#unions
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Paul Blest at More Perfect Union:
Thousands of workers at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers, defying an all-out union-busting effort from the state’s political leaders and marking a key victory for the United Auto Workers in their renewed effort to organize the South and non-union plants.
Unofficial results tallied Friday showed that after three days of voting, more than two-thirds of workers voted to join the UAW. The win in Chattanooga is the first successful attempt to organize a non-union automaker in decades and comes after multiple failed attempts to organize the plant, including in 2014 and 2019. More than 4,300 workers were eligible to vote this week.
“I can't explain it. It's not like the first times,” Renee Berry, who has worked at the Chattanooga plant for 14 years and through two prior facility-wide votes, told us in the lead-up to the election. “The first few times was hell…now it's like we can roll our shoulders back, because we got it.”
Volkswagen is the world’s largest auto company by revenue, and until today, every one of its plants around the globe has been unionized except for one.
"This is going to be in history books down the road. This is huge—forever huge,” Robert Soderstrom, a worker at the plant, told More Perfect Union. “People recognize for the first time in a long time, on a mass scale, that there's got to be some changes. And some of the power and stuff that's gone to the corporate world needs to come back to us little guys.”
The victory in Tennessee continues a winning streak for the UAW, which negotiated record contracts at the Detroit Three of Ford, GM, and Stellantis last year following a lengthy “stand-up” strike. After passing the contracts, UAW President Shawn Fain announced a $40 million effort to organize non-union U.S. plants, largely based in right-to-work states like Tennessee and owned by auto companies based in Europe, Japan, and South Korea, as well as EV manufacturers like Tesla and Rivian.
Since launching that new effort, more than 10,000 autoworkers around the country have signed union cards, according to the UAW. Earlier this month, workers at a Mercedes plant in Vance, Alabama became the second group to file for an election, which will be held from May 13 to 17. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and the state Chamber of Commerce have forcefully opposed the unionization effort, claiming it would hurt Alabama autoworkers—who, even before the pandemic, were making less than they did in 2002 when adjusted for inflation.
The same dynamic has played out in Tennessee. Gov. Bill Lee, who denounced the last unsuccessful union campaign in 2019, said it would be a “mistake” for workers at the Chattanooga plant to unionize and boasted about the state’s “right-to-work” law.
🚨🚨 BREAKING:🚨🚨 Workers at the Volkswagen (VW) plant in Chattanooga have voted yes to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) after 2 failed attempts in 2014 and 2019. #UAW #VWChattanooga #1u
#Unionizaion#Unions#Labor#Labor Unions#Workers' Rights#VW Chattanooga#Chattanooga Tennessee#US News#Chattanooga#UAW#United Auto Workers#Volkswagen#VW#UAW Strike
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SOLIDARITY ALERT:
Sesame Workshop writers
Writers at Sesame Workshop are on the verge of a strike.
These writers are fighting for a contract with industry-standard annual raises, improvements to residuals and coverage of all writing work performed for Sesame Workshop—including animation and social media segments.
Their current contract expires this Friday, April 19.
GO HERE TO SUBMIT A (pre-drafted, editable) LETTER OF SUPPORT 👇👇👇👇👇
If the company continues to refuse to engage on core issues and a deal can’t be reached by that deadline, Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) members at Sesame Workshop have unanimously voted to authorize a strike.
Your support will ensure that the negotiating committee has the leverage they need to make the strongest possible deal before their contract expires on Friday—or to have the WGAE Council and WGAW Board call for a strike if the company is still unwilling to meet its workers' reasonable demands.
source: AFL-CIO email newsletter
#strike#writers guild of america#labor#labor rights#aflcio#unions#unionize#workers rights#union#collective bargaining#sesame street#public broadcasting#creators on strike#oscar the grouch#big bird#bert#ernie#elmo
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NEW UNION JUST DROPPED
LET'S GOOOOOOO
#original post#marvel#mcu#hot labor summer#vfx#unions#wga strike#sag aftra strike#writers strike#actors strike
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July 25, 2023 - Striking stuntman Mike Massa walks in the SAG-AFTRA picket line while on fire. [video]
#sag aftra#strike#actor's strike#writer's strike#industrial action#workers#workers struggle#picket line#gif#2023#stuntman#unions#screen actors guild#usa
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UPS has reached an agreement with the Teamsters union to equip its iconic brown delivery trucks with air conditioning for the first time for new units.
The agreement, announced by UPS on Tuesday, comes as the delivery giant and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters negotiate the terms of a new contract for more than 330,000 U.S. employees. (source)
Unions work, unionize.
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I spoke to my dad who's been on strike a few hours ago, and he said this is absolutely true. The studios were still hoping they could starve out the writers, and didn't expect the general public to be so strongly on the union's side still 5 months in.
He's lived through four WGA strikes, and he says the energy and solidarity he's seen both inside and outside the union has been far beyond what has ever been present before. The internet ate Drew Barrymore alive for scabbing, and within days the studios were back at the negotiating table giving in to almost every demand.
