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You Did That!: The Working People Weekly List You Did That!: 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 this week’s Working People Weekly List. NYC Unions Rally Against Cable Giant Charter/Spectrum: "Trumka, in a rousing speech, told workers, 'Your hard work made Charter Cable one of the most profitable companies in the United States, $3.5 billion they made last year. You did that! Local 3 members did that! So where is the company? Get to the table today and negotiate a contract.'" Vice Video Staffers Unionize with WGA East and Motion Picture Editors Guild: "Vice Media employees who create video content across the company’s media outlets have unionized. The Writers Guild of America, East, said today that it will represent the workers along with the AFL-CIO and the Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700." A Radical Republican Proposal to Roll Back Worker Protections: "Last week, the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on H.R. 3441, the so-called Save Local Business Act—a bill that has almost nothing to do with saving small and local businesses. According to its sponsors, the legislation was introduced to overturn the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB’s) 2015 decision in Browning Ferris Industries." Cuomo, de Blasio Join Cable Workers in Rally to Seek New Contract with Spectrum: "AFL-CIO national president Richard Trumka came to town to support the striking cable workers. 'We will not retreat in the face of corporate greed,' he said. 'We’re going to get a fair deal here.'" The Everyday Heroes of the Hurricanes: "Alseen Bell’s cell phone rang as she stood in the living room of her flood-ravaged home, surveying the devastation left behind by Hurricane Harvey. The call was from her local union, the Houston Federation of Teachers, asking how she had come through the storm and if she needed help. 'It was like an answer to my prayers,' Alseen says. Within hours, three of our members were alongside her, pulling up carpet, cleaning and offering encouragement." Dozens of Unions to Join IBEW Local 3 in Major NYC Rally Against Charter Communications Amid Six-Month Strike: "AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is among the many labor leaders to respond. Trumka is coming to the city to headline a major rally and march starting at 3 p.m. on Monday in Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza." McMillan Elected New President of North Carolina AFL-CIO: "The president of the North Carolina AFL-CIO for the past 20 years is retiring, and the longtime second-in-command of the state umbrella organization for unions is succeeding him. Delegates to the state AFL-CIO convention elected MaryBe McMillan unanimously Friday as president. James Andrews chose not to seek re-election after more than 40 years in the labor movement. McMillan has been secretary-treasurer since 2005." Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 09/22/2017 - 14:17 — Sep 22
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Video Workers at Vice Vote to Join the Union Family Video Workers at Vice Vote to Join the Union Family VICE Union on Twitter Workers for Vice Media voted this week to come together in union, with content creators joining the Writers Guild of America, East, (WGAE) and post-production employees becoming members of the Motion Picture Editors Guild (MPEG), an affiliate of the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). Vice said it will recognize the unions after a third-party card-check confirmed that the majority of the employees in each unit voted to unionize. Some 430 staff and freelance employees working on video content for VICE.com, the Viceland cable channel and Vice programming on HBO will now have a stronger voice in the workplace. WGAE Executive Director Lowell Peterson said:
VICE is at the forward edge of the media industry's transformation. The WGAE knows it is essential for people who create content in this dynamic environment to have a seat at the table as the way the work is done—the way the content is made and distributed—continues to change. We have built a constructive relationship with VICE management and applaud the company for continuing to respect the right of its employees to engage in collective bargaining
MPEG President Alan Heim said:We’re proud to welcome aboard the post-production professionals whose talents and hard work helped build VICE into the news and entertainment juggernaut it has become. These craftspeople on the cutting edge of our industry have made clear that the future of work in this business is one in which traditional union values of mutual aid and solidarity remain vital. We salute VICE for offering a model of how responsible employers respect their employees’ desire for a voice on the job, instead of trying to squash workers’ organizing efforts. And we’re both proud and grateful to have arrived at today’s victory in partnership with our sister unions, The Writers Guild of America, East, and SAG-AFTRA. This achievement shows what working people can accomplish together through alliances across craft and jurisdictional lines.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka congratulated the Vice workers:We're very proud to welcome #ViceUnion workers to the union family #1u pic.twitter.com/0VKXamjIjf— Richard L. Trumka (@RichardTrumka) September 21, 2017
Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 09/22/2017 - 13:25 — Sep 22 -
