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This week in labor

www.upwiththeworkers.org

This week in labor

A few nuggets of labor news for you as we wrap up the week.

Amie Stager
Sep 11, 2021
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This week in labor

www.upwiththeworkers.org

Ahead of Labor Day weekend, this Gallup poll showed us that 68% of Americans approve of labor unions. 🎉

a green line graph on a light green background shows that Americans' Approval of Labor Unions, from 1936-2021 stays mostly in the majority and ends up at 68% in 2021

The “most pro-union, pro-worker” administration

Check out President Biden’s speech on workers and workers rights. AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh made remarks before introducing pharmacy technician and UFCW Local 99 member Jocelyn Cruces. Cruces spoke about being an essential worker, contracting COVID-19, and educating her community in Arizona. Secretary Walsh also mentioned inducting essential workers of COVID-19 into the Department of Labor’s Hall of Honor.

a screenshot of Joe Biden at a presidential podium in front of a US flag and Washington, D.C., flag speaking into a microphone
“Everyone’s entitled to be treated with dignity. And that’s what labor unions are all about: dignity.” He said one way we can solve global warming is by creating jobs.

Vaccine mandates for big employers

President Biden also announced a new plan to get people vaccinated against COVID-19. Part of this plan is a vaccine mandate for businesses with more than 100 workers, which means two-thirds of the workforce, or hundreds of millions of people. Large businesses will have to require their employees to get vaccinated, giving them paid time off to receive vaccines, or require them to get tested weekly under an emergency temporary standard enacted by OSHA.


❤️ Remembering restaurant workers on 9/11

Today is the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. ROC-United hosted a briefing where survivors who worked at Windows of the World shared their stories. Dr. Sekou Siby, president and CEO of ROC-United and a former worker at Windows of the World, talked about founding the organization in the aftermath of the tragedy. He also talked about what the 9/11 memorial is like for him as a survivor. “For most people, it’s a memorial site...for me, each name has a story that I remember, and it is vivid.”


Workers voice support for public safety charter amendment in Minneapolis

a group of people wearing masks and holding signs and fists up in front of beige/red city hall building steps
Local members of UNITE HERE!, CWA, MFT, ROC-United, SEIU and AFSCME were present.

Workers from unions and worker centers in the Twin Cities gathered Friday morning for a press conference on the steps of Minneapolis city hall in support of the Yes 4 Minneapolis coalition. The coalition is urging Minneapolis residents to vote ‘yes’ on Question 2 on their ballots to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a Department of Public Safety. 

Twitter avatar for @SEIU26
SEIU Local 26 @SEIU26
Watch MPLS voters & union members like Local 26 mbr Frank, along w/members from multiple other unions & worker centers, speaking out today why working families are ready to vote YES on Question 2 to say @Yes4Minneapolis to new Dept of Public Safety! Live: facebook.com/seiu26/videos/…
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4:25 PM ∙ Sep 10, 2021
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Lexi Collins, a Black woman wearing a purple and black windbreaker and purple and yellow headscarf addresses a crowd in front of a group of people
Collins and other workers are asking for more resources for mental health in their community. Photo courtesy of Isabela Escalona/CTUL

Lexi Collins, a board member of CTUL and a manager at a Holiday gas station in St. Louis Park, spoke with me about public safety in the workplace, and growing up on the North Side of Minneapolis. Collins has called the police a couple times at work in situations where mental health was a factor. “The St. Louis police are kind of nicer than Minneapolis, for one instance...a cop pulled out his guns and a Black officer was like ‘you have to look at the fact he’s dealing with mental health,’” said Collins. “We have a lot of customers that are not meaning to be rough but...if they’re going through substance abuse, I tend not to call the police a lot just because I fear for my community. Police are not trained to deal with them. Even though they’re on drugs, their lives still matter.”


The entrance to the Hennepin County Public Safety facility, a beige brutalist building with skinny windows and metal bars
The building for the Department of Public Safety is currently surrounded by chain link fences.

Question: what does public safety mean to you?

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Before you go: “The FairVote Five” got their jobs back, and FairVote MN publicly apologized for firing them. Audra Waylett, whom I spoke to this summer, told me she decided to pursue a position as a labor representative with a union. Congrats to the workers and their union for helping keep their employer accountable and transparent.

Twitter avatar for @fvmnunion
FairVote MN Union @fvmnunion
Thank you supporters of union workers at FairVote Minnesota Union. We are jointly announcing the recall of union positions. Read more here: fairvotemn.org/2021/09/03/fai…
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3:21 PM ∙ Sep 3, 2021
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“The psyche knows we are not capable of handling grief in isolation.” We are each other’s harvest.

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This week in labor

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