paper mill in Canton, North Carolina is closing after 120 years, and this closure — which will result in massive amounts of working people losing their jobs — is unexpected, resulting from mismanagement, abuse, and other issues going on behind the scenes. Given that Canton is her hometown and her father was a worker at…
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Alabama Arise Previews Legislative Priorities, Legislative Action Best Practices
n March 6, Alabama Arise, a nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates for ordinary Alabamians, held a virtual meeting to cover the legislative priorities selected by its members, and educate people on the legislative process and how to bring their concerns to their legislators. Thirty-seven new legislators will be entering the state legislature this session, which they…
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Alabama lawmakers appear to accept new $1 billion price tag for Elmore County prison
everal Alabama legislators Thursday appeared resigned to a $300 million jump in the price of a prison under construction in Elmore County. The Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority (ACIFA) this week voted to increase maximum funding for the prison from $625 million to $975 million, an increase of 57% that state officials blame on inflation…
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BREAKING: Huntsville School Bus Drivers Unionize with Teamsters
n March 8, 2023, school bus drivers in Alabama’s largest city made history by unionizing with Teamsters Local 402. With a resounding 131 yes to 6 no margin of victory, the nearly 200 drivers contracted by Huntsville City Schools are now officially organized with the Teamsters. Since 2018, Apple Bus, based out of Missouri, has…
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Parents face jail when their children work illegally, but not the bosses
e tend to think of child labor as a thing of the past, a peculiarity of the early days of the Industrial Age. We call to mind black and white photographs of kids laboring in factories and warehouses, blanketed in grime and soot. The reality is that child labor is still “alive and well,” even…
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Solidarity, Not Bigotry
n state capitals across the South and around the country, reactionary legislators are targeting LGBT folks, they’re targeting women’s rights, they’re targeting intellectual freedom, and cranking out a whole slew of other backwards proposals that seem intent on making life harder for already vulnerable groups of people while increasing division within our society. As working…
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What to do if your boss calls you into the office
o you’ve been called into the boss’s office…and it ain’t to exchange pleasantries! Do you think the meeting will lead to discipline? Is this an “investigatory interview” being conducted? Are you working under a union contract? Are you a public school employee in Alabama? Or are you working in a place without any union protections?…
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The Multifront War on Public Education
r. Lois Weiner spoke with Adam Keller and Jacob Morrison on The Valley Labor Report on February 4, 2023 about the multifront war on public education. Dr. Weiner is a longtime educator, activist, and scholar. She has worked as a researcher, a teacher, and an education professor. She’s the author of regular articles and multiple…
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Second round of ARPA funds won’t address all health care, infrastructure needs in Alabama
ake no mistake: the groups expected to receive a share of Alabama’s $1 billion in COVID relief money are happy to get it. But the money won’t address all the needs they have. HB 1, which would distribute those dollars to broadband; health care, and water and sewer projects, passed the House Ways and Means…
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More Unionized Football On The Way?
rofessional spring football is heating up, with the revived XFL’s season already underway and the USFL opening its season next month. Now, XFL players seek to follow in the footsteps of their brothers in the USFL and form a union. According to a March 10 release from the United Steelworkers, XFL players “have filed a…
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How Politicians are making construction jobs lower paying and less safe
ear the beginning of the year on The Valley Labor Report, Jacob Morrison had the opportunity to sit down with representative of the NorCal Construction Industry Compliance (NCIC) organization Dr. Larissa Petrucci to discuss ‘prevailing wage,’ a topic which is often not considered too deeply by most folks but, as Dr. Petrucci made clear in…
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Climate-concerned citizens invited to free training in effective advocacy on March 11 in Madison
olunteers with the Huntsville, Alabama chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby are hosting a Climate Advocate Training Workshop to empower everyday folks to enact tangible change to reduce the heat-trapping climate pollution warming our world. The session on Saturday morning, March 11, 2023 in Madison Public Library is free and will teach citizens how to successfully…