PCUN requests solidarity to restore the Climate Protection Program (CPP)!

From PCUN:

We need your help to restore the Climate Protection Program (CPP)! The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has announced extending the public comment period. If you haven’t yet had a chance to submit comments in support of the CPP, NOW IS THE TIME!

Your voice is crucial in this fight for a sustainable future. We cannot let the oil and gas industry determine OUR FUTURE! Make sure your voice is heard! Click here to submit a public comment now!

If you prefer to email your comments to DEQ, you can do so HERE!

Click HERE for a few email templates you can utilize as you submit your comments. The public comment period is open through Sept 27.

Our kids deserve a future clear from toxins and pollutants in the air they breathe and the water they drink.
¡Si se puede!

Another Opportunity to Help Farm Workers - July 18 in Salem, OR

EMERGENCY BACKPACKS FOR OREGON FARM WORKERS

The Oregon Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Oregon's Farm Worker Union PCUN invite Willamette Valley churches and ecumenical community groups to participate in "Solidarity Summer 2024," collaborating to provide 500 equipped backpacks for farm worker families in the 2024 wildfire season--July, August and September.

Join faith and labor allies to acknowledge the land, fill backpacks and share blessings with PCUN staff leading farm worker summer wildfire preparedness workshops during July & August.

Solidarity Summer 2024 Backpack Celebration & Workshop
Thursday, July 18, 2024, 1:00 P.M.--4:00 P.M.
PCUN union office, 300 Young St., Woodburn, OR 97071

Learn more
Contact Sarah Loose, Director, Oregon Synod Director of Disaster & Climate Resilience, email sarahl@oregonsynod.org.

In the mid-Willamette Valley: Ed Brandt, member, St. Mark Lutheran Social Ministry Committee, 503-917-1326, edgarbrandt74@gmail.com
Car-pooling (meet July 18 @ 12:00 P.M. noon, St. Mark Lutheran Church, 790 Marion St. NE, Salem, OR 97301).

Two important solidarity actions with our region's farm workers

This important article from The STAND provides some needed context for the post below.

From the United Farm Workers:

Community support is crucial for the mushroom workers who filed a lawsuit against Windmill Farms, Sunnyside, Washington, last November. Please join the workers and United Farm Workers in front of the Yakima courthouse to show our support.

Date: Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Time: 2:00 p.m. RALLY in support of the workers; 3 pm hearing
Location: Yakima County Superior Court, 128 N 2nd St, Yakima, WA 98901

Summary of the Hearing:

The oral arguments will address two critical motions filed by Windmill/Greenwood:

1. Motion to Compel Arbitration: Windmill is seeking to move our case out of the public court system and into private arbitration.
2. Motion to Dismiss: Windmill has also filed a motion to dismiss our claims.

Why This Hearing Is Important

Company Violations: This case addresses violations of the Washington Little Norris-LaGuardia Act, including the unlawful terminations of prominent UFW supporters and other critical issues affecting worker rights.

Transparency: Keeping the case in the public court system ensures that the proceedings remain open and transparent, allowing for greater public scrutiny and accountability.

Justice for Workers: Dismissing the case at this stage would deny workers the opportunity to have their claims heard and adjudicated fully. We believe strongly in the merits of our case and in the importance of fighting for the rights of those who have been wronged.Solidarity: Your presence at the hearing will show solidarity with the affected workers and demonstrate to Windmill/Greenwood and the court that there is strong community support for holding the company accountable.
From the Rev. Connie Yost, President of Farm Worker Ministry Northwest and board member, National Farm Worker Ministry:

I recently had the privilege of speaking to members of the Yakima Association of Faith Communities, along with United Farm Workers activist Lorena and former Windmill employee Isela. Our goal was to raise awareness of farm worker issues, and to gather support for the Windmill Farms mushroom workers who are experiencing ongoing abuses in their workplace.

I urge all of you who are able to join us at the Yakima County Superior Courthouse at 2 pm on Tuesday, June 11 to show our solidarity and support for the workers.

