Important event announcement: The Labor Solidarity Project will be hosting an outstanding event this Thursday, November 30, at 6:00 PM (PST) featuring Dr. Diana Johnson, discussing her work on multiracial coalition building in Seattle during the final decades of the 20th century. Dr. Johnson is Associate Professor of History and Ethnic Studies and the Chair of the Ethnic Studies Department at California State University, San Bernardino. She received her MA and PhD from the University of California Davis and specializes in the history of race and ethnicity in the United States, political activism, and oral history. She recently published her first monograph, Seattle in Coalition: Multiracial Alliances, Labor Politics, and Transnational Activism in the Pacific Northwest, 1970-1999 with the University of North Carolina Press in 2023. This work chronicles the history of Black, Native American, Chicanx, and Asian American labor and political activists stemming from Seattle. More specifically, she examines how activists built coalitions across ethnic, regional and international lines, challenging racial inequalities, capitalist labor systems, and globalization. At Cal State San Bernardino, Dr. Johnson primarily teaches courses in systemic racism, immigration in America, and racial activism during the 1960s and 1970s. The Zoom link is https://washington.zoom.us/j/93515461794
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December 9-10 from 10am - 6pm
Goldsmith Blocks Building (412 NW Couch St)
A report in In These Times claims that the AFL-CIO recently intervened to "squash" a resolution passed by the Olympia, Washington-based Thurston-Lewis-Mason Central Labor Council (TLM CLC) supporting a ceasefire in Palestine/Israel .
Oregon AFL-CIO: Please visit the Oregon AFL-CIO blog and read the Oregon Labor Dispatch to keep up with what the Oregon AFL-CIO is doing. The strike map on the blog shows no strikes currently underway in Oregon, but it is important to keep an eye on this. An October 31 post on the blog predicted more strikes in Oregon as the Auto Workers moved to settle their contracts with the Big Three automakers. Another post on that date provided links to the State Federation's Legislative Scorecard and to the Federation's overview of the last Oregon legislative session and highlighted officeholders and politicians who the Federation regards as friends of working people. This is important reading, so please take a look.
The November 17, 2023 Labor Dispatch report provides a list of short labor news items and action items. The list includes an invitation to our upcoming holiday party (December 9, 9:00am -12:00pm, Ken Allen AFSCME Labor Canter, 1400 Tandem Ave NE in Salem), an announcement concerning the University of Oregon Labor Center Collective Bargaining Institute to be held on December 3-8, at the University Place Hotel in Portland, and a solidarity action supporting Multnomah County dentists. "The dentists stand united, asking for the opportunity to provide patients meaningful care, in an environment that allows enough time to do the work," says the post.
Alphabet Workers Union: A group of Google contractors, some of whom have worked on Search and Google’s artificial intelligence chatbot Bard, have voted to unionize. A news report claims that "Following the filing for unionization, the group, which included 120 writers, graphic designers and coordinators, among others, were told more than half the team would be laid off, according to the Alphabet Workers Union, which alleged the layoffs were an act of retaliation." See this article for details. The Alphabet Workers Union frequently works with the Communication Workers of America.
Communications Workers of America: An interesting article in The New Republic highlights bank workers who are opting to organize with CWA.CWA's Call Center Workers United are on strike at Maximus, or were the last I heard. This is an important strike given the needs to organize call center workers and take on racism and the conditions that divide these workers. Please go to the website, get on their email alert list and follow through with the light asks that the union is putting out.
Steelworkers (USW): The Fall 2023 USW@Work publication ran two very important articles. One article on two-tier wage systems put it well when saying that "Unscrupulous employers often look for ways to divide union members, whether by age or job classification or other factors, and multi-tiered wage and benefit systems can play into bosses’ hands by helping them to serve that purpose." The article also said that "Success in eliminating tiers has come from workplaces large and small, improving lives and building solidarity for thousands of members. In the paper industry, one of the largest employers of USW members, workers achieved a series of strong contracts that cut tier systems, including in the union’s master agreement with International Paper, and Local 1013 and Local 1853 at Georgia Pacific."
Another inspiring article in the United Steelworkers publication covered the recent USW International Women's Conference. Amanda Buda, a delegate of Local 412 at the University of Guelph in Ontario, is quoted in the article as saying, "There are a lot of people here that are in the same boat and in very similar situations. If I have any advice, it's that you don't know what you don't know. It’s always best if you have any type of question to reach out and ask a current union member how they did it, because there's always an answer and information that will benefit you in the long run.”
Trade Unions for Energy Democracy: Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) recently issued an important report on developments in Argentina that will likely affect global privatization and the fight to hold on to public services and resources in many countries, including the U.S. There is much talk in TUED and elsewhere about a Global Green New Deal. We should become familiar with these ideas because they are affecting us, our work and our unions.
United Electrical Workers Research and Education Fund (UEWREF): The UEWREF and the United Electrical Workers proudly reported winning $6.5 million in bonuses for Durham, North Carolina city workers as part of their on-going organizing in the South and in workplaces with majority-Black workers. The Durham victory was won through direct action on the job in a right-to-work and racist environment. UEWREF is in need to funds to keep the ball rolling, so please contribute if you can.
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