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Tag: Strike

  • Middle East conflict edges closer to ‘open-ended battle’

    Middle East conflict edges closer to ‘open-ended battle’

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    Escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is raising concerns of a broader conflict in the Middle East, with U.S. efforts to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza facing little to no progress.Overnight, Israel launched airstrikes in southern Lebanon, targeting what officials say were Hezbollah terrorists. The strikes come in response to over 100 rockets fired by Hezbollah over the weekend, following the death of one of its leaders and an attack through communications devices.One Hezbollah leader declared the attacks an “open-ended battle” as both sides spiral closer to an all-out war.”We did not want this war. We are not seeking war,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. “Hezbollah’s been attacking us on a daily basis, demolishing Israeli villages and towns. Basically leading to the eviction of 100,000 Israelis from their homes. Life has been shattered in our northern border.””We will take whatever action is necessary to restore security and to bring our people safe back to their homes,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address. “No country can accept the wanton rocketing of its cities. We can’t accept it either.”Meanwhile, U.S. mediators have been working alongside international negotiators to secure a ceasefire deal in Gaza, but stalled progress and the escalating violence are threatening hope of bringing American hostages home.”We have not achieved any progress here in the last week to two weeks- not for lack of trying,” White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby, said. “We will certainly keep up those conversations as best we can. And we’re talking to both sides here.”President Joe Biden acknowledged the latest surge of violence and expressed concern of spreading conflict.”We’re going to do everything we can to keep from a wider war from breaking out,” he said.There are other concerns that the same type of attacks on explosive communications devices used in Lebanon could happen in the U.S. Experts believe Israel infiltrated the international supply chain and placed the rigged devices in imports headed to Lebanon. According to the Associated Press, the complex operation likely took months to pull off but little evidence has emerged so far.The White House did not comment on whether it is taking steps to protect the U.S. supply chain as a result, offering instead that Biden wants the supply chain to be largely self-sufficient, with most goods originating from within the U.S.Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to meet with leaders of the United Arab Emirates Monday before Biden travels to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

    WASHINGTON —

    Escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is raising concerns of a broader conflict in the Middle East, with U.S. efforts to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza facing little to no progress.

    Overnight, Israel launched airstrikes in southern Lebanon, targeting what officials say were Hezbollah terrorists. The strikes come in response to over 100 rockets fired by Hezbollah over the weekend, following the death of one of its leaders and an attack through communications devices.

    One Hezbollah leader declared the attacks an “open-ended battle” as both sides spiral closer to an all-out war.

    “We did not want this war. We are not seeking war,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. “Hezbollah’s been attacking us on a daily basis, demolishing Israeli villages and towns. Basically leading to the eviction of 100,000 Israelis from their homes. Life has been shattered in our northern border.”

    “We will take whatever action is necessary to restore security and to bring our people safe back to their homes,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address. “No country can accept the wanton rocketing of its cities. We can’t accept it either.”

    Meanwhile, U.S. mediators have been working alongside international negotiators to secure a ceasefire deal in Gaza, but stalled progress and the escalating violence are threatening hope of bringing American hostages home.

    “We have not achieved any progress here in the last week to two weeks- not for lack of trying,” White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby, said. “We will certainly keep up those conversations as best we can. And we’re talking to both sides here.”

    President Joe Biden acknowledged the latest surge of violence and expressed concern of spreading conflict.

    “We’re going to do everything we can to keep from a wider war from breaking out,” he said.

    There are other concerns that the same type of attacks on explosive communications devices used in Lebanon could happen in the U.S. Experts believe Israel infiltrated the international supply chain and placed the rigged devices in imports headed to Lebanon. According to the Associated Press, the complex operation likely took months to pull off but little evidence has emerged so far.

    The White House did not comment on whether it is taking steps to protect the U.S. supply chain as a result, offering instead that Biden wants the supply chain to be largely self-sufficient, with most goods originating from within the U.S.

    Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to meet with leaders of the United Arab Emirates Monday before Biden travels to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

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  • Hundreds of Bucks County employees hit the picket line for one-day strike

    Hundreds of Bucks County employees hit the picket line for one-day strike

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    DOYLESTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) — Hundreds of Bucks County employees hit the picket line Friday for a one-day strike.