Your support and action is something that is vitally needed. Farm workers too often feel all alone. Let's show them our love and support by being there for them.

Here are voices from the YAFC community:

Roger Yockey, Holy Family Catholic Church, Yakima: "Folks who are actively involved in the Yakima Association of Faith Communities can help our sisters and brothers who are farm workers by joining with them at rallies, peaceful protests to demand social and economic justice for the women and men who feed us. As a Christian, my faith speaks to me loud and clear to see what the situation is for workers, to judge what is happening, to pray, and then to act to change any unjust situation."

Marilyn Holloway, Bodhi Center of Yakima: "Whilst I have long been aware of the appalling conditions in which farm workers labor to put food on our tables, I was less aware of their efforts to unionize. I knew nothing about the Farm Worker Ministry Northwest and this organization's efforts to support the farm workers in their struggle for better working conditions and justice. I have also learned how I can support the farm workers, so now feel I can do something rather than being a helpless bystander."

The Rev. Connie Yost, introduction to the Prayer of the Farm Workers' Struggle, by Cesar Chavez

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to the sanitation workers in Memphis just weeks before his assassination. These black workers were treated badly, forced to work in unsafe conditions for poverty wages. A worker had been crushed to death by a defective truck, and the mayor refused to discuss their wish for a union. Martin Luther King Jr. told them, and he reminds us, that All Labor Has Dignity. Today, farmworkers are in the same situation.

Let us pray the Prayer of the Farm Workers’ Struggle, by Cesar Chavez.

Read the latest news of the mushroom workers

Another Opportunity to Help Farm Workers

EMERGENCY BACKPACKS FOR OREGON FARM WORKERS

The Oregon Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Oregon's Farm Worker Union PCUN invite Willamette Valley churches and ecumenical community groups to participate in "Solidarity Summer 2024," collaborating to provide 500 equipped backpacks for farm worker families in the 2024 wildfire season--July, August and September.

Make tax-deductible cash donations before July 1
Emergency supplies cost about $45 per backpack to protect against smoke, dehydration, dust and loss of communication in outdoor work and evacuation in an extreme wildfire event.

Give online: oregonsynod.org, text field "PCUN Solidarity" before 7/1/2024.

By mail: checks payable to "Oregon Synod," memo "PCUN Solidarity." Mail to Oregon Synod, 2800 N. Vancouver Ave., Suite 101, Portland, OR 97227, before 7/1/2024.

Solidarity Summer 2024 Backpack Celebration & Workshop
Save the Date: July 18, 2024, 1:00 P.M.--4:00 P.M.
PCUN union office, 300 Young St., Woodburn, OR 97071

Join faith and labor allies to acknowledge the land, fill backpacks and share blessings with PCUN staff leading farm worker summer wildfire preparedness workshops during July & August.

Learn more: Contact Sarah Loose, Director, Oregon Synod Director of Disaster & Climate Resilience, email sarahl@oregonsynod.org.

In the mid-Willamette Valley: Ed Brandt, member, St. Mark Lutheran Social Ministry Committee, 503-917-1326 (call / text), edgarbrandt74@gmail.com (email), for details about tax-deductible cash donations & car-pooling (meet July 18 @ 12:00 P.M. noon, St. Mark Lutheran Church, 790 Marion St. NE, Salem, OR 97301).

Salem-Keizer: Emergency BackPacks Needed for Oregon Farm Workers

The Oregon Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Oregon's Farm Worker Union PCUN invite Willamette Valley churches and ecumenical community groups to participate in "Solidarity Summer 2024," collaborating to provide 500 equipped backpacks for farm worker families in the 2024 wildfire season:

July, August and September. Emergency supplies cost about $45 per backpack to protect against smoke, dehydration, dust and loss of communication in outdoor work and evacuation in an extreme wildfire event. You may make tax-deductible cash donations before July 1.  Give online:  oregonsynod.org, text field "PCUN Solidarity" or by mail: checks payable to "Oregon Synod," Mail to Oregon Synod, 2800 N. Vancouver Ave., Suite 101, Portland, OR 97227.