Thanks guys. This really was a team effort ❤️❤️ #eatthefuckingrich
#gingerswagfreckles#wga#wga strike#wga strong#writer's strike#sag#sag aftra#sag strike#sag strong#sag afra strike#drew barrymore#unions#do the write thing
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youtube
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Source
Need more headlines like this
#politics#us politics#government#the left#workers#workers rights#unions#unionize#working class#solidarity
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join a union
the power of collection action
#tiktok#Adam Conover#collective action#union workers#labor unions#unions#protest#labor vs capital#labor rights#capital vs labor#labor movements#labor movement#workers rights#workers vs capital#workers#writers strike
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just in case anyone missed this in the news or maybe not in the loop, Disney is currently refusing to meet with or acknowledge the newly formed animation production workers union that just voted to join IASTE and become an official part of TAG, the animators and animation artists guild
production workers across all studios are currently voting to be recognized for their hard work and invaluable skill at keeping these productions running, but studios are refusing to meet with them to let them negotiate deals or even exist
as someone who works in animation as a designer i know i wouldn't be able to do my job at all without any of my production workers. they are the incredibly hard working people who oversee pretty much everything in animation. they make sure everything is running on time, that schedules are being followed, they have to know pretty much every single word of the scripts and beats from the storyboards to make sure nothing is missed, and most importantly, they make sure artists are being taken care of and not overworked. they really are the unsung heroes of the animation world
production workers are also by far the most exploited workers in animation currently. they make about a fraction of what artists make for just as much work put in, and currently have no agreement for health coverage or other benefits that artists protected by the union are guaranteed
BUT! there is some good news. right now there's a petition on IATSE's website that has over 80,000 signatures currently addressed to disney leadership to do the right thing and meet with this new union and recognized their vote to form. it still needs roughly 21,000 signatures and only takes a minute to sign! anyone with a zip or postal code can sign, meaning both US and Canadian residents can sign and help this union get the deal it deserves!!
#unions#IATSE strike#strikes#union strong#the animation guild#sag aftra#animation news#figured i would make this a sperate post just to try and reach more people! please consider signing!!#hot strike summer
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Hi- er, this is my first-ever writer's strike, how does one not cross a picket line in this context? I know how not to do it with things like Amazon and IRL strikes, but how does it apply to media/streaming?
Hi, this is a great question, because it allows me to write about the difference between honoring a picket line and a boycott. (This is reminding me of the labor history podcast project that's lain fallow in my drafts folder for some time now...) In its simplest formulation, the difference between a picket line and a boycott is that a picket line targets an employer at the point of production (which involves us as workers), whereas a boycott targets an employer at the point of consumption (which involves us as consumers).
So in the case of the WGA strike, this means that at any company that is being struck by the WGA - I've seen Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Warner Brothers Discovery, NBC, Paramount, and Sony mentioned, but there may be more (check the WGA website and social media for a comprehensive list) - you do not cross a picket line, whether physical or virtual. This means you do not take a meeting with them, even if its a pre-existing project, you do not take phone calls or texts or emails or Slacks from their executives, you do not pitch them on a spec script you've written, and most of all you do not answer any job application.
Because if this strike is like any strike since the dawn of time, you will see the employers put out ads for short-term contracts that will be very lucrative, generally above union scale - because what they're paying for in addition to your labor is you breaking the picket line and damaging the strike - to anyone willing to scab against their fellow workers. GIven that one of the main issues of the WGA are the proliferation of short-term "mini rooms" whereby employers are hiring teams of writers to work overtime for a very short period, to the point where they can only really do the basics (a series outline, some "broken stories," and some scripts) and then have the showrunner redo everything on their lonesome, while not paying writers long-term pay and benefits, I would imagine we're going to see a lot of scab contracts being offered for these mini rooms.
But for most of us, unless we're actively working as writers in Hollywood, most of that isn't going to be particularly relevant to our day-to-day working lives. If you're not a professional or aspiring Hollywood writer, the important thing to remember honoring the picket line doesn't mean the same thing as a boycott. WGA West hasn't called on anyone to stop going to the movies or watching tv/streaming or to cancel their streaming subscriptions or anything like that. If and when that happens, WGA will go to some lengths to publicize that ask - and you should absolutely honor it if you can - so there will be little in the way of ambiguity as to what's going on.
That being said, one of the things that has happened in the past in other strikes is that well-intentioned people get it into their heads to essentially declare wildcat (i.e, unofficial and unsanctioned) boycotts. This kind of stuff comes from a good place, someone wanting to do more to support the cause and wanting to avoid morally contaminating themselves by associating with a struck company, but it can have negative effects on the workers and their unions. Wildcat boycotts can harm workers by reducing back-end pay and benefits they get from shows if that stuff is tied to the show's performance, and wildcat boycotts can hurt unions by damaging negotiations with employers that may or may not be going on.
The important thing to remember with all of this is that the strike is about them, not us. Part of being a good ally is remembering to let the workers' voices be heard first and prioritizing being a good listener and following their lead, rather than prioritizing our feelings.
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Saw this and went to check because it had no source, it's legit
BASED ITALY ✊🇵🇸
UNIONS BEING BAD ASS AGAIN ✊
Source: @LowkeyØnline @PoliticsJOE_UK on Twitter
#free gaza#gaza strip#irish solidarity with palestine#free palestine#palestine#gaza#news on gaza#al jazeera#boycott israel#israel#Italy#Italian Solidarity with Palestine#SI Cobas#UNIONS
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December 7, 2023 - Hundreds of UK union workers blockaded companies who sell weapons or parts for fighter jets that Israel uses for its genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people. Four factories were blockaded in Bournemouth, Lancashire, Brighton and Glasgow.
Palestinian unions have asked for union workers across the world to use their power to show solidarity with the Palestinian people. Dock workers have recenty heeded this call for solidarity by blocking Israeli weapons shipments in several countries, inculding South Africa, Greece, Turkey, Belgium, and Italy. [video]
#solidarity#unions#palestine#free palestine#blockade#workers#working class#industrial action#gif#occupation#apartheid#anti-colonialism#2023#dockworkers#uk#factory#working clas#gaza
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