After years of workers, labor activists, journalists, and unions campaigning to raise awareness, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has proposed a federal amendment that would greatly improve overall safety and protections for mineworkers particularly in relation to Black Lung disease, an often fatal affliction that hits miners who have been exposed to respirable…
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Railroad Workers Challenge Union Leadership, Recount Underway
Back in April, The Valley Labor Report hosts Jacob Morrison and Adam Keller had the opportunity to interview two railroad union candidates seeking to challenge the current leadership in an upcoming election; both running for different leadership positions in the International Association of Machinists (IAM) District Lodge 19, which is devoted to the rail workers,…
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Negotiations resume after Teamsters make major announcements on UPS over weekend, only to fall apart again on the deadline
The conflict between UPS Corporate and UPS workers who are members of the Teamsters Union has been in the spotlight for the last few weeks as tensions continued to rise with no relief in sight, ultimately prompting the Teamsters to greenlight the use of a strike in the event that corporate did not come to…
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NLRB Confirms Warrior Met Broke the Law – So What?
The historic nearly two-year coal miner strike that took place in Brookwood, Alabama, between 2021 and 2023 may be in the “rearview mirror,” but the overall fight between the company and its workers is far from over, with Warrior Met engaging in retaliatory actions against targeted workers who were involved in the strike, even after…
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Breaking Down the Aerojet Union Loss in Huntsville
MADISON COUNTY, Alabama — We reported last week that workers at the Aerojet Rocketdyne facility here in Huntsville were gearing up for a union election, with supporters hopeful that they would secure a victory and organize with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW). However, they were met with an unpleasant shock when…
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Why Huntsville Workers Want to Unionize Aerojet Rocketdyne
MADISON COUNTY, Alabama — Workers at the Aerojet Rocketdyne facility in Huntsville, Alabama, have made an important decision to unionize, and after putting in their petition, an election will be held on Wednesday, June 28, during which workers will vote on whether or not to organize. As per the “About Us” on their website, “Aerojet…
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‘Totally unnecessary political theater’: The Debt Limit is unconstitutional
Over this past weekend, President Joe Biden finalized the debt limit deal by signing a bill that suspends the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, avoiding what could have been a historic catastrophe had a default occurred within just two days. The end of this “debt limit showdown” comes after weeks of the Republican Party effectively…
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Debt Limit Charades: Republicans’ “fluff-cutting” will leave hundreds of thousands of American families cut off and helpless
For the last several weeks, the Nation has been fixated on one particular issue that has covered headlines and news tickers and dominated media discussions: the debt limit. Once again, we Americans found ourselves wondering: Is this it? Is America finally about to crash and burn? I think most of us have probably lost count…
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How does Alabama choose textbooks? Slowly
Alabama may be a conservative state. But conservative activists still insist the textbooks here are too left-wing. Earlier this year, the State Board of Education approved English Language Arts textbooks for kindergarten through third grade after a public hearing where critics suggested the books had too much Black history and multicultural stories. These books had…
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DOL report finds that disability accommodations have high impact for workers with disability at virtually no cost to employers
The U.S. Department of Labor recently put out a report detailing how they found that nearly half of accommodations for disabled workers have no cost… and yet a very high impact (that is, when employers actually accommodate). The department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy published this report via their Job Accommodation Network (JAN) service, titled…
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What passed in the Alabama Legislature: May 23-25, 2023
Here’s a round-up of the bills that passed the Alabama Legislature this week. Tuesday, May 23 Senate SB304, sponsored by Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, establishes minimum qualifications for the Hale County sheriff. It passed 32-0 and went to the House of Representatives, which passed it on Thursday. SB 305, sponsored by Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro,…
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Republicans LOVE Big Government, As Long As It Doesn’t Help Workers
Within the last year, Florida has quickly become a veritable political battleground as Governor Ron DeSantis has been on a roll trying to legislatively force the state into becoming something of an “Anti-Woke Fortress.” From tightening restrictions on education to stop Progressives from “brainwashing” kids, to attacking workers unions and making it more difficult for workers to…