Despite the challenges of organizing during a deadly pandemic, working people across the country (and beyond) continue organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life. This edition begins with:
Mine Workers, Next-Gen Battery Maker Sparkz Ink Labor-Management Agreement: The Mine Workers (UMWA) announced today that the union has secured a labor-management agreement with Sparkz, the next-generation battery manufacturer re-engineering the battery supply chain, that would mark one of the largest climate-tech union workforce partnerships in the United States. Sparkz announced in March it will begin construction of a Gigafactory in West Virginia this year to commercialize their zero-cobalt battery, which will employ up to 3,000 workers, and it will partner with the union to recruit and train dislocated miners to be the first group of production workers to be hired. “This agreement is a win-win for the laid-off coal miners who will work in this facility, their families and their communities,” UMWA International President Cecil Roberts said. “This is a first step to putting some of those people back to work in good, well-paying, family-sustaining jobs.”
Missouri Library Workers Officially Form Union with AFSCME: From museums in big cities such as Chicago and Philadelphia to local libraries in rural areas, cultural workers everywhere are joining together to make their voices heard—and they’re winning. On Monday, Daniel Boone Regional Library workers in Columbia, Missouri,...
The HHS secretary touted a proposed $1.1 billion IHS budget increase but stayed silent on Medicaid cuts and a rollback of childhood vaccination efforts U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robe...