Illinois’ Workers’ Rights Amendment to the state constitution passed, according to the Associated Press, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, and other outlets verifying data on Nov. 15.
The measure received 58.4% of all votes cast in the Nov. 8 midterm election, AP says — more than the 50% plus 1 needed.

U.S. school administrators ask for panel to shape education plan. The union representing 22,000 school principals, counselors and similar personnel has asked President Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to convene a panel to craft “modern, individualized” education for the nation’s K-12 students.

In a letter to the White House and Cardona, School Administrators President Leonard Pugliese explained the pandemic’s 2020 shutdown of schools and Zoom learning for months worsened already bad classroom results, as measured by test scores.

“Our students’ historically poor showing on the 2022 Nation’s Report Card was no surprise to school leaders,” Pugliese said. “The pandemic both exposed our education system’s weaknesses and exacerbated them. We must use this crisis to reexamine longstanding educational structural and enthusiasm gaps and find the best solutions.”

Flight attendants’ union leader links abortion rights, Medicare for All to fight against fascism.

Sara Nelson, President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, is known for outspoken views against corporate greed, and she recently tied that to restoring the constitutional right to abortion, creating Medicare for All, and resisting fascism.

“It is fundamental that we fight with everything that we have for the rights of women to make their own decisions in their own lives,” Nelson said in late October. “As the working class, if we are not on top of this, we are undermining our ability to hold capital accountable. This is an attack on our very right to organize, on our ability to build power for the working class, on unchecked capitalism that is controlling our politics, sending us on the road to fascism.”

Labor federation’s Schuler warns of threats to Social Security, Medicare. Liz Shuler, President of the AFL-CIO, has cautioned workers that Right-wing interests are targeting two of the most effective and most popular government programs: Medicare and Social Security.

“It used to be that no elected officeholders would dare tamper with Social Security if they wished to keep their jobs,” she said. “That must not be true any longer. Four Republicans angling to become chair of the House Budget Committee talked openly about holding the federal debt ceiling hostage to an agreement on ‘entitlements’ – that is, Social Security and Medicare – plainly aimed at cutting benefits.”

Grassroots rail workers suggest a public takeover of rail system. An increasingly influential railroad workers group that urged railworker unionists to reject a tentative contract are suggesting making the freight rail system a public entity.

“The ownership model is just extracting wealth and making railroads more unsafe and harming the long-term health of the industry,” said Ross Grooters of Railroad Workers United, a rank-and-file group.

However, taking the rails public would probably require an act of Congress, But support could come from President Biden, known for riding passenger trains during his many years in the Senate.

Starbucks’ summer offer to bargain seems like ruse. Starbucks made a show of offering bargaining dates to unionized stores, but after 150-plus stores responded with appeals to negotiate, the company only met with three stores, briefly. (However, Starbucks DID increase store closures and firings.)

“Starbucks increasingly appears to be going for a slow-motion kill shot against Workers United,” said Jonah Furman of Labor Notes, “but workers continue to strike, like in Ladue, Mo., and Portland, Ore.; to sue the company, like in Anderson, S.C.; and push the state to take action, like in New York City, plus continuing to organize new stores.”

Recently, workers unionized Starbucks in Bellingham, Wash., Denison, Texas, Easton, Pa., and Puyallup, Wash.

U.S. Dept. of Labor addressing misclassification of workers. Last month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s announced rules to determine who are employees, and to make it harder for companies to intentionally misclassify their employees as independent contractors.

“This proposed rule will ensure DOL has the tools to protect employees against the current and escalating problem of misclassification,” commented AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler.

UAW joins BlueGreen alliance. The United Auto Workers recently joined the BlueGreen Alliance, the coalition of unions and environmental groups that’s pushed the cause of unionists building “green” factories and projects. Co-founded by the Steelworkers, the Alliance says going green can produce many more union jobs than exist in fossil-fuel industries.

Now Teamsters taking on Amazon. As some 1,000 members of the Teamsters union and allies assembled outside Amazon’s Seattle headquarters to show solidarity with Amazon workers, Sean O’Brien, president of the 1.2 million-member Teamsters (which recently launched an Amazon division) said, “Wherever Amazon abuses workers, we’ll be there. This corrupt corporate giant must answer to the Teamsters now, and we’re ready for the fight.”

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