‘Run More Union Members for Office’: 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.
Van Hollen Proposes Bill to Eliminate Federal Income Tax for Millions of Low-Income Americans: “Maryland U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Virginia Rep. Don Beyer announced new legislation Thursday that seeks to provide federal tax cuts for millions of working Americans trying to make ends meet. ‘Under our plan, 130 million Americans will get some tax relief,’ Van Hollen said during a news conference, where he also appeared with fellow Democrat Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly.”
UFCW Endorses SNAP Delivery Safeguards: “The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union is endorsing the reintroduction of the Food and Nutrition Delivery Safety Act, which would require federal agencies to establish delivery guardrails for retailers that serve Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program online delivery customers.”
One Simple Way to Heal American Politics: Run More Union Members: “American politics feels hopelessly broken. Extreme political polarization, enormous amounts of Pac money sloshing around during elections, and the increasing power of the rich make it seem like nothing, and no one, can set the country on the right track. But a new report from the Center for Working-Class Politics looks at a surprisingly simple way that ordinary people might have more influence in our political system: run more union members for office.”
What San Francisco Educators Won on Their Strike: “This winter has seen historic strikes hit the United States on both coasts. In New York City, 15,000 nurses across three of the city’s largest private sector hospital systems walked out on January 12 and stayed on the picket lines for about a month, making it the largest and longest nurses’ strike in the city’s history. Meanwhile, in California and Hawaii, 31,000 health care workers employed by Kaiser Permanente across the two states struck from January 26 to February 23 in what their union describes as the largest open-ended health care strike in U.S. history.”
Chesapeake College Faculty Approve First Ever Union Contract: “After 20 months of negotiations, Chesapeake College faculty members established their first ever union contract in school history. On March 3, it was announced that the Chesapeake College faculty—represented by United Academics of Maryland—voted to establish their first ever union contract, which includes wage increases, a service pathway to promotion and improvements to working conditions, benefits and protections. Chesapeake College professor David Timms, the new union chapter’s chair, called the decision a great move for staff and students.”
Motion Capture Workers at ‘NBA 2K’ Studio Ratify First Union Contract with IATSE: “Motion capture workers employed by the video game company behind NBA 2K and WWE 2K have ratified their first labor contract in a move that union IATSE is calling historic. Workers at 2K’s motion capture studio in Petaluma, California, have unanimously ratified a deal with management at parent company Take-Two Interactive, IATSE announced on Tuesday. The crew union represents stage technicians, engineers, animators and recording and audio specialists at the studio.”
Everett Kelley: The System Is Failing TSA Workers—and Travelers Are Paying the Price: “Those lines were not a fluke. They were a warning about what happens when the people responsible for keeping our aviation system safe are forced to choose between performing a public service that keeps us all safe for no pay, or flipping burgers with pay. Across the country, Transportation and Security Agency officers are once again being asked to report to work without a paycheck. In the most recent pay period, many officers received only a fraction of their normal pay. Some members of the American Federation of Government Employees took home as little as $5.”
Video Game Developer Heart Machine Voluntarily Recognizes Staff Union: “The indie video game studio Heart Machine has voluntarily recognized a union formed by staff members. The developer behind 2021’s Solar Ash and 2016’s Hyper Light Drifter agreed to recognize a wall-to-wall union representing all non-managerial employees, the Communications Workers of America announced on Monday. Previously, the union states, a majority of the workers at the studio signaled their interest in joining CWA.”
International Women’s Day Is a Celebration and a Call to Action. Here Are Things to Know: “Women across the world called for equal pay, reproductive rights, education, justice and decision-making jobs and celebrate progress toward female empowerment during events and demonstrations marking International Women’s Day on Sunday. Officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977, International Women’s Day is commemorated in different ways and to varying degrees in places around the world. Protests are often political—and at times violent—rooted in women’s efforts to improve their rights as workers.”