November 30, 2023 news roundup
Welcome to The Local, a publication of NYC-DSA Labor reporting every two weeks. Send tips, corrections, and other feedback to thenyclocal@substack.com. In this issue, there’s a lot of activity in the NewsGuild world of written media, last month broke records for total number of American workers on strike, and city transport workers reached a retroactive tentative agreement that has already expired.
Photo Credit: Alexandra Chan
Organizing
144 health workers at Northwell Health Core Labs are looking to join SEIU 1199.
70 workers at the Atlantic Theater Company filed a petition to join IATSE.
41 attorneys at the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a petition to join UAW 2325.
33 workers at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum seek to unionize with DC37.
The staff at the Pushkin Industries joined the Writers Guild of America, East and received voluntary union recognition.
IBT Local 237 filed a petition to include attorneys with the title ‘Assistant Counsel-PD’ to be eligible for collective bargaining.
Bargaining & Action
On Nov. 16, The Association of Professional Flight Attendants representing 26,000 workers ready to strike at American Airlines walked an informational picket line at LaGuardia Airport and many other locations across the country demanding a fair contract.
The New School’s Student Health Services medical staff and counselors union under UAW Local 7902 voted 94% in favor to authorize a strike and set a deadline of Dec. 8.
The MSNBC Union represented by WGA East has reached a tentative agreement on a first contract after two years of bargaining.
PSC-CUNY will rally outside Governor Hochul’s Manhattan office Dec. 2 at 1pm. Their contract expired nine months ago.
The Transport Workers Union and Metro-North Railroad have reached a tentative agreement for 600 workers represented by TWU Locals 2001 and 2055. The retroactive agreement runs from Sept. 1, 2019 through Oct. 30, 2023, so the union will need to re-enter negotiations soon. [The Chief Leader]
Law360 editorial staff union affiliated with The NewsGuild of New York rallied outside parent company LexisNexis’ offices at 230 Park Ave as negotiations have continued for a whole year. On the same day, NewsGuild members of Bon Appetit and Epicurious walked out of a pitch meeting and held a protest lunch in Conde Nast offices in response to layoffs.
Photo Credit: Alexandra Chan
Albany
Kathy Hochul signed the Clean Slate Act, which will allow up to two million people to have their record sealed; and she signed the Freelance Isn’t Free Act, which provides rights and protects on freelance work of at least $800. This law supported by the National Writers’ Union and the Freelancers’ Union followed a model of NYC’s version of the law. [New York Times / WGRZ]
There are still a number of unsigned bills sitting on the governor’s desk that could help workers including a bill that would limit the power of non-compete clauses.
City Hall
Sponsored by councilmember Shaun Abreu with support from RWDSU and signed by Mayor Adams in May, legislation that protects New Yorkers from height and weight discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations now goes into effect Nov. 26.
The United Federation of Teachers alongside parents and advocates rallied in Brooklyn to demand proper implementation of the new NYC class size law to address overcrowding of classrooms amid even more budget cuts to education. [ABC7]
Miscellaneous
Cornell ILR Labor Action Tracker reported 58 strikes with 310,000 workers on the picket line in the month of Oct. 2023, breaking the previous record set from Jan. 2021. They also note that 457,000 workers have gone on 315 strikes in the U.S. so far this year.
Sports Illustrated’s staff union, part of The NewsGuild of New York, released a statement after a report detailing false authors and artificial intelligence generated stories under the SI brand. The union demanded transparency and reaffirmed that their members are not responsible for the AI stories.