Two weeks ago, on Tuesday, March 11, a group of nearly thirty bus drivers for Wave Transit System rallied in the form of what’s called a “sick out,” protesting major concerns they have had regarding the company’s non-cooperation at the negotiating table and overall poor treatment of drivers. Antonie Maiben, who is President of the…
Author: Joe Harrison
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VW Chattanooga Worker: “They wanted us to take away our right to strike over grievances. We’re not going to do that.”
I’m being paid about half of what I’m worth. All of us are. So when the company complains about how this contract may double their labor costs, well that’s only because they’ve been cheating us out of half of what we’re owed anyway. Robert Soderstrom works in the body shop of the Volkswagen plant in…
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Ultium Workers WON BIG with Their New UAW Contract
Workers at Ultium Cells, based in Spring Hill, Tennessee, have won big. Chuck Davenport, Servicing Representative for UAW Region 8, joined us on this past Saturday’s broadcast to talk about the huge victory. But before detailing the gains, it’s important to explain what exactly the workers were fighting against, and Davenport was able to set…
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Federal Worker: ‘The attack on the federal workforce is not really about government efficiency, it’s really about remaking the civil service in the image of the Billionaire Class.’
“The attack on the federal workforce is not really about the federal workforce, it’s not really about ‘government efficiency,’ it’s really about remaking the civil service, eliminating large parts of the civil service, in the image of the Billionaire Class.” This was the opening response by Chris Dols when he joined us for an interview…
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Policy Expert Explains What’s in Store for Alabama with Federal Cuts
“Everyone listening, every voter in the country really needs to know that the House Republican budget that was presented this week basically is a ‘Billionaire’s First’ budget.” Robyn Hyden is the Executive Director of Alabama Arise, and this was her immediate response on last Saturday’s live broadcast of The Valley Labor Report when asked what…
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Why Kentucky Beat Back a Favorite MAGA Policy
Jason Bailey is just one among a majority of Kentuckians celebrating the recent defeat of a Republican-backed bill in the state that would have introduced a school voucher program — a move Republican lawmakers across the United States have been aggressively pushing for in recent years. Bailey is not only celebrating, but was also directly…
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Railroad Workers Lament the Crack Up of Rail Labor Coordination in Bargaining
“I have to say: this is the most convoluted, dysfunctional negotiating debacle situation I have ever seen, nothing even comes close.” Mark Burrows, a retired rail worker who worked in the industry for 37 years and also served as the Organizer and Co-Chair for Railroad Workers United (RWU), is just one of many expressing their…
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Last Week in Southern Labor: 5/3 – 5/10
Here’s what workers in the US South and the colonies were up to from May 3rd to May 10th New Campaigns Campaign Updates Mercedes replaced their CEO ahead of the union election, in a bid to follow Governor Ivey’s new tact of playing nice. Meanwhile “Pastor” Matthew Wilson, Tuscaloosa city councilor, is apparently being asked…
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Boss Watch: 4/26 – 5/3
Illegal activities of Southern Bosses for the weeks between Friday, April 26 and Friday, May 3 South Carolina Killers A major East Coast ship repair and servicing company’s failure to make safety its #1 priority, a promise made on its website, has led to another employee fatality — the fourth in five years — a…
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Rank-and-File Teamsters React to State of UPS Contract Negotiations
It’s been an eventful several weeks for both UPS and the Teamsters union as the two entities have been embroiled in a showdown over contract negotiations, with the current contract set to expire by the end of the month, now only a handful of days away. As we reported last week, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien…
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Federal Government Finally Moves to Combat Skyrocketing Black Lung Cases Among Coal Miners
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,…