    About 300 members of SEIU Local 668 were striking outside the Bucks County Courthouse in Doylestown, Pa.

    The workers are from various agencies including Children and Youth Services, the Area Agency on Aging, IT, Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol Support, Early Intervention, and Developmental Programs.

    Union representatives say the biggest concern is potential cuts to parts of their benefits, including reductions to vision, dental, and prescriptions. Negotiations most recently collapsed last week.

    “We put all our blood sweat and tears into the pandemic over the last three to four years. Inflation has driven prices up exponentially, and the county came back to us and said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna cut your healthcare,’” said union member Edward Berger.

    Union workers say they’ve been without a contract for about nine months.

    “The things that we are providing for our clients, whether it be in corrections, whether it be in children and youth, whether it be aging, whether it be the health department, the resources we are providing for our clients are not being provided for us,” said union member Christine Galione.

    A county spokesperson says at this point there is no set date for negotiations to continue. He also said supervisors are filling in for striking staff on Friday to ensure services continue.

    A union rep says workers plan to return to the job on Monday. However, if negotiations continue to go poorly, there could be more days like this – or longer strikes – in the future.

    Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.

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    Trish Hartman

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  • AT+T workers in Orlando and across the southeast mark nearly one month on strike

    AT+T workers in Orlando and across the southeast mark nearly one month on strike

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    photo by McKenna Schueler

    AT&T workers in Orlando, joined by fellow union members with Central Florida Jobs With Justice, strike over allegations of bad faith bargaining.

    It’s been just about a month since more than 17,000 AT&T employees across the Southeast, including roughly 4,250 internet service technicians, customer service reps and installation techs in Florida, walked off the job.

    They’ve been on strike over a breakdown in contract talks between their union, the Communications Workers of America, and the telecom giant they work for day in and day out to keep communities connected — when times are good, and when they’re dire.

    “Without us, there’s no 911 communications,” said Troy Tavares, a 21-year outside plant technician from Longwood, speaking from a picket line off Goldenrod Road in Orlando on Friday. “Half of this city of Orlando will not have internet if we don’t come out at 2 o’clock in the morning when there’s been an accident [and] a telephone pole went down.”

    The executive suite of AT&T — a company that posted $24.7 billion in operating income last year — “may have come up with the ideas,” Tavares acknowledged. “But we have to implement them.” He and his co-workers are the middle class, he said, and they’re the ones who answer the communities’ calls.

    A group of about two dozen AT&T workers from around the Orlando area joined Tavares on the picket line Friday, under the hot Florida sun, as the group issued a public call on their employer to take contract talks with their union reps seriously.

    “We elect our bargaining team,” said CWA Local 3108 president Steve Wisniewski, referring to those who represent AT&T employees at the bargaining table. “We empower them with decision-making capabilities to bargain on our behalf, and we expect the same from AT&T.”

    “However, sadly, that is not the case,” he shared. “The representatives that they have at the table have to go back to their headquarters in Dallas, Texas, for every decision that gets made,” he continued, drawing snickers and shaking heads from those standing behind him. “That is, quite frankly — it’s insulting. We expect better.”

    This lack of respect, as workers describe it, is the basis of unfair labor practice charges the union has levied against the telecom company, which allege violations of good-faith bargaining requirements under federal labor law. The union’s allegation of bad-faith bargaining has, for the first time since 2019, kept thousands of working people in nine Southern states — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee — off the job.

    “Without us, there’s no 911 communications,” said Troy Tavares, a technician from Longwood.

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    Workers on strike, anxious to get back to work, currently receive just $300 per week now in strike pay distributed through the union’s strike fund, as they wait for the company to “stop fooling around,” as Wisniewski puts it, “and get serious.”

    That strike pay only kicked in after the first two weeks of the strike, and isn’t enough to afford even a quarter month’s rent for your average one-bedroom apartment, let alone basic expenses like groceries or other monthly bills.

    Three-year AT&T machine operator Gilberto “Jonathon” Pascual feels like he and his coworkers “went from essential,” to the company, “to expendable.”

