Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh, where I am getting ready to take two days off for Yom Kippur.
$485 Short of Monthly Budget Goal
Good news is that we are only $485 short of our monthly budget goal with one day left to go. This money goes to my full-time salary, part-time editor, health insurance, and other costs.
Chattanooga Volkswagen Workers Prepare to Strike
With first contract talks at a standstill at Chattanooga’s Volkswagen plant, the UAW is now preparing their members for the possibility of a strike. To the union, it does not appear like Volkswagen is taking bargaining very seriously.
"This most recent proposal made by Volkswagen is an incomplete document that makes it very difficult to comprehend," said UAW Vice President Chuck Browning said in a YouTube video sent to Volkswagen members. "There is language missing on many of the topics that has already been tentatively agreed to by your bargaining team in the company."
For more, check out the Chattanooga Times-Free Press.
Federal Workers Unions Call on Democrats to Hold Line if Shutdown
With a government shutdown appearing more likely, federal workers unions are calling for Democrats not to cave despite Trump threatening to lay-off hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
“We are directly impacted when the government shuts down: our members would no longer be able to work, get paid, or fulfill their mission of serving the American public,” a coalition of unions said in a statement. “But we believe the most important thing is fighting against the centralization of executive power and for the long-term survival of the critical services the federal government provides, even if that means allowing the government to temporarily shut down.”
SMART Union Member Transferred to Moshannon ICE Facility
In August, Payday Report traveled to rural central Pennsylvania to attend a protest against the Moshannon ICE Facility. The rural community around the facility in Clearfield County is being targeted by a massive community organizing campaign for Clearfield County to repeal the contract for the ICE detention facility.
Now, pressure on the facility will be more intense as SMART union member Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being transferred there.
Garcia’s case became one of the most high profile in the country after the Trump Administration unlawfully deported him to El Salvador, leading to the Supreme Court ruling in his favor.
In June, the Trump Administration released Garcia, but a few days later, arrested him again. Now, he is being transferred to Moshannon, one of the most notorious ICE facilities in the United States.
On Monday, activists protested outside of Moshannon ICE detention facility to call for his release.
“The ongoing mistreatment of this father and community leader is an international example of the cruelty of our broken immigration system and the terrorization this presidential administration is committing against our neighbors,” a press release for Monday’s protest reads. “We stand in solidarity with Kilmar and his family, and we demand justice, humane treatment and accountability for him and for everyone being incarcerated at Moshannon.”
For more, check out the Centre Daily Times.
Nurses Union Denounces Killing of Palestinian Nursing Association Head
National Nurses United denounced the killing of Dr. Mohammed Akram Al-Kafarneh, head of the Palestinian Nursing Association in the Gaza Strip and chief nursing supervisor at Kamal Adwan Medical Complex.
“As union nurses, we understand the collective power of the working class, and we encourage people who believe in the right to a life free from war and violence to stand in solidarity and protest, and to contact their elected representatives to demand an end to U.S. funding of the Israeli military,” said the union in a statement. “Israel cannot be allowed to continue to violate the basic laws of morality and violate international law, time and time again, without being held accountable.”
For more, check out National Nurses United’s statement.
New York Times Does Deep Dive Into ICE Raid on Hyundai in Georgia
Finally, The New York Times has a deep dive into the ICE raid on the Hyundai plant in Georgia:
Since their repatriation, a few dozen workers have started a chat group where they discuss their claims of human rights abuses. They said that the authorities never read them their rights or explained why they were being arrested. With their cellphones confiscated, they could not call their families, employers or lawyers. When they were allowed to use phones at the detention center, they could not make international calls.
They have reported smelly drinking water, moldy mattresses, dusty blankets, freezing air conditioning and officials’ tardy response to requests for medical aid.
One worker in the chat accused guards of pulling their eyes sideways in a racist gesture against Asians. “The racial discrimination and sneering — and how the United States viewed us — will linger long in my heart,” the worker wrote.
For more, check out The New York Times.
News & Headlines Elsewhere
- Boeing fails to reach a deal with Machinist union as strike enters 9th week
- City of Jacksonville, Florida, workers celebrate winning back their union
- Trump plan accelerates assault on Section 8 and pushes millions toward eviction
- Guild denounces shuttering of Cascade PBS
- Lt. Col. George Hardy, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen and the last of the group’s World War II combat pilots, died Tuesday night
- Finally, WIRED Magazine interviewed more than 200 federal workers about how DOGE has impacted their workplaces.
Alright folks, that’s all for today. Keep sending comments, tips and complaints to melk@paydayreport.com
Thanks again for all the help.
Love & Solidarity,
Melk
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