Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh, where we are gearing up for a major mayoral primary election in just a week. With Democrats holding an overwhelming majority in Pittsburgh, the primary election will likely determine the next Mayor.
Donate to help us cover this crucial race.
Gainey Outraised 3-to-1 by O’Connor
A new report by WESA shows that O’Connor has outraised Gainey by margin of 3-to-1, raising $1.25 million while Gainey has raised only $440,000.
In recent days, Gainey has been able to narrow the gap a bit with a $600,000 TV ad bought by the Working Families Party. Meanwhile, the union buster-linked Common Sense Change has spent over $300,000 on behalf of O’Connor
Major developers and even some Trump donors back Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor in his bid to unseat progressive Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey. (Payday has covered how O’Connor has even crossed the Post-Gazette picket line and received support from union busters).
The campaign has been an ugly one with O’Connor facing accusations of race-baiting for repeatedly claiming that crime has risen under Gainey, the first Black Mayor of Pittsburgh. However, statistics show that crime has actually gone down under Gainey.
O’Connor Sought to Exempt Paid Sick Leave Bill
In repeated TV ads, Corey O’Connor claimed that as a Pittsburgh City Councilman he passed the paid sick leave bill. However, union advocates say that O’Connor actually worked with business interests to carve out nearly 80% of the employees in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh United Executive Director Barney Oursler, wrote a letter to the editor of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about how they felt betrayed by O’Connor:
O’Connor initially agreed to sponsor the bill and told us he supported the policy. In early meetings, he said all the right things: praising unions, nodding along and assuring us he was with us. We thought we had a shared commitment. Then, out of nowhere, he reversed course.
After a private meeting with the Restaurant Association, he tried to introduce a massive exemption for businesses with fewer than 14 employees — a change that would have excluded 85% of workers. We were stunned at his cowardice at the cost of workers.
Only after serious pressure from labor and council leaders did he get back on board. The policy passed, and Gainey took bold steps to enforce it.
For more, check out the Tribune-Review.
Donate to Help Us Cover Pittsburgh’s Mayoral Race
A defeat of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey could encourage more corporate money to take on progressive mayors around the country. It will also likely open the door to conservative Democrats challenging Congresswoman Summer Lee, a champion of Palestinian rights.
Massive amounts of money is pouring into the Mayor’s race here in Pittsburgh and the local media is doing almost nothing to cover it. Payday Report, though, has been covering the union busters working to defeat Gainey.
We are a small operation and rely on readers like you to do our reporting.
Donate to help us cover this crucial Mayoral election in Pittsburgh next week.
SEIU Member Freed From Immigration Detention
In April, Payday Report covered how SEIU spent over $100,000 in ad buys and held dozens of protests nationwide to demand the release of their member Rümeysa Öztürk. Now, she has been freed from immigration detention in Vermont.
A federal judge ruled that her arrests and detention were likely in direct relation to her advocacy for Palestinian rights.
"I suggested to the government that they produce any additional information which would suggest that she posed a substantial risk," federal judge William K. Sessions wrote in her ordering her release. "And that was three weeks ago, and there has been no evidence introduced by the government other than the op-ed. That literally is the case. There is no evidence here."
REI Union Defeats Corporate-backed Co-op Board members
Finally, for decades, REI has been a consumer co-op with an elected board. For years, the board has been essentially chosen by the management executives, who run the organization, and has been accused of ignoring the needs of their retail workers.
Now, the REI workers’ union has defeated the management-backed nominees for the board. The move comes as workers still continue to be frustrated in their attempts to achieve a union contract at 11 REI stores nationwide.
“REI members and REI workers stood together to send a resounding message that it is time for the co-op to return to its core values”, the union said in a statement.
News & Headlines Elsewhere
- Judge rules she has no jurisdiction to grant bond to detained farmworker activist
- UFCW Local 3000 President Fayte Guenther discusses how unions can protect immigrants
- Warehouse workers who ship NYC’s luxury fashion brands are unionizing
- Federal mediation board calls NJ Transit, engineers' union to D.C. to try to avert strike
- More than 2,500 nursing home workers across WNY plan to strike
- 5 Starbucks in Ontario win collective bargaining agreements
- Ford workers in Germany strike over planned job cuts
- Norway’s largest trade union votes for boycott of Israel
- Finally, a long look at how the UE has revived itself and grown in recent years
Alright folks, that’s for today. Keep sending tips, story ideas, comments and complaints to melk@paydayreport.com
Donate to help us cover the Pittsburgh’s Mayoral race. Please, if you can, sign up as one of our recurring donors today. Thanks again for all of your support.
Love & Solidarity,
Melk
