Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh, where more than 1,200 nurses at Allegheny General Hospital have voted overwhelmingly to strike.
1,200 Pittsburgh Nurses to Strike for $40-an-hour minimum wage
In Pittsburgh, over 1,200 Nurses at Allegheny General Hospital have voted to authorize a strike. The nurses are demanding a $40-an-hour minimum wage and improving working conditions.
“There’s no shortage of nurses. There’s a shortage of nurses who are willing to work in the conditions that are present in all of the hospitals around here right now,” Annalee Yobbi, a Flight Nurse at Allegheny General, told WPXI.
3,700 Detroit Casino Workers to Strike
In Detroit, over 3,700 casino workers and members of the UAW are out on strike. Some make as little as $15.90 an hour and demand better wages.
The workers say that the nationwide movement of strikes inspires them.
“Workers have been standing up all over the country and one thing I hear most from all the members here outside of protecting their health care, outside of retirement improvements and wages is the respect level,” Unite Here President Nia Winston told the Detroit News. “They believe that these employers have taken advantage of them and have disrespected them after they kept them afloat through the pandemic. Now we’re standing up and it’s just time to reset the relationship between the companies and the unions.”
For more, check out the Detroit News.
SAG-AFTRA Strike Hangs on $480 Million Gap Between Actors and Studios on Streaming Pay
As negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the studio continue, there is a $480 million gap between actors and studios on steaming pay. From Variety:
SAG-AFTRA is aiming significantly higher. The guild has proposed that each streaming platform should pay 57 cents per subscriber per year. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s chief negotiator, has said the sum amounts to less than a postage stamp per subscriber — a first-class stamp now costs 66 cents — or $500 million annually across all platforms.
That money would go into a jointly administered fund. The trustees of the fund would distribute it to actors whose projects appear on the platforms. According to the union, the funds would presumably be allocated based on viewership of each of the shows.
SAG-AFTRA has discarded an earlier proposal that would rely on Parrot Analytics, a third-party data provider, to assign value to each of the shows. Instead, the trustees would use the platforms’ viewership data, which the platforms have already agreed to provide to the WGA.
The trustees would also have to determine how to divide the residuals among the cast of each show. Under current structures, residuals are paid out based either on “time and salary units” or a “ratable distribution formula,” otherwise known as a “3-2-1” formula. Under either method, series regulars get more than guest stars, who get more than day players.
Milk-Bone Workers in Buffalo Strike
In Buffalo, over 40 Milk-Bone workers went on strike.
40 workers at Milk-Bone plant in Buffalo, members of the Machinists union, are out on strike. Workers are on strike after rejecting a deal that would give them a 8% raise.
“What the company offered the members is not acceptable,” Rick Dahn, a business representative with Machinists District 65 told the Buffalo News.
For more, check out the Buffalo News.
Profile of Louisville UAW Local 862 Strike Leader
Finally, the Louisville Courier-Journal has a long profile of UAW Local 862 President Todd Dunn. Over 8,700 members of his union went on strike last week at Kentucky’s Ford Truck Plant. From the Lousiville Courier-Journal:
Dunn’s day starts at 6:15 a.m. as he rolls off the air mattress set up in his office at the KTP union hall, just one mile down Chamberlain Lane from the strike line.
“You don’t want to miss anything and to be available … it’s basically a 24/7 job,” said Dunn, who has been sleeping on and off many nights at the KTP union hall.
Within an hour, Dunn is on his first call of the day. He’s the person who handles seemingly everything, from dozens of media interviews to making updated strike videos for his membership, while also finding time to walk the picket line, see his family, and attend countless meetings with folks from the International UAW.
Before 3 p.m., Dunn has already interacted with at least 100 people between the KTP and LAP union halls. Throughout the day he received more than 100 calls and had 112 unread text messages on his phone.
For more, check out the Lousiville Courier-Journal.
Strikes & News Happening Elsewhere
- Over 750 nurses to unionize in New Orleans
- Howard Brown Health workers could strike for the second time this year following union vote
- Philadelphia’s Black workers spend 34 more minutes per week commuting than white workers, new report says
- Guatemalan General Strike shuts down the country for nearly a week
- Paris Olympic & Arc de Triomphe workers strike
- Italian dockworkers to refuse to ship Israeli’s arms
- Finally, a dozen Thai guest workers were killed in Hamas attacks on Israel.
Alright yinz, that’s all for today. Keep sending tips, story ideas, comments, and complaints to [email protected]
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See yinz tomorrow,
Melk
