UE Local 625 Fightback Restores Right to Wear Union Shirts at Work
UE Local 625, whose members build high-quality circuit breakers and high-voltage equipment at two locations, have successfully restored their right to wear union shirts on the shop floor. The conflict began in 2022 when their employer, Hitachi Energy, unilaterally imposed a new dress code which prohibited members from their wearing union shirts at work.
Read more on ueunion.org »
Take Action to Support UE Leader Fired for Union Activity
Tiffany Wittenback is an 8-year union employee at the Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky, and the Chief Steward of UE Local 728. Earlier this summer, her employer LRDM terminated her for raising concerns about a training process and in retaliation for her actions as a union leader. Wittenback had no previous disciplinary record.
“We are fighting to get Tiffany’s job back but also to protect our union, its members and its existence,” said UE 728 Vice President Caroline Gambrel “If they can fire a chief steward for acting in her capacity, no one’s job is safe or protected.”
More UE Action Alerts
If you haven’t already taken action on these older action alerts from UE, please take a minute to do so:
UE General Executive Board: We Need a Labor Party
Meeting in Pittsburgh this week, UE’s General Executive Board discussed the 2024 elections and adopted a statement declaring, “Working people desperately need an independent political organization, based on a political program that can unite us, which can fight for that platform in the electoral arena — in short, a labor party.” Read the full statement »
Organizing the South Theme of Local 150 Convention
With the slogan “Resist, Restore and Revitalize!” the 13th Biennial Convention of statewide UE Local 150 convened in Whitakers, NC on August 10 and 11. Local 150 members from across North Carolina shared their experiences fighting for fair wages and dignity, and building their union, in one of the least unionized states in the country. Read more and watch video highlights »
Rail Crew Drivers and Environmental Justice Organizations Win Passage of Clean Air Rule
Rail crew drivers from UE Local 1077 joined environmental justice organizations in persuading the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) board to pass a life-saving regulation for rail yards in the Inland Empire, Los Angeles County, and Orange County. In response to overwhelming public support, including a letter signed by the UE local and its allies, the rule passed unanimously at the board’s meeting in August. Read more »
Members of Congress Support UE Members Fighting to Save Union Jobs
The members of UE Locals 208, 808, and 1008 fighting to save their jobs from union-busting layoffs received some powerful help last month. Four Members of Congress and an Orange County Supervisor have sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary and the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to urge them to stop union busting, as did U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Read more »
Local 150 Member Speaks Out at Heat Safety Town Hall
Michael Reynolds, a member of UE Local 150, testified at a Heat Safety Town Hall last night about the struggles faced by city workers across the state working outside in the increasingly hot weather. The statewide town hall was organized by the Union of Southern Service Workers. Food service workers, city workers, laundry workers, airport workers and farmworkers from across the state all spoke out about the effects of rising temperatures due to climate change. Read more or watch the video »
FEATURE
The Peekskill Riots: Where Everyday Union Members Stood Up to Racism, Anti-Semitism, and Hate
August 27 and September 4 marked the 75th anniversary of the Peekskill Riots, two attacks by right wing mobs on concert-goers in Peekskill, in upstate New York. The audience was composed of union members, including UE members, and civil rights activists, and they had gathered to watch popular Black singer and actor Paul Robeson perform. Read more »
Book Review: U.S. Labor’s Self-Destructive International Crusade Against “Red” Unions
In his new book Blue Collar Empire the labor historian, journalist, and union activist Jeff Schuhrke documents how many AFL and CIO leaders not only participated in witch hunts against UE and other militant unions in the U.S., but actively conspired with the U.S. government to undermine militant unions around the world. Indeed, they were not only willing participants in the government’s crusade against so-called “communist” unions, but in some cases were even more enthusiastic about that crusade than the government itself. Read more »
Bulletin