Solidarity Summer 2024 Backpack Celebration & Workshop -- Save the Date:  July 18, 2024, 1:00 P.M.--4:00 P.M., PCUN union office, 300 Young St., Woodburn, OR 9707.  Join faith and labor allies to acknowledge the land, fill backpacks and share blessings with PCUN staff leading farm worker summer wildfire preparedness workshops during July & August. Learn more by contacting Sarah Loose, Director, Oregon Synod Director of Disaster & Climate Resilience, email sarahl@oregonsynod.org or in the midWillamette Valley: Ed Brandt, Saint Mark member, Social Ministry Committee, 503-917-1326 (call / text), edgarbrandt74@gmail.com (email), for details about tax-deductible cash donations & car-pooling (meet July 18 @ 12:00 P.M. noon, at Saint Mark Lutheran Church). 

Editor's note: Readers are invited to read this short but challenging and radical article providing context for why the backpacks are needed.

Photo from Links.

PCUN Requests Solidarity On Two Important Issues

The following comes from a longer email from PCUN (Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste).

Oregon Worker Relief

The Oregon legislature has the opportunity to help vulnerable community members stay in their homes, keep farmworkers safe and stable during extreme heat waves and wildfire smoke, and provide no-cost immigration legal services.

Contact your legislator to support these critical funding requests HERE.

Oregon Worker Relief has been a lifeline for immigrant Oregonians through programs including the Climate Change Fund, the Home Fund, Universal Representation, and more. Our community-led approach has helped over 93,000 immigrant Oregonians through emergency relief for farmworkers who face dangerous working conditions from extreme heat and wildfire smoke, rent assistance to keep families housed, no-cost immigration legal services, and more. That is why we are asking you to urge your legislators to support Oregon Worker Relief and allow such vital work to continue.

Employment Related Day Care

We need to send a strong message to our state's leaders to use their positions' power to advocate for a budget that will meet the needs of families struggling to afford child care in this economy.

Use this link to send a message to state leaders to fund child care now.

Two views on Oregon's 2024 legislative session so far

Our first take on Oregon's 2024 legislative session comes from the Northwest Workers Justice Project (NWJP). NWJP modestly describes their work in the following terms:

NWJP protects workplace dignity by supporting the efforts of low-wage, immigrant and contingent workers to improve wages and working conditions and to eliminate imbalances in power that lead to inequity.

In fact, NWJP does much more and meets their goals and does movement-building. They show up when and where it makes a difference and they ae a more-than-competent progressive voice for worker rights. I am not partial to non-profits, but NWJP is a winning exception. Please support them with a contribution today. Their legislative update says:

We are in an even-numbered year, so that means a short session at the Oregon Legislature. The 35-day session kicked off on February 5th. As most of you probably know, the focus is on housing and Measure 110 (related to drug decriminalization.) Very few bills related to workers were introduced, and even fewer are moving forward on the tight timeline of the short session. We submitted testimony regarding a bad bill that would have undermined Oregon’s strong Pay Equity Law by creating a vague “business necessity” exception. We supported the Oregon AFL-CIO’s successful effort to stop this bad bill from becoming law. NWJP is focused on supporting efforts to fund a number of programs that our client community needs: the Climate Change Fund, the Home Fund and Universal Representation. These funds are part of the larger Oregon Worker Relief Fund, which advocates created during the pandemic to help undocumented Oregonians survive when workplaces were shuttered. The Climate Change Fund grew out of the rulemaking on extreme heat and wildfire smoke. Advocates realized that Oregonians who do not qualify for unemployment insurance, including undocumented workers, need a way to be paid when they have to miss work due to climate emergencies. We are asking for $9 million to replenish this fund. The Home Fund provides financial relief to immigrant Oregonians at risk of eviction and homelessness. NWJP hears from workers every week who are at risk of eviction or who have recently been evicted. We are asking for $6 million for this fund, which is a drop in the bucket of what is needed during our current housing crisis. Finally, Universal Representation (U-Rep) is the idea that all immigrant Oregonians need legal support during immigration proceedings. Studies make clear that immigrants without legal counsel are more likely to be deported. Oregon passed U-Rep in 2022, but the current funding does not meet the great need for this support. The request is $7.5 million. Please send an email as soon as possible to your elected representatives in support of these important budget requests through PCUN’s action alert here. Our second legislative update comes from Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor. The strength of this report is that it demonstrates how so much of our labor political work is about the nuts-and-bolts of policies that affect our daily lives as workers, things that we often forget until we or someone close to us says, "Hey, I need that!" This is why I keep paying dues to three unions and donating to our poitical action funds. Please join me in doing that. In a press release dated February 23 Brother Trainor offered the following: The 2024 Oregon Legislature is moving at a rapid pace, with many of Oregon Labor’s priority bills moving out of committee, into the budget committee, and onto the floor for votes. We’re excited to see bills defending healthcare workers, education workers, and public employees among many others get closer to becoming law, as well as our priority bill to ensure labor standards are a part of all offshore wind development. With only a few weeks left in this 35-day session, unions and worker advocates are working diligently to ensure as many of our priorities pass as possible before the gavel falls. Here’s an overview of where Oregon Labor legislative priorities are at this point in the short session: HB 4080: Offshore Wind - Strong Labor Standards and Roadmap Directive Led by the Oregon AFL-CIO and a priority of a number of our affiliates, HB 4080 ensures that if and when Offshore Wind Development comes to Oregon, there are strong labor standards required. Oregon has a few opportunities to influence the process to develop Offshore Wind development in federal waters. In addition to strong labor standards like apprenticeship utilization, prevailing wage and living wages and family supporting healthcare, the bill also includes a robust roadmap process to support engagement between offshore wind developers and impacted organizations, communities and tribes. The bill passed on a party-line vote out of the House Business and Labor Committee. SB 1552: Supporting All Education Workers A priority of OSEA, this education omnibus makes important technical fixes to support workers in K-12, higher ed, early learning and redefines educators to finally include classified instead of just teachers. This bill passed unanimously out of the Senate Education committee. SB 1594: Behavioral Health Worker Safety SB 1594 is a priority of Oregon AFSCME to require behavioral health safety plans and include minimum staffing levels and protocols for addressing safety risks at these facilities. These adjustments will help keep clinicians safe and reduce burnout. Furthermore, funding for apprenticeships and training programs will provide more students with the knowledge they need to be successful as clinicians. This bill passed unanimously out of the Senate Health Care committee. SB 1595: Debt Collection Reform Led by a coalition of unions and consumer advocates, SB 1595 offers protections for families and ensures that they can meet their basic needs while facing debt by increasing the amount of take-home pay protected from court seizure or garnishment, protecting the first $2,500 in an individual’s bank account, and increasing the value of a home protected from seizure. These adjustments will offer some stability for working people in times of extreme stress, and better