    “We’re out here fighting for our families, our brothers and sisters,” he said, turning to his union siblings behind him, some of of whom have brought their own children and family members to the picket line in recent weeks. “We’re trying to make a living, we’re trying to secure a safe future for all of us.”

    Jeff McElfresh, chief operating officer of AT&T, told Orlando Weekly in an emailed statement through a spokesperson that the company provided its best and final offer to the union in early September and resumed talks with the union last week.

    “We continue to aim for an agreement that will provide competitive market-based pay that exceeds projected inflation, provides benefits that improve employees’ total well-being, and sustains a competitive position in the broadband industry where we can grow and win against our mostly non-union competitors,” his statement reads. “We are hopeful that the CWA will engage with us in the same spirit and work towards an agreement to get our employees back to work.”

    Wisniewski maintains that AT&T has refused to bring negotiators to the table with their bargaining team who have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the company. While union members are fighting for a contract this year that addresses cost-of-living and quality-of-life concerns, Wisniewski feels confident that once AT&T does take the bargaining process seriously, they’ll be able to hammer out a deal very quickly.

    The last time they went out on strike was in 2019, and that strike lasted just four and a half days, Wisniewski told Orlando Weekly. He said it’s frustrating they’re in a position where their strike is now entering its fourth week. “We don’t know if this is a new trend with AT&T. It’s not something we’ve experienced in the past.”

    Not all AT&T workers are currently on strike, even locally, since some employees (e.g. AT&T Mobility) are covered by a different union contract. But things are heating up beyond the South.

    Last week, AT&T employees on the West Coast, also represented by the CWA, rejected a tentative agreement for a new contract that they had previously reached with the company. “Our members had a chance to review and vote on the AT&T West tentative agreement, and the majority determined that it did not meet their needs,” said Frank Arce, vice president of CWA District 9, in a statement.

    Just yesterday, the union announced that its executive board had authorized its own strike against AT&T West, in a move of solidarity with striking employees in the South. A strike authorization doesn’t necessarily mean a strike will occur, but it’s a threat the union can leverage against the company, which has already posted job listings online for workers to pick up the slack left behind in the Southeast.

    Ahead of expected storms in Louisiana this week, contractors for AT&T offered an hourly pay rate of $210 or more to non-union workers who were willing to cross the picket line, according to a post that circulated (and caught the union’s attention) on Facebook.

    Subcontracted workers in white trucks drove past workers on the picket line in Orlando this morning, drawing snide remarks and glares from those holding the line. Other cars and semi-trucks driving down Goldenrod unaffiliated with the company, on the other hand, honked their horns in solidarity. Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe, who’s running for re-election this fall,  joined the striking workers for a press conference Friday, alongside Florida Rep. Rita Harris, D-Orlando, whose successful campaign for re-election was settled during this last month’s primary election.

    Striking workers in the Orlando area have also been joined on picket lines over the last month by representatives of other labor unions —  including teacher and hospitality workers unions — as well as U.S. Congressman Maxwell Frost (you can’t just own a CWA bomber jacket and not show up to the picket line), Congressman Darren Soto and other Democratic state legislators such as House Rep. Anna Eskamani, Sen. Linda Stewart (who’s challenging Uribe for her seat on County Commission) and incoming state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith (who didn’t face any challengers in his race for the District 17 state Senate seat).

    “Coming to support workers on the picket line this past month, I have met workers who have seen this song and dance from AT&T every single time that they do bargaining,” said Tara “Glitter” Felton, an organizer for Central Florida Jobs with Justice who’s also a CWA union member. “Mega corporations like AT&T will continue to do everything that they can to weaken the power of their workforce.”

    “These workers are our neighbors,” Felton continued. “As a community, we need to continue to show support.”

    The union has set up a GoFundMe for striking workers in Central Florida here, and also has a petition that community members can sign to tell AT&T to bargain a fair contract with their union workforce. Community members can also follow CWA Local 3108’s social media pages for updates on picket line locations.

