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Welcome to The Labor Prospect, our weekly round-up highlighting the best reporting and latest developments in the labor movement.
Have ya heard the news? Apparently, the Pope is descending upon Washington, D.C. tonight. Who knew? And in anticipation of his arrival, every interest group ever is doing everything it can to tie its agenda to that of the Pontiff's.
Organized labor is no exception. Pope Francis has made the case for reducing economic inequality and reining in laissez-faire capitalism a main pillar of Church doctrine, and labor is using his visit to the nation's capital to call for a papal embrace of worker justice.
As Ned Reskinoff writes for Al-Jazeera America, hundreds of low-wage federal contract workers went on a protest strike this morning calling for higher wages and union recognition. Good Jobs Nation, the labor group leading the Capitol workers' effort, is hoping the Pope will address their plight in his speech to Congress.
On a related note, Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich, who was appointed by Pope Francis, is standing firmly by the side of organize labor in Illinois. Last week, he made a fiery pro-union speech that called out Governor Bruce Rauner's disastrous anti-worker agenda.
A Woeful Walker Walks
The most blatantly anti-worker presidential candidate in decades is dropping out of the race. With abysmal polling numbers and a crippling fundraising drought, Scott Walker has called it quits. For labor advocates, it's good riddance. Walker had released a plan to eliminate the NLRB, ban federal public sector unions, and make the U.S. a right-to-work nation last week, in a desperate bid to secure more anti-labor funding for his campaign.
As Lydia DePillis points out in the Washington Post, the Walker campaign's anti-union raison d'etre didn't strike many voters as much of a raison to support him.. "Walker's signature policy accomplishment-fighting unions-didn't resonate as much with Republican primary voters as it had with the conservative intelligentsia and Wisconsinites who voted him back in twice after he crushed government workers' ability to collectively bargain."
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who had responded to Walker's declaration of his candidacy with the simple statement, "Scott Walker is a national disgrace," confirmed his reputation for eloquence in noting Walker's withdrawal: "Scott Walker is still a disgrace, just no longer national."
Last year, Walker made Wisconsin the 25th right-to-work state in the nation. Now, Missouri's Republican legislature is trying to make the Show Me State the 26th. So far, Democratic Governor Jay Nixon has succeeded in stopping the law from passing-last week, legislators failed to overturn his veto of their RTW bill. However, Nixon is term-limited and the 2016 gubernatorial race will be wide open. Whoever is elected will likely control the fate of organized labor in the state. Get ready for a flood of Koch brothers money.
Negotiating Success?
On Sunday, Seattle teachers ratified a new contract with its school district. The agreement comes after a weeklong teacher strike. The contract highlights include a 9.5 percent raise over three years with cost-of-living adjustments and more teacher input over standardized testing.
Chrysler and the UAW are reportedly close to a new contract agreement. As the Detroit Free Press reports, the agreement would mean a raise for 40,000 autoworkers, and notably, it takes steps to reduce the gap between Tier 1 and Tier 2 workers-a contract feature that has long hurt auto unions and workers. Locals will start voting on the contract soon.
Lured by labor costs far lower than in Europe, Airbus has opened a new $600 million factory in Mobile, Alabama-a right-to-work state with low unionization. As the Prospect's Harold Meyerson wrote in our summer issue, the move is indicative of a growing number of corporations seeing the South as more of a cheap-labor haven than even China.
A new report highlights the need for a mutually beneficial relationship between the labor movement and Latino workers. While unions are starving for new members, Latino workers are disproportionately exploited on the job and would stand to gain a lot with a union and collective bargaining rights.
The Feasibility of $15
After pushing a wage board to hike New York fast food worker wages to $15, Governor Cuomo has now pledged to get the statewide minimum wage raised to $15 as well. But, as the Associated Press reports, he's already facing substantial roadblocks. He's facing stiff opposition from the Republican-controlled state senate. Cuomo had promised progressives that he'd help flip the senate to Democratic control in 2014 in exchange for their support, but he went back on that deal.
Whether Cuomo is just paying lip service to the $15 crowd while knowing full well that it could never pass so long as the GOP controls the senate remains unclear. Public support for a statewide raise to $15 is broad-a Quinnipiac poll shows 62 percent of New Yorkers supporting a hike spread out over the next several years.
The Minneapolis City Council is considering today whether to hire a company to study the impact of a $12 and $15 minimum wage on the city and surrounding counties.
Tidbits
The Freelancers Union is launching an ad campaign on New York City subways to raise awareness of rampant wage theft problems for independent contractors.
False advertising in the gig economy? Couriers for Postmates reportedly make less than half of the advertised $25/hour wage.
With a possible government shutdown over defunding Planned Parenthood, the Department of Labor and the NLRB are reportedly prepping contingency plans.
At the Prospect…
In an exclusive preview from our upcoming fall issue, trade and economic analyst Clyde Prestowitz looks at why the Trans-Pacific Partnership is not only a bad deal for workers, but a faulty China-containment plan as well. Read more…
Before Walker announced his departure, Justin Miller dove into his plan to dismantle organized labor's power-a detailed business wish-list that stunned labor experts across the country. Read more…
Sean McElwee highlights the "democracy premium" of worker unionization. As he explains, unionized workers not only vote more for progressive policies, they vote more in general. Read more…
