‘An Indispensable Weapon’: 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.

U.S. Labor Secretary Helps Celebrate Union Contract at Venetian: “Standing in front of a sculpture spelling out the word ‘Love’ in the Palazzo-Venetian waterfall atrium, Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su compared the Culinary Union Local 226’s first contract with the Venetian and Palazzo to a marriage. ‘I’ve never known workers that are trying to organize a union because they don’t want to work with their employer,’ Su said Thursday at a contract celebration. ‘They want the employer to do well, and that shared success is the…future of the romance that you all solidified here today.’”

Machinists’ Union President Rallies Striking Workers at Boeing’s Gresham Facility: “Around 33,000 of Boeing’s unionized workers on the West Coast have been on strike since early Friday. That includes over 1,000 workers in Gresham. The walkout comes as the machinists’ union continues to negotiate toward better wages and pensions.”

Nevada Unions Rallying to Amplify Kamala Harris’ Campaign: “Every day, more and more people are signing up to help knock on doors and make phone calls for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, a Las Vegas union official said. ‘We were trained by (the Harry Reid) machine,’ said Susie Martinez, executive secretary for the Nevada AFL-CIO, referring to the late U.S. senator’s work organizing Democrats in Nevada. ‘You’ve got to get out there. You’ve got to pitch your story.’ While the Culinary Union’s ground game for Democrats dominates headlines, other labor organizations have kicked off their own—sometimes joint—efforts.”

‘An Indispensable Weapon’: Harris Mobilizes Diverse Labor Force in the Sun Belt: “President Joe Biden has often proclaimed that he is the most pro-union president in history, a declaration that Democrats often tied to his appeal to white working-class voters in the Midwest. Now serving as the party’s standard-bearer, Vice President Kamala Harris is building her own coalition by mobilizing a more diverse and expansive labor force in a different part of the country. Harris is tapping into the organizational strength of a network of union groups that have a significant membership of women and people of color in the Sun Belt, a battleground region Democrats are aiming to keep out of former President Donald Trump’s column this fall.”

Ten Ways Project 2025 Could Undermine Workers’ Rights: “But those public stances and declarations stand in stark contrast with the blueprint for what Republicans want to do if and when they retake the White House. Project 2025 is an almost 900-page document laying out an agenda for the next Republican president in detail, and it lists a multitude of priorities that would, if enacted, harm workers’ pay, safety and ability to organize. Taken as a whole, the priorities the authors describe are ‘so unbelievably anti-union, anti-worker, anti-anybody but corporate interests,’ said Sharon Block, executive director of the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School.”

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler Speaks at Wisconsin Convention: “Liz Shuler speaks at the Wisconsin’s 33rd biennial AFL-CIO convention at the La Crosse Center on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024.”

Arapahoe County Facilities Workers Latest to Unionize Under 2022 State Law: “Workers with Arapahoe County’s Facilities and Fleet Management department voted to unionize Friday, acting on a new Colorado law that allows county workers to organize. Workers voted 30-15 in favor of forming a union with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Colorado local.”

More Than 30,000 Boeing Unionized Machinist Aircraft Workers Out on Strike: “At midnight, Friday, September 13, workers stood on picket lines at every gate of Boeing’s giant aircraft plant on Logan Avenue in Renton, Wash., holding up their picket signs and chanting ‘Strike, Strike, Strike.’ Mostly youthful members of International Association of Machinists (IAM) District 751, they were among the 33,000 Boeing workers who voted a day earlier by a resounding 94.6% to reject the proposed contract and by 96% to go on strike—far more than the two-thirds majority needed to approve a walkout.”

AT&T, Unions Reach Agreement to End Strike; Alabama Workers Back on the Job Monday: “AT&T Southeast and AT&T West and the Union of the Communications Workers of America have reached a tentative agreement that puts an end to the longest telecommunications strike in the south’s history. A release from the CWA said the union reached ‘strong tentative agreements’ with AT&T Southeast and AT&T West to end the 30-day strike in nine states, including Alabama. CWA members will return to work Monday.”

GE Workers Hold Rally with Louisville Union Leaders Demanding Better Wages, Working Conditions: “General Electric Haier workers in Louisville are making their voices heard. Employees of the company met at the IUE-CWA Local 761 union hall on Poplar Level Road on Saturday. A rally was organized by the union and called for members to stand together and demand fair wages, better working conditions and affordable health care.”