The Oregon AFL-CIO has a post up marking a year of progress for the labor movement in Oregon. The introduction to the post says in part that "From a windfall of legislative wins during the 2023 Oregon Legislature, to supporting unions on strike around the state, to winning in local elections, to an exciting and inspiring 2023 Oregon AFL-CIO Convention, we are proud and fired up by everything Oregon Labor has done together this year." The Oregon AFL-CIO claims to have 288+ affiliated unions with more than 300,000 members and more than 7500 activists. It has been a good year for most of the labor movement.
The post goes through the 2023 legislative wins by labor and provides a legislative scorecard, it reviews union organizing victories and carries an announcement for the 2024 Oregon Labor Organizing Summit to be held on May 30, 2024 in Portland, reminds us of the strikes and collective bargaining struggles many of us went through in 2023, provides a look-back on the Oregon AFL-CIO's convention, and gives a brief closing statement on what to look forward to in 2024.
Please read the post here and consider what is being said there and where you fit in. You are absolutely needed and encouraged to participate, learn and lead in 2024.Some labor media and unions are also making predictions and celebrating wins in 2023. Working In These Times has a list of predictions for U.S. labor in 2024. The Remembering The Triangle Fire Coalition has a moving video up of the October Triangle Fire Memorial. The Metro Washington Labor Council is celebrating some great victories won by the American Federation of Government Employees, and wins by AFSCME.
The Metro Washington Labor Council also lists these union wins:
* Compass workers at World Bank, Smithsonian, NIH, and DC universities won contracts with a $20 minimum wage with UNITE HERE Local 23.
* Kaiser Permanente workers went on strike and eventually ratified a landmark new contract with OPEIU Local 2.
* Unionized office cleaners with 32BJ SEIU won a new contract for more than 9,000 workers in the DC region with pay increases of over $3.50/hour.
* ACLU of DC staff unionized with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild.
* Brookings Institution staff reached their first union agreement with NPEU.
* More Perfect Union staff ratified their first union contract with Washington-Baltimore News Guild.
* Staff at Solid State Books ratified their first ever union contract with UFCW Local 400.
* Grocery workers at Safeway and Giant ratified strong new contracts with UFCW Local 400.
* Nurses at George Washington University Hospital voted YES to form a union with the District of Columbia Nurses Association.
* Washington Post staff walked off the job for the first time in decades, calling on the company to bargain with the Post Guild.
* Starbucks workers throughout the region unionized with Starbucks Workers United and Workers United Mid-Atlantic Regional Joint Board.
* Maryland public employees won $13 million in back wages after AFSCME Maryland Council 3 filed complaints to the U.S. Department of Labor.
* Tens of thousands of TSA workers got the largest pay raise in decades thanks to bargaining from AFGE.
* Ironworkers at a number of work sites voted YES to unionize with the Ironworkers Union.
* Social Security Administration workers fought for better pay, staffing, and conditions with AFGE.
* Transit workers at Transdev, WMATA, Loudon County, Fairfax Connector, and National Express Transit fought for better wages with ATU Local 689.
* University System of Maryland workers continue bargaining for fair pay, better telework policies, and sustainable workloads with AFSCME Council 3.
* DC Public School teachers with Washington Teachers' Union continued working toward a new contract with the school system.
* Hotel workers at Sofitel Washington DC Lafayette Square continue to fight for union recognition with UNITE HERE Local 25.
* And Montgomery County passed a landmark bill to stabilize rent, with the support of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, UFCW 1994 MCGEO, UFCW Local 400, UNITE HERE Local 23, and UNITE HERE Local 25.
Washington, DC is far away, but I mention their report because it shows the power of cooperation between unions. An encouraging article on the national AFL-CIO blog goes into great detail on union contract wins in 2023 and shows scores of union wins.
Closer to home, the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) shows that Washington State is the third most unionized state. A drop in some union's membership in 2022 doesn't take factor in the union organizing victories won in the state through 2023. A WSLC report says "According to the latest (Bureau of Labor Statistics) report, Washington had 615,000 union members in 2022, representing 18 percent of the state’s workforce. Only New York and Hawaii had a higher percentage of union members in their workforces than Washington state. For 2021, the BLS estimated Washington had 629,000 union members and 19 percent union density." April Sims, President of the Washington State Labor Council, is quoted as saying, "As working people have reassessed their jobs and lives during the pandemic, unions have become more popular than ever,” Sims said. “There’s no question that more and more working people are organizing, but these latest statistics don’t reflect that because many of them have yet to get their first union contract or are still fighting in court for union recognition."
Communications Workers of America President Claude Cummings, Jr..
Photo from the CWA website.
One of the most astute and pointed end-of-year union statements has come from Communications Workers of America President Claude Cummings, Jr. Looking ahead to 2024, Brother Cummings said, "And we’re just getting started. Next year will be one of unprecedented opportunities. We must use every resource at our disposal to bargain stronger contracts, organize more workers to join CWA, and elect pro-worker candidates to office. I want to take what we know in our hearts as union members – that when we work together, we are more powerful than those against us, and we will be even stronger in the future as we continue to build our relationships with our allies. As my work on your behalf takes me across the country, I plan to visit even more worksites so that I can understand the challenges you are facing and discuss what we can do to address them." He added a strong ask to support workers on strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a strike that should be winning stronger support from within the national labor movement than it has.
This is not a complete list of the unions and allied organizations celebrating wins and looking forward to more wins in 2024, but I hope that it gives readers a taste for activism and progress.
Workers at Valley Ford Truck near Cleveland, Ohio are on strike a week before
Christmas, saying the company hasn’t given them a fair contract. Photo from
Sean McDonnell, Cleveland.com
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