allow them to take care of themselves and their families. The bill passed on a party-line vote in the Senate Labor and Business committee and unanimously in the Senate Finance and Revenue committee. SB 1578: Healthcare Interpreter Portal A priority of Oregon AFSCME, SB 1578 creates a portal for health care interpreters to help streamline the process and give these workers much better wages and benefits, while also improving patient outcomes. This bill passed on a party line vote out of the Senate Health Care committee. HB 4006: Equity for Construction Workers & Contractors A priority of the Ironworkers, HB 4006 requires a contracting agency to accept from contractors surety bonds in lieu of retainage for construction projects and public improvement contracts. This will help ensure that historically and currently marginalized contractors and workers have a fair shot at getting ahead. After a unanimous vote in the House Business and Labor Committee, the bill passed unanimously on the House floor. HB 4045: PERS “High Risk” Tier HB 4045 is a priority of the Firefighter and Oregon AFSCME to help over 3,200 public safety workers qualify for improved retirement benefits. The bill includes state hospital workers and 911 operators into PERS and lowers the retirement age for firefighters. The bill passed unanimously out of the House Emergency Management General Government committee and in the Ways and Means subcommittee. HB 4050: Pay Equity Subversion (opposition) Brought by Oregon Business and Industries, HB 4050 would have subverted Oregon's pay equity law which ensures that women, people of color, and other workers from protected classes are not paid unfairly. We successfully made sure that this bill in its current form does not move forward this session. HB 4077: Incident Reporting Access in Schools A priority of OSEA, HB 4077 takes a massive step toward ensuring education workers feel safe at work and is the next common-sense bill for OSEA’s Work Shouldn’t Hurt campaign. The bill increases access to incident forms after a worker is injured on the job by making an online form that can be completed on a smart phone and computer. This bill passed unanimously out of the House Education committee. HB 4085: Immigration Legal Assistance HB 4085 provides grants to help individuals and families afford immigration legal assistance. In Oregon, we know our communities are most successful when we all feel safe, respected and welcomed. Proactive affirmative immigration legal services will create pathways to citizenship and provide safety, security and stability for our immigrant and refugee communities. This bill passed unanimously out of the House Early Childhood and Human Services Committee. HB 4088: Addressing Violence Against Healthcare Workers HB 4088 creates a pilot program to address and prevent hospital workplace violence and make assaults on hospital workers a Class C felony. This is a priority of ONA, AFSCME and other unions representing healthcare workers. This bill passed nearly unanimously in the House Judiciary Committee. HB 4112: Clean Energy Tech Supply Chain HB 4112 has the potential to make Oregon a regional leader in clean tech manufacturing while promoting good high skilled manufacturing jobs through state procurement preference. This is a priority of the Blue Green Alliance and a number of Building Trades affiliates. This bill passed out of the House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee on a bipartisan vote. HB 4124 & SB 1582: Post-Pandemic Funding for the Arts HB 4124 and SB 1582 allocate funding to help cultural and arts programs who are struggling to bounce back after the pandemic. As union workers at many of these facilities, this is a priority of IATSE and AFM among others. These bills passed nearly unanimously out of the House Economic Development committee and Senate Business and Labor committee. HB 4125: Adjunct Faculty Trend Study Bill AFT-Oregon's priority bill, HB 4125 funds a report on higher education workforce to understand trends and information on the quality of the jobs and governance systems nationwide. This bill passed nearly unanimously out of the House Higher Education Committee. HB 4130: Protecting Against Corporate Control of Healthcare HB 4130 protects against corporatization by closing the LLC/LLP loophole in our current laws. HB4130 also bans non-competes, non-disparagement clauses, and stock transfer restriction agreements to bolster physician independence. These changes will strengthen Oregon’s existing protections against corporate control of healthcare. By doing so, our state will be preventing increased healthcare corporatization and keep healthcare costs low for Oregonians. After a bipartisan vote in the House Health Care committee, it also received a bipartisan vote on the House floor. HB 4158: Expanding Child Care Capacity for Home-Based Providers, Small Centers, and Rural Areas A Fair Shot for All priority, the bill helps fund childcare infrastructure to provide financial assistance grants to child care providers. The bill passed nearly unanimously out of the House Early Childhood committee. Thank you for everything you do to build power for working people! If you have any questions about legislative priorities or how the Oregon AFL-CIO can support your union’s priorities in Salem, please contact Catie Theisen, our Political and Legislative Director. In Solidarity, Graham Trainor President, Oregon AFL-CIO He/Him/His

