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Local and National Union News
A message from the Passenger Transportation Division
July 2, 2020 | Many of you employed by school districts are hopefully just beginning to enjoy your summer as coronavirus transmissions begin to subside in many parts of the country. For those of you employed in public transit, paratransit and other sectors of passenger transportation, many of you never stopped working, and your country owes you a great debt of gratitude for your continued service during the COVID-19 pandemic. With that in mind, I’d like to keep you abreast of what your union has been doing. School bus and transit workers have been organizing and winning elections in spite of the pandemic… Continue reading here.
Older news stories can be found at Local News
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 July 14, 2020 | COVID-19 | Randi Weingarten, president of the prominent American Federation of Teachers (AFT) union, said there’s “no way” schools will reopen full-time in the fall, citing lack of funding. Weingarten said that schools would need massive funding in order to safely continue operating under public health standards. The School Superintendents Association estimated necessary protective measures in schools would cost an average of about $1.8 million per school district. The Trump administration has been adamant about reopening schools in the fall, though officials have not indicated that they will provide schools any funding to comply with new federal health guidelines…. The Hill Related: Here’s how Maryland’s jurisdictions are planning for the fall amid the coronavirus pandemic; Maryland teachers unions called on state officials Tuesday to start the academic year in an online-only setting as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
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July 13, 2020 | NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT | Despite President Trump’s talk of “law and order” during a spring of pandemic and civil uprisings, U.S. labor relations suffer from such widespread lawlessness committed by unrepentant employers that labor law reform is desperately needed to maintain order. About 30% of Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges analyzed by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) were about employer improper surveillance, harassment or threats against workers. Some 30% involved allegations of illegal discipline, with one in five elections affected by charges of illegally firing workers for supporting unionization. … Reuters
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 July 9, 2020 | NATIONAL STRIKE | A national coalition of labor unions, along with racial and social justice organizations, will stage a mass walkout from work this month, as part of an ongoing reckoning on systemic racism and police brutality in the U.S. Dubbed the “Strike for Black Lives,” tens of thousands of fast food, ride-share, nursing home and airport workers in more than 25 cities are expected to walk off the job July 20 for a full-day strike. Those who can’t strike for a full day will walk out for about eight minutes — the amount of time prosecutors say a white Minneapolis police officer held his knee on George Floyd’s neck — in remembrance. The national strike will also include worker-led marches through participating cities, organizers said Wednesday. The service workers union has partnered with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the American Federation of Teachers, United Farm Workers and the Fight for $15 and a Union. Social and racial justice groups taking part include March On, the Center for Popular Democracy, the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of over 150 organizations that make up the Black Lives Matter movement… Associated Press
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July 7, 2020 | JOBS | The pandemic has claimed nearly 15 million U.S. jobs. Meanwhile, high flying financial traders are making a killing off the market volatility caused by the crisis. A new House bill would tax Wall Street windfalls to guarantee good jobs for people in high unemployment areas. The Workforce Promotion and Access Act would ensure employment in jobs that pay at least $15 per hour with benefits and address local needs, such as childcare, eldercare, and infrastructure. “Working people who stand up to corporate bosses and get fired as a result face loss of income, loss of housing, loss of medical care, and food insecurity,” Erica Smiley, Executive Director for Jobs with Justice, said in a press release. “The Workforce Promotion and Access Act blunts the threat of firing and allows working people to demand a role in our economic system.”… Truthout
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• Teamsters hail passage of Moving Forward Act
