Labor Union Blog

A grocery strike has been averted in Rhode Island and Massachusetts as Shaw’s Supermarkets and the United Food and Commercial Workers came to an agreement this weekend on a new five-year contract. The union says the contract was overwhelmingly approved by members. A federal mediator was called in this weekend as the two sides failed to find common ground, and the potential for a two-state walkout rose on the horizon. The new contract covers 5,200 workers at 38 stores and includes a pay raise and an increase in company contributions to health and retirement benefits.

A grocery strike has been averted in Rhode Island and Massachusetts as Shaw’s Supermarkets and the United Food and Commercial Workers came to an agreement on a new five-year contract that the union says was overwhelmingly approved by members. A federal mediator was called in this weekend as the two sides failed to find common ground and the potential for a two state walkout rose on the horizon. The new contract covers 5,200 workers at 38 stores and includes a pay raise and an increase in company contributions to health and retirement benefits.

Good news for some Freightliner workers who were laid off from a Cleveland plant in June. The company plans to recall 650 workers and add a second shift. The workers are being called back to work on August 18, based on an increase in orders for the class of Freightliner manufactured at the plant. 1500 workers were laid off by the company in June when the second shift was eliminated.

Good news for some Freightliner workers who were laid off from a Cleveland plant in June. The company plans to recall 650 workers and add a second shift. The workers are being called back to work on August 18 based on an increase in orders for the class of Freightliner manufactured at the plant. 1500 workers were laid off by the company in June when the second shift was eliminated.

Lede: The Laborers union has launched a grassroots campaign to mobilize support for a massive investment in rebuilding the U.S. infrastructure. Doug Cunningham reports.

By Doug Cunningham

Laborers President, Terry O’Sullivan says the U.S. will fall behind economically unless we rebuild our roads, bridges, airports, and railroads. The Laborers “Petition To Rebuild America” campaign aims to get at least a million signatures supporting the huge investment needed to rebuild America’s infrastructure. O’Sullivan says current methods of financing roads, railroads, bridges and airport construction are inadequate. He says we have to change our model of financing these projects to pay for what he says are least $1.6 trillion in needed repairs. The Laborers union says doing this work will generate many good-paying jobs, while also making an investment in America’s future. To do this politically, O’Sullivan says a bipartisan movement must rally behind it. The Laborers campaign to rebuild America includes a print and broadcast media advertising effort in Washington, D.C., Denver, and other cities.

Lede: The Laborers union has launched a grassroots campaign to mobilize support for a massive investment in rebuilding the U.S. infrastructure. Doug Cunningham reports.

By Doug Cunningham

Laborers President Terry O’Sullivan says the U.S. will fall behind economically unless we rebuild our roads, bridges, airports, and railroads. The Laborers “Petition To Rebuild America” campaign aims to get at least a million signatures supporting the huge investment needed to rebuild America’s infrastructure. O’Sullivan says current methods of financing roads, railroads, bridge and airport construction are inadequate. He says we have to change our model of financing these projects to pay for what he says are least $1.6 trillion in needed repairs. The Laborers union says doing this work will generate many good-paying jobs while making an investment in America’s future. To do this politically, O’Sullivan says a bipartisan movement must rally behind it. The Laborers campaign to rebuild America includes a print and broadcast media advertising effort in Washington, D.C., Denver and other cities.

Another day of protests in California by state workers who watched as the Governor cut their pay down to the federal minimum last week, in what he says is an attempt to save money as a budget stalemate continues in the state legislature, but critics say is a political stunt that takes workers’ pay hostage. On Monday, State Controller John Chiang, who last week vowed to defy Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s executive order, said that it will take six months to adjust the state’s computer system to start paying workers a minimum wage. He told the Sacramento Bee that adjusting the system could result in pay discrepancies that could eventually lead to lawsuits.

Another day of protests in California as state workers who watched as the Governor cut their pay down to the federal minimum, in what he says is an attempt to save money as a budget stalemate continues in the state legislature, but critics say is a political stunt that takes worker pay hostage. On Monday, State Controller John Chiang who last week vowed to defy Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger executive order, said that it will take six months to adjust the state’s computer system to start paying workers a minimum wage. He told the Sacramento Bee that adjusting the system could result in pay discrepancies that could eventually lead to lawsuits.

The AFL-CIO Executive Council kicks off its summer meeting tomorrow in Chicago with Election Day, Nov. 4, at the top of the agenda. The labor leaders will spend a large portion of the two-day meeting finalizing the strategy and details for the last 90 days of Labor 2008, the union movement’s largest voter mobilization ever.

Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Ted Kennedy Jr.—standing in for his father Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) who is undergoing cancer treatment—will be in Chicago to address the council tomorrow. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), endorsed by the AFL-CIO and backed by labor, will speak to the council via teleconference.