Who is on strike, who is bringing home wins, and negotiations we need to be watching

This from the AFL-CIO:

Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) members at Onion Inc., ratified a new contract with parent company G/O Media. The Onion Inc. Union, the 36-member bargaining unit representing the creative staff at The Onion, The A.V. Club, Deadspin and The Takeout, voted to authorize a strike if a new deal could not be reached. The new three-year agreement includes raising the minimum starting salary by $10,000 to $60,000 in the first year of the contract, and up to $64,000 in the final year of the contract, 3% raises in each subsequent year of the contract, a minimum of 12 weeks severance pay with no cap in the event of layoffs, successorship language that allows workers to receive full severance if their employment is terminated in the event of a sale or within 30 days of working with the new entity, the establishment of a policy on the use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) within 12 months, a gender-neutral increase in parental leave, WPATH standard of care in health benefits, and increased guaranteed holidays. Read more here.

From the Chicago Teachers Union:

It is day three of a strike for the schools students deserve at Instituto del Progreso Latino. Progress at the bargaining table has come at a snail’s pace. This strike was completely avoidable by the charter school operator, but regrettably Instituto’s school leaders and board of directors have failed to put the interests the community they committed to serve first.

Educators took a stand to make sure Instituto del Progreso Latino fulfills its mission to provide immigrant students an education. Currently, the school has 10 vacancies in core subject areas, zero special education teachers, and lacks bilingual education services. It took 2 years for Instituto’s management to reach an agreement with the union on sanctuary protections for students and staff. Management can do the right thing and agree to a staffing and compensation package that will recruit and retain educators, provide needed student services and stabilize our schools. Read more here.

From the Culinary Workers union in Las Vegas:

The union has announced a nuber of impressive victories in Las Vegas and more are coming. Sunday the union annpounced that "The Culinary Union is pleased to announce that a tentative agreement on a new 5-year contract was just reached with the Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino for nearly 200 hospitality workers and we congratulate workers on winning the best contract ever." Follow the union's progress here.

UFCW Local 3000 has more good news. The Local recently announced a "Hard Fought Wins After Historic 9-Day ULP Strike and Consumer Boycott Campaign that followed a historic 3 day ULP strike over Black Friday Weekend" at Macy's. 

IATSE won a great victory in British Columbia and voluntary union recognition at Minneapolis’ Children’s Theatre Company.

Building trades workers in San Diego won a big victory when the City Council there unanimously passed a blanket project labor agreement (PLA) last week.

The Communications Workers of America UPTE-CWA Local 9119 optometrists who work at the University of California (UC) walked off the job this week in response to unfair labor practices by the university and "(O)ver 200 members of the NewsGuild-CWA, working for Tribune Publishing, staged a one-day walkout last week to protest the company’s refusal to pay journalists, designers and editors a fair wage and management’s threat to take away the 401(k) match benefit. Workers from the Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, Virginian-Pilot, Morning Call, Suburban Chicago Tribune, Design and Production Studios, and Tribune Content Agency participated in the walkout—the single largest coordinated action journalists at the company have taken against Alden Global Capital since the hedge fund purchased Tribune Publishing in 2021." 

Photo from The NewsGuild

And we're watching: The IATSE and the Hollywood Basic Crafts, which includes Teamsters Local 399, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 40 (IBEW), Laborers International Union of North America Local 724 (LiUNA!), United Association Plumbers Local 78 (UA) and Operating Plasterers & Cement Masons International Association (OPCMIA) Local 755, have announced that they will be jointly bargaining their shared Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plan proposals in the 2024 bargaining cycle with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Studios (AMPTP). See this. IATSE is following negotians between the American Federation of Musicians and the AMPTP and has declared support for the Musicians.