FARM WORKER WOMEN IN OREGON AGRICULTURE: Achievements and Gender-Based Inequities---Presentation in Salem on Sunday, March 3

Learn from and Support our Oregon Women Farm Workers in this Community Forum sponsored by PCUN, Farm Worker Ministry Northwest and the St. Mark Lutheran Church Social Ministry Committee.

Our GUEST SPEAKERS from PCUN, Oregon's Farm Worker Labor Union, will discuss FARM WORKER WOMEN IN OREGON AGRICULTURE: Achievements and Gender-Based Inequities
Guest presenters Marlina Campos and Martha Lopez of PCUN / Farmworkers and Latinx Working Families United will speak about local women advocating for justice in their workplace and community. Farm worker women face sexual harassment, health concerns, inadequate childcare, harsh working conditions and more, such as limited life expectancy.

Learn more PCUN's work for women's empowerment in the community & the Oregon Legislature and what allies can do.

Sunday Morning Forum for Church & Community

Sunday, March 3, 2024

11:15 am--12:15 pm

St. Mark Lutheran Church Lounge

790 Marion St., Salem, OR 97301

PLEASE SHARE THIS INVITATION IN YOUR NETWORKS
Information: Ed Brandt, 503-917-1326 call or text edgarbrandt74@gmail.com. Thank you!

DONATIONS WELCOME for PCUN's organizing, political advocacy, education efforts and speakers' costs www.pcun.org, click on "donate" for online donation or checks payable to PCUN, mail to PCUN, PO Box 38, Woodburn, OR 97071. Thanks also for cash or checks at the event.

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Thanks for participating in this forum and celebrating Women's History Month!

Some Union News & Headlines For November 30, 2023

On this date in labor history Mother Jones died in 1930 and the anti-WTO march was held in Seattle in 1999. I know that we have some readers who were in Seattle for the 1999 demonstration, so a special thanks goes out to them today.

Photo taken from the Oregon AFL-CIO

The Oregon AFL-CIO listed the following in the Oregon Labor Dispatch under today's date:

Rally with SEIU Local 503 Members at Portland State University
Tomorrow: Friday, December 1, Urban Plaza, SW Mill St in Portland at noon
SEIU Local 503 members are rallying at PSU to show they are united, strong, and fighting for the fair contract they deserve. Join with them to send a strong message to PSU administration!

University of Oregon Labor Center Collective Bargaining Institute
December 3-8, University Place Hotel, Portland Oregon
Want to be ready for your next round of bargaining? Join union leaders from around the state at the Labor Education and Research Center's Collective Bargaining Institute. In this hands-on program, participants learn all the fundamentals of effective negotiations -- from drafting proposals and contract costing, to managing the bargaining team and finding a settlement. Scholarships are available! Click here for more details and to register online.

81st Annual Children’s Holiday Party - Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Chapter
December 9, 9:00am -12:00pm, Ken Allen AFSCME Labor Canter, 1400 Tandem Ave NE in Salem
Join the Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Chapter for a free and fun-filled event with cookies, crafts, gift bags, live music and the one and only Caesar the No Drama Llama.

The Labor Market: Flea Market and Maker Fair
December 9-10, Goldsmith Blocks Building, 412 NW Couch in Portland, 10:00am - 6:00pm
Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind film worker flea market and maker fair! The Labor Market will feature original works of art, handcrafts and other creative products made by film workers, and a flea market where treasures you’ve seen on the screen in locally filmed tv shows and movies could be waiting to be discovered. All sales of goods go directly to the Union member-vendor. The market will have live music, entertainment, raffles, and special guest Santa Claus.

The following graphic comes from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). IATSE is one of many unions that, along with the AFL-CIO, are marking Native American Heritage Month. 

PCUN, Oregon's farmworker union, is reporting the following today:

Thanksgiving is a time to express gratitude for the hardworking people who harvest and process our foods, often under dangerous conditions and usually for a very low wage. According to the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), around 2.4 million farmworkers labor on US farms and ranches, and about 71% of farmworkers who work in crop production are immigrants. At least half, or 1.2 million farmworkers, are undocumented, which creates many barriers for families in the United States when it comes to accessing services that are critical for the well-being of our communities. One of the best ways to thank a farmworker is to support pathways to legalization and citizenship for the hands that feed America, in addition to supporting the collective bargaining rights of farmworkers.

We at the Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Chapter strongly encourage you to go to PCUN's website and support PCUN as you are able to.

Photo from KPIC

In other news...

* Labor's Community Service Agency has issued an appeal for support for union families over the holidays. Part of the solidarity appeal reads as follows:

We are humbly asking you to make a donation today, so collectively, we can provide holiday resources to our union families and create a memorable holiday season during a difficult time. We cannot continue our program without your financial support, as it is a crucial part of the work we do. Can we again rely on you to assist working families during the holiday season? Because harm to one brother or sister is harm to all of us.

