ov. Kay Ivey Friday forced Secretary of Early Childhood Education Barbara Cooper to resign over a book designed to train teachers to be aware of the different backgrounds and challenges of their students. In a Friday afternoon news release, Gina Maiola, communications director for the governor’s office, said Ivey had accepted Cooper’s resignation after learning…
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What did Kentucky Teamsters Win After Their Sysco Strike?
eamsters Local 89 Sysco drivers voted overwhelmingly in support of ratifying a new offer from the company, concluding a strike that lasted nearly two weeks. The drivers had joined the Teamsters in 2022 due to issues involving wages, benefits, workplace safety, and destructively long work shifts, and since organizing there’s been a bit of back-and-forth…
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Union Leaders Respond to Tennessee Expulsions
ales of the “Tennessee Three” have been splashed across headlines over the last couple of weeks as the controversy unfolded following a horrific shooting in Nashville, which sparked a large protest against gun violence and calling for gun control. Three Tennessee legislators, two black men (Justin Jones and Justin Pearson) and one white woman (Gloria…
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The Valley Labor Report Visits Birmingham
n Sunday, April 16th, supporters gathered at CWA 3902’s hall in Birmingham for a special live presentation of The Valley Labor Report. The fundraiser was hosted by the Youth Caucus of the Alabama Democratic Party State Executive Committee. It was a fun afternoon and we truly appreciate Haley and Josh from the Youth Caucus for…
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In Their Own Words, Why Rail Workers Are Running for Leadership in their Union
hat was my catalyst; for me, that moment was water boiling right out of the pot. It was the breaking point.” This statement was made by Reece Murtagh, a railroad worker who is currently running for election as a leader in IAMAW District Lodge 19. And the “catalyst” he is referring to is the series…
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Will Workers be on the Boards in Michigan Companies?
e previously reported on some of the major victories for the labor movement taking place in the State of Michigan, and we learned a lot about what has happened from Democrat State Representative Joey Andrews during his interview on The Valley Labor Report. But now we want to look beyond “what has happened?” to “what…
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AFGE Announces New Tentative Agreement with the VA, Largest Public Sector Contract in the Country
t cannot be overstated how crucial Veterans Affairs (VA) has been and continues to be to effectively caring for the people who serve the United States of America, and they have been through hell and highwater in the last couple years as everything from greedy politicians to privatization to downsizing and more has threatened the…
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The Importance of Michigan’s Repeal of “Right to Work”
everal key victories for the labor movement have occurred in the State of Michigan, including the reinstitution of prevailing wage laws and the repealing of the state’s “Right To Work” system (which Alabama currently also employs). It is well known by workers in the labor movement that “Right To Work” is fundamentally anti-worker, and effectively…
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Explained: Michigan Reinstitutes Prevailing Wage
ast month, we highlighted a conversation we had with Dr. Larissa Petrucci about a study she conducted with the Illinois Economic Policy Institute on the topic of “prevailing wage”; the research focused on the negative effects experienced by states who had dismantled their prevailing wage laws. Michigan was numbered among the states who had removed…
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A New Twist of the Knife from Warrior Met Coal
he Warrior Met Coal strike has been one of the biggest labor stories in Alabama since the miners first walked out on April 1, 2021. The strike came to a fitful end in mid-February, but negotiations between the company and the workers, who are represented by the United Mine Workers of America, have continued. The…
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Alabama Democrats eliminate youth, LGBTQ+, disabled caucuses at contentious meeting
The Alabama Democratic Party approved new bylaws Saturday that eliminated youth, LGBTQ+ and disabled caucuses and reduced the powers of others. The proposed bylaws, which passed the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) 63-49, eliminated the three caucuses because they don’t represent 15% of the executive council. The bylaws also reduced the powers of affirmative action;…
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Florida Politicians’ War on Public Sector Unions
lorida Governor Ron DeSantis has been engaging in a concerted effort to strangle the liberties of the labor movement in the Sunshine State, and those efforts only seem to be growing bigger and bolder with time, as the Right-Wing governor is taking aim at Public Sector unions in the state. “A big enemy of DeSantis…