laid off without notice in late 2019 will receive an average of around $5,000 in a legal settlement. State law requires companies to give Employees 60 days' notice of layoffs. When Semco Windows and Doors closed at the end of 2019, many of the company’s 141 more»

The Coronavirus Pandemic drove many people to the cookie jar and helped Nabisco, maker of Oreos, Chips Ahoy!, Fig Newtons and other sweet treats weather the worst of the outbreak - but as the company’s profits continue to recover, Workers at its U.S. plants are now out on Strike over the outsourcing of jobs to Mexico and concessions demanded by their more»

A California Judge has struck down a 2020 ballot measure that allowed Uber and Lyft to classify their Workers as Independent Contractors, allowing them to deny them full-time benefits. After Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, InstaCart and Postmates allegedly spent more than $ 200 million lobbying for the measure, known as Proposition 22, Alameda County Superior Court more»

Four years ago, on a 95-degree afternoon in Tucson, Arizona - a Worker was building a platform for an outdoor concert. He hasn’t worked since. The Worker, whose name advocates are withholding because he both fears retribution and being barred from future jobs, was putting heavy 4x8 decks up after lunch, says Shannon Foley, a Safety and Health more»

(NORTH OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA) - For the second time in a month, a group of McDonald’s Workers - this time in North Oakland, California, defeated the Fast-Food Behemoth in court on the issue of not protecting them, or the public, against the Coronavirus. The Workers say that before they began their Strike, the company offered them dog diapers and coffee more»

When Orlando Saenz was laid off at the end of January, he was devastated. For nearly a decade, he’d worked as an Executive Assistant at an Austin Law Firm and it was hard to envision his next steps - but then it dawned on him: This setback could be the kick he needed to finally finish his associate’s degree and seek a better career. A few days more»

Alliance For American Manufacturing Editor’s Note: The United Steelworkers (USW) We Supply America Bus Tour has already visited Newark, Ohio and Weirton, W. Va., and will be in Danville, Virginia today (Wednesday, August 18th). After that, the tour bus will visit Wilmington, North Carolina on Thursday (August 19th) before concluding Friday (August more»

(MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA) - High-rise Window Cleaner Josh Haynes is no Tom Cruise on a mission to avert global disaster, but outfitted with a harness and clad in a jumpsuit, sitting on a little chair suspended from ropes, Haynes rappels 600 feet down the sides of glistening Minneapolis skyscrapers - on a mission to clean. Last year, that cleaning mission more»

Workers represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union (BCTGM) have gone out on Strike at Nabisco Plants in the States of Colorado and Oregon, taking a stand against the company for its “relentless outsourcing of Union jobs to Mexico and outrageous demand for contract concessions at a time when the more»

CommonWealthMagazine.org Editor’s Note: Liz Skidmore is a Union Carpenter and a Business Representative/Organizer with the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters. The Infrastructure Bills now making their way through Congress offer a once-in-a-generation opportunity to crush barriers to Women - including Women of Color, that keep more»

(NEW YORK CITY) - History repeated itself as hundreds of miners spilled out of buses in June and July to leaflet the Manhattan offices of asset manager BlackRock, the largest shareholder in the mining company Warrior Met Coal. Some had traveled from the pine woods of Brookwood, Alabama where 1,100 Coal Miners have been on strike against Warrior Met since more»

(FAIRHAVEN, MASSACHUSETTS) - After more than a decade of dedicated, tireless efforts to reach a negotiated agreement, Comcast Technicians working in Fairhaven, Massachusetts have agreed on a first contract between Middleboro Local 2322 and the massive cable conglomerate. “It’s been scary stuff for a lot of the men and women there,” IBEW more»

Blue Shield of California Editor’s Note: Tera Clizbe is the Vice President and General Manager of Labor & Trust at Blue Shield of California. She has more than 20 years of experience in the health care industry and is a proud member of a Labor Family. I come from a Labor Family several generations long, so issues affecting the Labor and more»