Joining Together to Help Others: Worker Wins Joining Together to Help Others: Worker Wins Our latest roundup of worker wins begins with stories of teachers and nurses joining together to help patients and students and includes numerous examples of workers organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life. D.C. Teachers Overwhelmingly Approve New Contract: Educators in Washington, D.C., voted 97% to 3% to ratify a new three-year contract. The new contract will improve student learning, increase salaries, address issues related to extended school years and launch a new era of collaboration between the teachers and the school district. Shasta Regional Medical Center RNs Join California Nurses Association: With 90% of the vote in favor of joining together, the 350 registered nurses at Shasta Regional Medical Center in Redding, California, are now members of the California Nurses Association, an affiliate of National Nurses United. "We joined CNA because we want only the best care for our community's patients. In order to have the protection to advocate for them, we need to unionize with CNA," said Dani Gunderson, an emergency room RN at Shasta Regional. Adjunct Faculty at Temple Win First Contract: The 1,400 adjunct faculty at Temple University in Philadelphia fought for and gained recognition in the school's new contract with the Temple Association of University Professionals, an affiliate of the AFT. The contract includes a significant wage increase and job protections and gives adjunct faculty a pathway to the respect they deserve. The contract, which also includes full-time faculty and librarians, was a hard-fought victory that was bargained over 15 months. StoryCorps Staff Vote to Join Communications Workers of America (CWA): Despite an anti-union campaign from management, staff members at StoryCorps, a nonprofit based in Brooklyn, New York, that curates and shares stories of everyday Americans, voted to join CWA with 83% of the vote. The workers joined together to negotiate over wages, benefits, unexpected layoffs, working conditions, severance packages and pay transparency. Airport Fuelers at Anchorage Airport Win 'Best Contract' They've Seen in Years: The intense negotiations led to a battle in federal court, but airport fuelers at the airport in Anchorage, Alaska, won a new three-year agreement that increases wages, maintains health care coverage and sick leave, improves bereavement leave, and increases the flexibility of vacation time. Machinists at Mahle Engine Components End Strike and Protect Against Layoffs Without Adequate Notifications: Among other key components, Machinists (IAM) Local 1471 members at Mahle Engine Components in McConnelsville, Ohio, voted to accept a contract that rejected language that would've allowed shutdowns and layoffs without notification for periods of less than a week. The workers rejected that language and fought for a better contract. Third Group of Employees at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center Vote to Join Together in a Union: After an inspiring nine-month contract campaign, 900 employees at PeaceHealth overwhelmingly voted (90% in favor) to ratify their first contract, joining two earlier campaigns that mean that collectively more than 2,500 working people at the center are now standing together in a union. The new service unit members fought for the power of a collective voice, due process on the job, a wage increase and to bring to a halt PeaceHealth's practice of sending collection agencies after its own employees when they couldn't pay high medical bills. Hundreds of Kroger Workers Win More Than $300,000 in Back Pay: When Kroger employees, members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400, discovered that full-time associates had been cheated out of holiday pay in violation of the contract, they came together and took the case to arbitration. After numerous delays, persistence paid off and the employees were awarded back pay and interest. Workers at Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas, Join the Culinary and Bartenders Union: In August, a majority of workers at the Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas, chose to unionize with Culinary Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165. Once negotiations are complete, 325 new members will be able to exercise their freedom to negotiate for fair wages, job security, health benefits and dignity on the job. Kenneth Quinnell Thu, 09/21/2017 - 11:37 — Sep 21
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Trumka: Charter/Spectrum Employees Want Fair Return on Their Work Trumka: Charter/Spectrum Employees Want Fair Return on Their Work IBEW Local 3 This week, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka joined union and community leaders marching across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York to show solidarity for Charter/Spectrum workers who are on strike. To those who marched, Trumka spoke about how the hard work of Charter/Spectrum employees have made it one of the most profitable cable companies in the United States. He also spoke to the reasons workers are on strike:
Working people want a fair return on their work. They want good wages and a decent retirement. They want to provide for their families and enjoy the good things in their lives. They want CEO Tom Rutledge to get to the bargaining table and negotiate a fair deal today.
