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How Unions and Environmental Groups are Finding Common Ground

Julie Grant Michigan Radio
Leaders in both the environmental and labor movements say the country could prevent more public health disasters like the toxic water crisis in Flint, Michigan, if old infrastructure is fixed or replaced -- like leaky drinking water pipes, and natural gas pipelines. And at the same time, the repairs would create jobs.

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Eliminating "Noncompete" Agreements

Kevin Johnson, James Bessen, Michael J. Meurer and Catherin On Labor
The campaign is led by EARN, the Employee Association to Renegotiate Noncompetes, which was formed this spring to combat the negative impacts of noncompetes. It sees Dell's impending acquisition of EMC as an opportune time for employees to press for reform prior to any transition.

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Washington, D.C. Lawmakers Approve $15 Minimum Wage, Joining N.Y., Calif.

Aaron C. Davis The Washington Post
The District’s move is the latest in a series of unexpected and rapid-fire victories for the $15-minimum-wage movement. What began as an audacious push by fast-food workers just a few years ago is evolving into a new labor standard, with state lawmakers in California and New York agreeing to implement a $15 minimum wage by 2022 and legislatures in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey weighing similar measures.

Radical Leisure

Eva Swidler Monthly Review
In the seventy years since organized labor gave up on shorter hours, not only did the length of the U.S. work week bottom out, then begin a steady climb that still continues, but labor force participation rates also rose. Women work for pay at ever-increasing levels; the elderly work until death. Ever-more hours work are siphoned from households, drawing in ever-more people.

New Study Reveals Just How Brutal Meat and Poultry Work Is for Workers

Elizabeth Grossman In These Times
The meat and poultry industry remains exceptionally dangerous, despite a decline in reported injuries and illnesses over the past 10 years, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. Further, says the report, the injury and illness rates reflected in Department of Labor numbers are significantly underreported.

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Union Agreement With Uber Jeered As a 'Surrender'

Joe Maniscalco Labor Press
Last week, IAM District 15 announced the formation of the Independent Drivers Guild [IDG], a new association created to represent New York City’s 35,000 Uber drivers. The IDG will strive to secure job protections and benefits for Uber drivers without actually engaging in collective bargaining...

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Unions Split as Bitter U.S. Campaign Exposes Divergent Agendas

Tim Jones and Mark Niquette Bloomberg
The split amid an unexpectedly contentious Democratic primary season has exposed contrasting agendas in organized labor. Trade unionists are exercised by international deals, which they blame for the loss of hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs. Service workers less affected by globalization advocate collective-bargaining rights and wage protection.

The Labor Movement’s May Day Promise

Erica Smiley The American Prospect
Some cast the labor movement as dying or even dead, but even amid attacks on collective bargaining workers are finding innovative ways to organize.

labor

Do We Want Our Children Taught by Humans or Algorithms?

Zoe Williams The Guardian
If Nicky Morgan won’t listen to teachers, parents need to take action to prevent our schools turning into joyless exam factories, starting with Tuesday’s boycott. By coincidence, at the end of last week, Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, was in London to hand in a petition to Pearson, the education company and provider of curriculums and test delivery.

labor

US unions plan attack on Donald Trump in attempt to derail presidential bid

Lauren Gambino and Jana Kasperkevic The Guardian
Concerned labor group leaders are organizing ad campaigns and phone banks as Trump’s populist message on trade and jobs draws in union voters. In the coming months, the AFL-CIO, which has not endorsed a candidate in the primary but has encouraged members to support the Democratic nominee, will launch digital attack ads against Trump and will ramp up its door-knocking campaign.
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