(BROOKWOOD, ALABAMA) - To get to the big ballpark in Brookwood, Alabama, you drive down the Miners Memorial Parkway. The road goes by the local headquarters of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and close to the Miners Memorial Monument, which remembers 13 Miners killed in a 2001 explosion. A lot of Coal Miners work in Brookwood and a lot have died more»

(AT CANADIAN/UNITED STATES CHECKPOINTS) - Canada's Border Officers reached a new tentative agreement with the federal government late Friday (August 6th) after a day-long work-to-rule campaign left long lines of semi-trailers and passenger vehicles idling for hours at some of the country's busiest international gateways. The deal - announced late Friday more»

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Richard Trumka, President of the powerful National AFL-CIO Labor Organization, has died unexpectedly, it was announced Thursday (August 5th). Trumka, 72, had served as National AFL-CIO President - which represents more than 12.5 million Workers, for more than a decade and was called a “close personal friend” by President more»

(CHICAGO, ILLINOIS) - Auto Mechanics employed at 56 Chicago-area car dealerships went on Strike earlier this week after voting to reject a proposal for a new contract. The more than 800 Mechanics work at stores that are part of the New Car Dealer Committee of Chicago for 2021, also known as NCDC. They also belong to Local 701, part of the International more»

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Union has launched a 60-project, 30-state Back to School for All initiative to go door-to-door to engage families, students, Educators and School Staff to promote vaccines, return to full-time, in-person learning and support students’ social, emotional and academic needs. AFT more»

(ACROSS THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA) - From fast food chains to mid-level eateries to high-end bistros, restaurants are reportedly having trouble luring Workers back into the industry after a year of unprecedented upheaval. The so-called labor shortage has reached “crisis” levels, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, but recent numbers more»

Some Fossil Fuel Unions in Texas are endorsing a climate plan. Dozens of Unions attending the Texas AFL-CIO’s Annual Convention last week, including those with Members employed in the oil and gas industry, voted to endorse a series of recommendations to transition to clean energy. The plan was developed by the Texas Climate Jobs Project, a new more»

When President Joe Biden was elected he named one of his priorities as bringing jobs back to the United States and promoting Buy American - now, seven months into his term, he has proposed a massive change to the Buy American Program. Biden is issuing a new rule that would change the 1933 Buy American Act. Under the Act, the Federal Government can only more»

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - With more states considering vaccine requirements for Public Employees, the President of the National AFL-CIO was asked whether the Labor Federation supports vaccine mandates in the workplace. “Yes, we do,” Richard Trumka said on C-SPAN, responding to a question from a viewer. “If you’re coming back into the more»

(GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA) - In January 2021, UCOMM Blog reported on a liquid nitrogen gas leak at a poultry plant in Gainesville Georgia where six people were killed and at least a dozen more were injured. The U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) immediately began an investigation into the leak and is now bringing the hammer down on the more»

All across Minor League Baseball this Summer, Players are finding themselves struggling with homelessness. One viral video by the Advocates for Minor Leaguers garnered over 160,000 views on Twitter by revealing how nearly a dozen Cardinals Double-A affiliate Springfield Players were forced to sleep on the floor of a hotel banquet room while on the road. more»

If some politicians are to be believed, taking sweeping action to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement would be calamitous for jobs in the energy sector, but a study suggests that honoring the global climate target would, in fact, increase net jobs by about 8 million by 2050. The study - in which researchers created a global dataset of the more»

(TOPEKA, KANSAS) - After a nearly three-week strike, hundreds of Frito-Lay employees in Topeka, Kansas ratified a revised contract Saturday (July 24th), addressing what Union Leaders had previously described as a diminished quality of life stemming from work conditions, including long hours, forced overtime and stagnating wages. The contract will provide more»

(MIAMI, FLORIDA) - The Teamsters Union has finally broken through with XPO Logistics, reaching a contract agreement for the company’s Miami facility with rapid unanimous approval then being granted by the Rank-and-File. The contract between XPO and the Teamsters is historic in that it is the first the Union has been able to reach with XPO anywhere more»