Our message: Please help out if you can. Remember the old adage to give 'til it hurts and then 'til it feels good.

* The National Domestic Workers Alliance is gathering stories from people who have had to stay home because of issues with childcare. Collecting these stories is an important part of their campaign, but the Alliance is working on many other issues as well. Please go to their page and submit your story, but also consider joining in their December 11 Zoom event with Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su.

* The Oregon Center for Public Policy has a new plan out to build economic justice in Oregon. This means raising incomes, building workers' power, changing the tax system and much more. Can you get space on your union meeting or Chapter or Council agenda to discuss their plan and perhaps have a speaker from the Center?

* The Communications Workers of America is reporting a string of union organizing victories. According to the union, "Over the past month, workers have joined CWA at Education Week and Rising for Justice (Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild, TNG-CWA Local 32035), The Guardian and Journal Pioneer newspapers (CWA Canada Local 30130), Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (United Media Guild, TNG-CWA Local 36047), Google Help (Alphabet Workers Union-CWA Local 9009), and Wisconsin Watch (Milwaukee Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA Local 34051)." This short list does not include Wells Fargo workers at two bank branches in Albuquerque, NM, and Bethel, AL. who filed for the bank’s first-ever union elections on Monday.

* Trader Joe's United, the union seeking to represent workers at Trader Joe's, is working on a campaign to end junk fees and hold greedy corporations accountable to consumers. This campaign potentially affects most workers and deserves everyone's support. Also, please check in with the union as you consider your holiday shopping options.

* Starbucks Workers United is claiming a victory after their recent strike. The union says that "Our Red Cup Rebellion, where more than 5,000 Starbucks workers went on strike, has already landed a major victory - the ability for workers to pause mobile orders during especially busy rushes."

They need our help spreading the word on social media.

* A great learning and activating opportunity here: Minnesota unions and their community partners are gearing up for an unprecedented wave of potential strikes and community actions with a deadline of the first week of March 2024. This date likely coincides with similar potential action here in Oregon. Representing tens of thousands of workers with contracts expiring and other deadlines at that time, labor and allied organizations are working together to align their demands and narratives to win at the bargaining table and push politicians at city hall and the state capitol. We have much to learn from this organizing.

Join Bargaining for The Common Good, In These Times, The Center for Innovation in Worker Organization, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, The Action Center on Race and The Economy, The Kalmanovitz Initiative, Workday Magazine and other partners on Tuesday, January 9th, 2024: at 3:00 PM (PST) for a webinar featuring representative labor and community leaders from across the movement. The talk will be about going on the offensive and winning. Go to Bargaining for the Common Good to register for the event.

Photo from the UAW

* An article by Julia Conley posted on Common Dreams yesterday under the headline "UAW Launches Largest Union Organizing Drive in US History" indicates that the United Auto Workers has been taking lots of calls from workers employed in non-union auto plants and parts suppliers since setting the contracts with the Big Three auto companies and feels confident that it can lead a new wave of mass organizing now. This union push will have to have two sides to it---organizing workers in the plants and taking on politics---because many of the plants are in "right to work states" and the union will face strong opposition from Republican office holders. Conley quotes the union's president as saying, "You don't have to worry about how you're gonna pay your rent or feed your family while the company makes billions. A better life is out there. It starts with you—UAW."

The AFL-CIO meanwhile announced that "After 11 weeks on strike, the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) reached a tentative agreement on Tuesday with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network (BCN). The contract includes the reduction of wage progression from 22 years to five, significant general wage increases, a $6,500 ratification bonus for Blue Cross Blue Shield workers, a $5,000 ratification bonus for BCN workers, inflation protection bonuses of $1,000 each year of the contract and protections against outsourcing. Members will remain on strike during the ratification process."

Photo from the UAW

Photo from the AFL-CIO's Daily Brief of 

November 30, 2023 and a UAW press release