ALF Weekly Report — 1/21/21
The Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation Weekly Report comes out every Thursday with news and updates relevant to the Gulf Coast labor movement. To subscribe, click here.
Democracy prevails — Biden and Harris Take Pro-Worker Steps Immediately
Two weeks after right wing extremists attempted to violently stop the certification of the November electionthe US Capitol, and a week after his predecessor was impeached for the second time, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States yesterday, along with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden didn’t waste any time, immediately issuing a series of executive orders aimed at turning back the Trump administration’s disregard for the lives and well-being of working families. A few noteworthy actions:
- Biden fired anti-union zealot Peter Robb as General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board
- Biden directed OSHA to publish worker safety guidelines for COVID
- Mandates masks in airports, airplanes, buses and trains
- Biden extended pandemic protections against eviction and foreclosure
- Biden took action to safeguard DACA
Union members in Key Roles in New Administration
Joe Biden made his commitment to strengthening unions clear during the campaign, and he has followed through so far in his picks for key roles in the administration. For Secretary of Labor, Biden has nominated Marty Walsh, a long-time labor leader and LiUNA member. Biden also named James Frederick, a longtime United Steelworkers leader, as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Warnock and Ossoff sworn in, giving Democrats Control of Congress
On the first day of the new Biden administration, Georgia Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff were also sworn in, giving Democrats a majority in the Senate. This is the first time Democrats have had complete control of the legislative and executive branches since Obama’s first two years in office, and comes after a historic electoral effort by unions across the country.
1/6/2021 — Never Forget
Donald Trump may no longer be President, but we must never forget the damage that he and his allies in the Republican Party have done to American Democracy. Trump’s lies about the results of a fair and free election, one that he lost by a historic margin, directly led his supporters to storm the US Capitol on January 6th in a brazen attempt to overturn the results.
These lies were supported and propagated by Republicans from Ted Cruz to Dan Crenshaw to Ken Paxton and Greg Abbott. All 17 Texas GOP Congressmembers joined Senator Ted Cruz in objecting to the certified election results while still surrounded by broken glass from the earlier attacks, and Ken Paxton and Greg Abbott have yet to condemn the attacks or admit their complicity.
On January 8th the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation condemned the attacks and the incitement by Trump and his Republican allies joining unions across the country. We all must remember the fires at the Capitol on January 6th and endeavor to fix the damage that has been done. We must work tirelessly to ensure full participation in democratic processes, to address systemic racism in our voting structures, to root out corruption and special interests, and to continue our fight to empower all workers.
AFL-CIO begins push to pass Workers First Agenda
On day one of the new administration, the AFL-CIO made it clear that the way out of our current crisis must put workers first. The AFL-CIO Worker’s First Agenda includes five priorities for the new Biden administration and new Democratic Congress. These include critical priorities like passing the PRO Act, strengthening worker safety, ending structural racism and strengthening democracy, and investing in good jobs and retirement security.
Construction workers claim wage theft at Sheldon ISD project
Workers organizing with the Painters Union (IUPAT) who did painting on the new C.E. King High School said in statements filed with the Sheldon ISD board that a subcontractor, Allenko Finishes of Houston, failed to pay them the prevailing wage — the minimum required for public construction projects.
“This is not an isolated incident,” Sal Herrera, the director of organizing for IUPAT DC 88 said. “This happens every day, all across school districts.”
SEIU Airport Worker Survey Finds Massive Safety Failures
SEIU has published a survey of airport workers with findings that highlight the many challenges facing these frontline workers, and the lack of critical worker safety standards.
“There’s a lack of enforcement about people wearing masks in the airport and there are no set guidelines or clear trainings for workers to stay safe Every day when I go to work I do what I can on my own to stay safe — everything from hand washing to tea to pills to prayer — but there’s a lot more companies could do. As an escalator guard, I’ve noticed they do not clean the escalator rails at all which is a health hazard to everyone that uses them. We should be social distancing in the clock-in area, we should be taking everybody’s temperature, no exceptions, and we should have more PPE.” Teresa McClatchie Escalator guard, Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport.
States Raise Minimum Wage
Workers’ wages increased in 52 cities, counties, and state on January 1st — with many reaching or surpassing $15/hr, but the Texas minimum wage continues to be set at an unlivable $7.25/hour. President Biden has already committed to raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hour.
Tech workers make gains in unionization drives
In a historic move, hundreds of Google have organized with CWA to form the Alphabet Workers Union. The new union will be open to all employees of Alphabet, and follows recent drives by Google contract workers and cafeteria workers to organize with UNITE HERE! as well as the recent successful union drive at Kickstarter by OPEIU. And next month, some 6,000 front-line workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama will vote by mail on whether to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.
The recent wins show the growing desire to expand worker power in the tech industry, which was once called “unorganizable” by union activists.
More wins in non-profit organizing
Last week, the staff of the American Civil Liberties Union announced that they had a supermajority of cards signed in support of their new union and asked management for voluntary recognition. And on Tuesday, EMILY’s List management voluntarily recognized the EMILY’s List staff union through a card check process.
Trump job losses continue
Another 1.3 million people applied for unemployment insurance benefits in the last week of the Trump administration, the 44th week in a row where claims were worse than the worst week of the Great Recession. The historically weak labor market is largely due to a failed COVID-19 response from the Trump administration, which consistently prioritized corporate profits over worker safety.
Vaccination Drive starts slow in Gulf Coast
With cases still rising across much of the Texas Gulf Coast, the early results from the roll-out of vaccines led by Governor Abbott been decided mixed.
So far, the vaccine rollout has been slow and scattershot, with many fewer shots administered than are said to be available. That is frustrating and unacceptable, especially for Texans eligible to be inoculated now who have been unable to locate a vaccine.
Vaccines are still restricted to individuals in groups 1A and 1B. For more information about appointments for vaccination in your area, go to the Texas Vaccine Availability Map.
Harris County Confirms Texas’ First Case Of More Contagious COVID-19 Variant
Harris County has confirmed Texas’ first case of a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus first discovered in the U.K.
A man between the ages of 30 and 40 in southwest Harris County outside the city of Houston, with no travel history, tested positive for the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7. The new variant is believed to be up to 70% more transmissible than previously identified strains of the virus, though not more severe. The currently approved vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are likely effective against the new variant, health officials have said.
The PRO Act passed the House last spring with support from COPE endorsed members Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Rep. Al Green, Rep. Sylvia Garcia, and Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, but now that Democrats control the Senate and White House, we can make it law.
The PRO Act would amplify worker power by expanding union membership, ban “right-to-work” laws, reform decades-old labor laws, and end employer intimidation or interference in union drives.