Here are some key tweets from the march and rally:I am proud of every single #local3 member. Going on strike takes tremendous sacrifice and I'm proud to join you today. pic.twitter.com/u5LVc3lr1E— Richard L. Trumka (@RichardTrumka) September 18, 2017
Huge showing of solidarity today in NYC for @IBEW LU 3 #SpectrumStrike "the labor movement has your back" -@RichardTrumka #1u pic.twitter.com/c5Cajg3lKf— Liz Shuler (@lizshuler) September 19, 2017
Solidarity forever! Awesome to see unions from across @NYSAFLCIO coming together to support #spectrumstrike pic.twitter.com/mrbkXZT0dJ— AFL-CIO (@AFLCIO) September 18, 2017
Local 3 member Marvin Phillips on Charter CEO Tom Rutledge: "When I was little, my Mom told me to stand up to bullies." #spectrumstrike— IBEW (@IBEW) September 18, 2017
New York Local 3 getting support from other labor allies today. #spectrumstrike pic.twitter.com/JWsp5Z85IS— IBEW (@IBEW) September 18, 2017
The labor movement is the demand for respect and fairness. Proud to stand with @IBEW Local 3 #SpectrumStrike pic.twitter.com/p02icZMWU0— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) September 18, 2017
.@AFLCIO Pres Trumka: if @GetSpectrum wants to get to you, they have to get thru all of us first. #SpectrumStrike #NYC1u pic.twitter.com/PJ6b2QRy8k— NYC CLC (@CentralLaborNYC) September 18, 2017
Getting ready to walk with @IBEW Local 3 members. #spectrumstrike pic.twitter.com/OKshvKSJlg— AFL-CIO (@AFLCIO) September 18, 2017
Proud to join the fight with #local3 today, tomorrow, and as long as it takes. #1u pic.twitter.com/mxldVjWCEk— Richard L. Trumka (@RichardTrumka) September 18, 2017
Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 09/20/2017 - 12:53 — Sep 20 -
The Senate Is in a Hurry to Cut Our Health Care The Senate Is in a Hurry to Cut Our Health Care AFL-CIO Do you remember "Repeal and Replace," "Repeal and Run" and "Skinny Repeal"? Those were all plans pushed by the Senate Republican leaders at the end of July in a frantic, failed attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and make massive cuts in our health care. Millions of working people stood up and spoke out to stop those cuts. Now, however, Republican leaders are back, just as desperate but hopeful they can sneak something through. The media are calling the new Senate Republican proposal the Graham-Cassidy plan because two of its lead authors are Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.). A more accurate way to think of it is as "Repeal, Replace and Run." This plan wipes out major parts of the ACA. There are no more federal tax credits to help the middle class pay health insurance premiums. No more Medicaid expansion for low-income working people. No airtight ban on discriminatory premiums for people with pre-existing medical conditions. Insurance companies can impose an age tax by charging older Americans up to five times what they charge young adults. Employers are let off the hook completely: No employer would be required to contribute toward any worker’s health care; but the 40% tax on middle-class worker health benefits would be made permanent. In place of much of this, the federal government would give out time-limited block grants to states to do with what they please. This money would run out in 10 years, unless Congress votes to extend it. Graham and Cassidy designed these block grants to shift costs to states, providing much less money, on average, than people in a state would get under the ACA. On top of that, they end the federal funding guarantee for Medicaid, the program that covers the more than 70 million people who are struggling the most to make ends meet. They convert federal support for Medicaid to capped amounts per person, which they designed to shrink over time compared to the cost of the medical care that it needed. Republican leaders are pushing hard to pass something before the end of September. That is when time officially expires on their attempt to repeal the ACA and cut health care using a special rule. This allows them to pass a highly partisan bill with just 50 votes. Republican leaders are in such a rush that they plan to vote on the bill before they even know fully what the bill will do. Congress' independent budget experts say they will not be ready with an analysis of what the bill does to the federal budget or health care coverage until sometime in October. Congressional Republicans are prepared to do this despite warnings from other experts that this bill could take health care away from as many as 32 million people. This is like buying a used car before you get the Carfax report you ordered. When that report finally comes pointing out all the defects, however, there is no "lemon law" to let the American people return this clunker of a bill. If you've had enough, call your senators at 888-865-8089 and tell them not to take health care away from millions of Americans. Kenneth Quinnell Wed, 09/20/2017 - 10:46 — Sep 20