Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh, where a raid on a roofing company that detained six immigrants has left many in the community troubled.
Pittsburgh School Kids Traumatized Watching ICE Raid
Yesterday, ICE raided a roofing company located directly across the street from the Hilltop Community School in the Knoxville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The story of the raid and the videos released have troubled many in Pittsburgh. From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Video taken by Hilltop staff show agents arresting at least one man on the ground and leading several others to a silver minivan. Most of the agents were masked and clad in green vests reading “Police.” It was unclear which agency they belonged to.
Inside the school, Director Kim Haley said she attempted to shield her students from the incident.
“I was trying to keep the children away from the windows so they didn’t see anything,” Haley said. “I didn’t know if they were going to start shooting.”
For more, check out the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
$517 Needed to Pay Health Insurance
With Trump cutting financial subsidies for small business owners like me, I am struggling to pay my health insurance premiums and need your help. They are $517 a month, not including co-pays for medicine and weekly therapy visits.
It’s a lot of money for a small labor publication owner and we need your help so we can spend money on labor reporting and not fundraising.
Mike Elk
Philly Hotel Workers Threaten Strike During World Cup
In Philly, hotel workers at the Center City Sheraton, who have been without a union contract for more than two years, are threatening to strike during the World Cup.
Last October, the union went on strike for four days. But with hotel rooms booked in Philly for the World Cup, this strike threat may have a different effect.
”We have 765 rooms, and I heard they’re already paid for it,” says Gerald Byer, a housekeeping employee at the hotel. “We’re ready to strike. We’re ready to strike today if necessary. It would hurt the city’s image.”
For more, check out the Keystone.
Target Field Workers Vote to Strike for 1st Time
In the 16-year history of the Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins baseball team, workers there have never voted to strike. However, yesterday, 81% of Target Field’s 500 concession workers, employed by contractor Delaware North, voted to strike.
"It feels like ever since I've been working here the pay has literally been the same. Nothing has changed. I can't even pay my rent with the check that I get," said Ari, a stand lead at the stadium who has been working for five years, told CBS Minnesota.
For more, check out CBS Minnesota.
Veterans Affairs Investigated Staff Who Attended Memorial for Alex Pretti
In January, when Veterans Affairs nurse Alex Pretti was assassinated by ICE agents, his union, AFGE, held memorials across the United States to honor him. Now, a new expose by CNN showed that Veterans Affairs investigated those who attended the memorial:
Becky Halioua, a recreational therapist and union leader at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia, said she felt “it was important to acknowledge him, as a brother of our organization.”
“It’s scary for me to think about a fellow VA employee being murdered by the same government that they work for,” Halioua told local TV station WRDW, a CNN affiliate, at the time. “That’s terrifying for me.”
Halioua is not alone, several sources familiar with the matter told CNN. At least three other VA employees have been investigated for their interactions with the press, including at least one other related to Alex Pretti, according to one of the sources.
As part of her investigation, Halioua says investigators emailed her photos of herself at the vigil from news coverage, which also included a brief interaction with a local newspaper. Someone had drawn a line around her image in some photographs, labeled with her name.
“It really gave me an uneasy feeling,” she says. Seeing her face circled in a photograph of a crowd seemed “very stalker-like.”
Mamdani Skips Met Gala to Rally With Union Workers Instead
Finally, for years New York celebrities and politicians have attended the opulent Met Gala in extravagant costumes. However, this year, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was the chairman overseeing the gala, so many unions protested the event.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani decided to skip the Met Gala. Instead, he spent the day posting the story of fashion workers on social media.
“The fashion industry is made possible by the thousands of workers behind the scenes — seamstresses, tailors, retail workers, delivery drivers — whose immense talent and dedication deserves to be celebrated,” the mayor said in a statement emailed to The New York Times. “We’re proud to feature the stories of these hard-working New Yorkers who make our city’s fashion industry second to none.”
For more, check out The New York Times.
News & Headlines Elsewhere
- 9,000 Hydro-Québec workers set to strike as unions escalate standoff
- Volkswagen opens door to challenging NLRB Regional Directors
- Key labor bill clears Colorado legislature, faces governor’s veto for second year in a row
- Workers at UVA face uncertainty after being excluded from collective bargaining legislation
- Lansing Chipotle that was first to unionize in the country loses Teamsters backing
- Palestinians out, foreign workers in: How Israel is remaking its labor force
- Finally, cultural workers at Venice Biennale to strike over Israel’s participation.
Alright folks, that’s all for today. Keep sending tips, complaints, comments and cooking recipes to melk@padayreport.com
Mike Elk