Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh, where massive power outages have left more than 200,000 without power. Power companies do not expect power to be restored in the city for 5 to 7 days.
$110 Needed for May Day Coverage
The good news is that our fundraising has been very brisk in recent days. We only need $110 to meet our goal.
1,110 May Day Events Nationwide Tomorrow
Payday has been predicting that May Day would see a massive surge in walkouts and protests for months.
Tomorrow, more than 1,100 events are listed by the May Day Strong coalition, including over 200 unions, immigrant rights groups, and other organizations.
A full map of the events can be found here.
New Orleans Nurses to Strike
In New Orleans, over 600 nurses at the University Medical Center, who are seeking their first contract, plan to strike in solidarity with the May Day Actions.
"We want to settle a strong contract that addresses our concerns about workplace violence," nurse Dana Judkins said in a statement by the union. "We need to do so for the sake of our patients, our hospital, and ourselves. It's past time to work with nurses to protect everyone at UMC."
For more, check out National Nurses United's website.
20,000 University of California to Strike Over Hiring Freeze
Tomorrow, over 20,000 University of California university employees plan to strike over an unpopular hiring and pay freeze implemented by the administration.
"It is sadly symptomatic that we're dealing with an institution in the University that seems to, one, be intentional, within its own workforce ranks, trying to widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots, and similarly, an institution that appears to not think the rules apply to them,"
Max Belasco, the co-chair of UPTE-CWA 9119's UCLA chapter, told the Daily Bruin.
For more, check out the Daily Bruin.
ILWU Opposed Tariffs as UPS Announces 20,000 Layoffs
This week, UPS announced that it was going to lay off 20,000 workers as a result of the Trump tariffs. In addition, Subaru also announced that it was going to lay off workers as a result of the tariffs.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) announced that they opposed the tariffs, citing the risk of job loss.
"These and other reckless, shortsighted policies have begun to devastate American workers, harm critical sectors of the economy, and line the pockets of the ultra-wealthy at the expense of hardworking families," said the ILWU in a statement. "The tariffs have also sown distrust among our allies and inflamed geopolitical tensions. These tariffs are nothing more than a direct attack on the working class and should be opposed outright".
Trump to Require Truck Drivers to Speak English
In yet another blow to immigrant workers, Trump passed an executive order that will require truckers to speak English.
"There are a lot of people who don't speak English. That's the way they provide for their families," truck driver Jamie Garcia told KSBW. "So I don't think it's fair. Why do you have to speak English just to drive a truck?"
Writers Guild West Accused of Union Busting
Finally, the Writers Guild of America-West agreed to voluntarily recognize the union of their staff. However, the staff union is accusing the prominent TV writers union of engaging in union busting. From Hollywood Reporter:
The effort hasn't been all smooth sailing: The organizing group has alleged that the WGA West — itself a union that occasionally alleges employer wrongdoing — had engaged in "union-busting," or attempts to thwart the union. According to a representative of PNWSU, before the organizing group went public with its efforts, members of management pulled select staffers into their offices and questioned them about union activity. Staffers were informed that if they unionized, there could be layoffs or cut benefits.
Two days later, Fátima Murrieta, a former representative/organizer of the union who was an organizing committee member of the Writers Guild Staff Union, was terminated from her job in a move the representative found suspicious.
In a statement, a representative for the WGA West said, "A staff member was recently terminated for cause. No Guild employee has been terminated for union activity. The Guild supports the staff's right to organize and collectively bargain and recognized the staff union in a week."
For more, check out Hollywood Reporter.
News & Headlines Elsewhere
- 100 ways Trump has hurt workers in his first 100 days
- Analyzing the scale of Trump's federal layoffs in his first 100 days
- Almost three years after neutrality agreement, negotiations between Microsoft And unionized workers aren't going well
- Tacoma police disregard ICE detainee 911 calls about abuse
- Utah public sector union referendum clears thresholds for ballot access
- Some NIOSH workers allowed to return to Morgantown facility temporarily, Capito says
- Belgian airports cancel all departing flights on Tuesday due to general strike
- Finally, a look at how migrants workers dreams have been killed by attacks on Yemen
Alright yinz, we will have more tomorrow on the May Day strike. Send links & update to melk@paydayreport.com
Donate to help us cover May Day tomorrow. Please, if you can, sign up as a recurring donor today. Thanks again for the support.
See yinz tomorrow,
Melk
