Unwavering Support: The Working People Weekly List

Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List.

AFL-CIO Offers ‘Unwavering Support’ to Striking Alabama Coal Miners: “The AFL-CIO’s Executive Council on [March 16] said the ongoing strike by the United Mine Workers of America against Warrior Met Coal is ‘about respect, dignity and the fundamental rights of working people. The 12.5 million members of the AFL-CIO offer our unwavering support to the striking workers,’ the statement reads. ‘#WeAreOne, and will always have their backs.’”

Culinary Union in Las Vegas Names New Leadership: “Culinary Workers Union Local 226 has announced its new leadership team following the retirement of former Secretary-Treasurer Geoconda Argüello-Kline. Ted Pappageorge, a Las Vegas native and a Culinary Union member since 1982 who worked as a busboy at the Sands, a barback at the Sundance and a bartender at the Mint, Horseshoe Club and Riviera, was appointed secretary-treasurer. He served as the union’s president from 2012 to 2022. The union also announced that Diana Valles, who worked as a guest room attendant at the Stardust and then at the Las Vegas Hilton and later as a casino porter and cook at the Flamingo, has been named the new president. Leain Vashon will continue as vice president of the union.”

What Is Equal Pay Day?: “It’s Equal Pay Day 2022. The date means to symbolize the pay gap between men and women in the United States. Women would have had to work from January 1, 2021, to March 15, 2022, to earn the same amount men made in 2021. This based on the wage of the average woman who works full time compared to the wage of the average man who works full time.”

‘Completely Demoralized’: U.S. Railroad Workers Pushed to the Brink: “Workers represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation unions mobilized and pushed for the right to strike over the new attendance policy, but a federal judge ruled the dispute was ‘minor’ under the Railway Labor Act, meaning workers cannot legally strike over the policy. ‘This is a policy that, frankly, is just blind to the moment,’ said Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, which represents 36 labor unions in the transportation industry. ‘They’re turning around and punishing their employees, because they’re faced with some of the challenges that they created themselves.’”

If You’re Not Making $14.50 an Hour, You Probably Can’t Afford to Live in Any U.S. County: “If you make federal minimum wage in the U.S., you probably can’t afford to live in any of its towns. According to the Economic Policy Institute’s updated Family Budget Calculator, a full-time worker with no children would need to make roughly $14.50 an hour to sustain themselves in the U.S. county with the lowest cost of living: Orangeburg County, South Carolina. That’s twice the current federal minimum wage of $7.25.”

The Labor Department Seeks to Update Prevailing Wage Regulations: “‘Meanwhile, Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, said the White House and Walsh ‘continue to deliver wins for working people’ as ‘today’s proposed amendments under the Davis-Bacon & Related Acts will modernize [and] strengthen prevailing wage laws to protect 1000s of workers on federal construction projects from rampant wage theft.’”