resident Biden has long touted his CHIPS Act as being a “masterpiece” that would give the economy and the working class a much needed boost. But, unfortunately, we are finding that it ultimately isn’t doing enough to help workers; on the contrary, in some ways it is actually hurting Labor rather than helping it. In…
Last Week in Southern Labor
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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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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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7 Years Later, Hyundai Supplier is Penalized for a Workers Death
midst allegations of child labor, mismanagement, and racism, Hyundai’s supply chain in Alabama just can’t seem to “catch a break” as they are now facing penalization for the death of a worker on the shop floor. But to demonstrate just how much employers can get away with, this citation comes 7 years after the death…
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What 42,000 Disney Workers Won in their Tentative Agreement
hortly after rallying together to reject their employer’s so-called “best offer” (estimates are that the offer was rejected by 96%) Disney workers have won big in a new tentative agreement, marking a victory for the labor movement in an anti-union state (Florida). McKenna Schueler, Florida-based freelance journalist and reporter for Orlando Weekly joined Jacob on…
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“66 People Have Died in Alabama Prisons Since We Last Spoke” – Alabama Reporter on the State’s Prisons
t is fairly common knowledge by this point that Alabama’s prison system is among the worst in the country, not only in terms of mass incarceration and stringent parole rates, but also the horrific and even lethal conditions of the prison facilities themselves. Journalist John H. Glenn joined The Valley Labor Report last week to…
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Alabama Politicians Want to MICROCHIP Parolees
his strange move to consider microchipping parolees was kicked off by representative Prince Chestnut, a democrat, proposing a bill with some urgency before the legislative session began, during a house judiciary committee meeting on March 22. The bill was to ban microchipping of employees by employers within the state. At face value, this doesn’t seem like…
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Why did Huntsville school bus drivers unionize?
e broke the news a couple weeks ago that Huntsville City School bus drivers are unionizing with the Teamsters; their organizing comes after a vote among the drivers that led to a blowout of 131 yes to 6 no. While the fact that they are unionizing is important in itself, it’s just as important to…
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“Not what I would call bold:” Analysis of the Alabama House Democrats Legislative Agenda
emocrats in the Alabama House of Representatives held a press conference on March 6, when they unveiled their legislative agenda. The AL House Democratic Caucus is calling their legislative agenda the “Plan for Prosperity” and if they said it once, they said it 100 times that it is a “pro-growth” agenda. If you read the…
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“I haven’t seen much of it:” Executive Director of Alabama Arise Skeptical of School Privatization Passing
here has been a lot of talk about “school privatization” in recent years as certain politicians seem to be amping up attempts to push U.S. education in that direction, but it is a wildly unpopular concept, as far as teachers and student-parents are concerned. This resistance, however, has not stopped or even slowed down attempts…
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Jobs to Move America’s New Report on Manufacturing Job Quality in Alabama and Mississippi
obs To Move America, a “strategic policy center that works to transform public spending and corporate behavior” (according to their website), recently put out an in-depth report on job quality at manufacturing facilities in Alabama and Mississippi. And not only did this report find that job quality is poor, but work-life balance is also virtually…