UE NEWS Updates

The American Rescue Plan Act, Bernie Sanders Chief of Staff Misty Rebik told delegates, is “one of the most significant pieces of legislation to happen for the working class in this country” in decades. “And that is because of you,” she added. “That is because of people like you who have been organizing day in and day out for decades now, demanding that we have a government for the people.”

Although their ability to negotiate contracts has been severely limited by anti-union legislation, the members of UE Local 896-COGS are still engaging in aggressive struggle to improve the lives of the 2,000 graduate employees at the University of Iowa. The Local 896’s executive board “has really been ... racking our brains” said Local 896 President John Jepsen, trying to figure out “if we can't get power at the bargaining table, because of the laws in Iowa, where do we get power? The answer of course is membership and organizing.”

UE joins Kilusang Mayo Uno, the independent and democratic labor center in the Philippines, in condemning the murder of KMU National Council member Dandy Miguel and the illegal arrest of KMU National Council member Florentino “Pol” Viuya.

Over the past year, workers in Canada have felt much of the same effects as workers across the world. At first, initial enthusiasm for the contribution of essential workers was applauded and then their pandemic pay was cut. Front-line staff engaged in the fight for adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), sometimes facing employers who deliberately prevented workers from accessing life-saving PPE. After the initial wave of layoffs related to COVID-19 shut downs, many workers are back to work with heightened health and safety protocols. However, many workers, including those in the airlines, hospitality, and gaming sectors, are still largely out of work. Others, including in aerospace, are watching layoffs mount. A year into the pandemic, Canadian workers continue to fight for sector-based relief packages and expanded workers’ rights.