UE NEWS Updates

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Local 150 Leader Receives Human Rights Award

November 2, 2023

Angaza Laughinghouse, a founding member and three-term president of UE Local 150, received the Discount Foundation’s 8th Annual Legacy Award at the 2023 Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Celebration, held last night by Jobs with Justice. In his acceptance speech, he spoke about fighting for justice in North Carolina. He also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Unified Local 684 Membership Makes “Huge Strides” in Wages and Benefits

November 2, 2023

With one hour to spare before the expiration of their collective bargaining agreement, the Local 684 negotiating committee reached a tentative agreement with their employer on October 4. Two days before the contract expired, Local 684 members voted overwhelmingly to strike if the negotiating committee could not reach a tentative agreement before the contract’s expiration. The new contract, which was ratified by Local 684 members on October 12, includes some of the largest wage increases the local has ever negotiated.

$6/Hour Increase for Nursing Staff in Local 278 Reopener

October 30, 2023

Licensed nursing assistants and medication nursing assistants at the Grafton County Nursing Home will see a $6 per hour increase to their wages thanks to a reopener negotiated by Local 278 in September, which establishes a new Licensed Nursing Staff Wage Chart. All other workers covered by the contract will receive a $2 per hour increase, and shift differentials will increase by $1 per hour, to $2.75 for evening and weekend shifts and $3.75 for night shifts.

New 625 Contract Advances Living Standards

October 27, 2023

On August 29, UE Local 625, whose members build high-quality circuit breakers and high-voltage equipment, ratified a new one-year contract. The agreement includes a six percent general wage increase and a freeze on healthcare costs. It also eliminates one step of the contract’s wage progression, meaning that newer hires will now make it to the top rate one year sooner. Members also received a $500 bonus.

Library Workers Extend Contract

October 27, 2023

Members of UE Local 155 who work for the Passaic Free Public Library have extended their contract for two years, through June 2025. Workers will receive a three percent wage increase each of the two years, and Juneteenth was added as a new holiday. Current employees will maintain the same plans, options, and reimbursement rates for health insurance.

The Local 155 Passaic Library negotiating committees consisted of Stephanie Fernandez and Dawn Rodriguez. They were assisted by International Representative Tara McCauley.

78th Convention Celebrates Strike Power

October 8, 2023

From September 17-21, nearly 200 delegates, guests, and staff gathered at the Wyndham Grand Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh for UE’s 78th Convention. Held under the theme of “Building Strike Power,” the convention celebrated UE’s many victories over the past two years.

Many of those victories illustrated the importance of the convention theme: the successful ten-week strike by members of UE Locals 506 and 618 that concluded in August, the six-day “stand down” by city workers in Durham, North Carolina at the beginning of September, and the first contract won by UE Local 256 (MIT-GSU) the week before convention, won after MIT graduate workers demonstrated their willingness to strike to achieve a first contract that met their demands.

International Guests: “Our solidarity is without borders”

October 8, 2023

On Tuesday afternoon, convention delegates were joined by international guests from Japan, Mexico, and Quebec. Takeshi Takeshita and Keisuke Fuse, both deputy secretaries-general of Japan’s militant labor federation Zenroren, described the “long history of friendship and solidarity” between Zenroren and UE. That history included Zenroren taking action to put pressure on Japanese multinationals such as Kobe Steel and Hishi Plastics when their workers in the U.S. sought to join UE.

Ten-Week Strike Wins Improved Contract at Wabtec

October 7, 2023

After ten weeks of a hard-fought battle on seven different picket lines and at other locations in Erie and around the country, the 1,400 members of Locals 506 and 618 forced Wabtec to improve the contract offer that the members had overwhelmingly rejected on June 22. The UE members voted on August 31 to accept a tentative agreement that was reached between the parties the previous week, ending their strike.

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