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    McKenna Schueler

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  • Union workers at downtown Sacramento hotel vote to authorize strike

    Union workers at downtown Sacramento hotel vote to authorize strike

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    WE’LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT COOLDOWN WITH THE SEVEN DAY FORECAST IN A FEW MINUTES. SOUNDS GOOD. HEATHER. THANKS. SOME BREAKING NEWS. WE’RE FOLLOWING RIGHT NOW IN SACRAMENTO WHERE HOTEL WORKERS HAVE AUTHORIZED A STRIKE AT THE SHERATON GRAND HOTEL. WE CAN SHOW YOU LIVE PICTURES HERE AT DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO, AND YOU CAN SEE THE SHERATON GRAND HOTEL THAT’S IN THE CENTER OF YOUR SCREEN. ACCORDING TO THE UNION, THE VOTE GIVES THE NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE THE ABILITY TO CALL FOR A STRIKE AT ANY TIME. THE UNION SAYS IT HAS BEEN NEGOTIATING FOR HIGHER PAY, BETTER WORK SCHEDULES AND MORE PROTECTIONS. WE REACHED OUT T

    Union workers at downtown Sacramento hotel vote to authorize strike

    Workers at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in downtown Sacramento overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike on Wednesday.Representatives said 97% of the workers, under the UNITE HERE Local 49 union, voted to authorize the strike with the goal of raising hotel wages and protecting against cuts to services and staffing.The authorization gives the negotiating committee the ability to call for a strike at any time.The vote comes after the workers’ current contract expired on June 30.”Workers say that after months of unsuccessful negotiations, they’re tired of waiting for raises, better workloads, and protections for work associated with providing guest services and amenities,” a representative of the union said in a statement.The strike would cover 140 workers, including housekeepers, front desk agents, cooks, dishwashers, servers, bartenders, bellmen and more.KCRA 3 has reached out to Marriott, which owns the hotel, for comment.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    Workers at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in downtown Sacramento overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike on Wednesday.

    Representatives said 97% of the workers, under the UNITE HERE Local 49 union, voted to authorize the strike with the goal of raising hotel wages and protecting against cuts to services and staffing.

    The authorization gives the negotiating committee the ability to call for a strike at any time.

    The vote comes after the workers’ current contract expired on June 30.

    “Workers say that after months of unsuccessful negotiations, they’re tired of waiting for raises, better workloads, and protections for work associated with providing guest services and amenities,” a representative of the union said in a statement.

    The strike would cover 140 workers, including housekeepers, front desk agents, cooks, dishwashers, servers, bartenders, bellmen and more.

    KCRA 3 has reached out to Marriott, which owns the hotel, for comment.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

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  • Israeli union goes on strike as Netanyahu faces rage over Hamas killing of hostages without cease-fire deal

    Israeli union goes on strike as Netanyahu faces rage over Hamas killing of hostages without cease-fire deal

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    There were widespread disruptions across Israel on Monday as members of the country’s largest labor union went on strike to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a deal to bring home the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

    The leader of the Histadrut union, which has hundreds of thousands of members in Israel, called for the strike on Sunday after news broke of the recovery of the bodies of six hostages who had previously been known to be alive, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

    The Israel Defense Forces said all six were killed a short time before their bodies were found by Israeli troops inside a tunnel in Gaza.

    Funeral of Hersh Goldberg-Polin one of six Israeli hostages whose body was recovered from Hamas captivity in Gaza, in Jerusalem
    People pay their respects on the street on the day of the funeral of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, one of six Israeli hostages whose body was recovered from Hamas captivity in Gaza, in Jerusalem September 2, 2024

    Ronen Zvulun / REUTERS


    “My message to Prime Minister Netanyahu is that my brother Keith and all the remaining hostages need to be home immediately,” Israeli-American Lee Seigel, whose brother Keith is among the roughly 75 hostages still believed to be held alive in Gaza, told CBS News at a protest on Sunday that drew hundreds of thousands of Israelis onto the streets.

    Seigel said a deal was needed immediately for “those who are alive, to start rebuilding, as the country needs to rebuild, and those who are deceased, for a proper burial. Eleven months, almost 11 months of war is too much, too long,” he said.

    While many private sector businesses were open as usual on Monday, municipal services as well as services at Israel’s main air transport hub, Ben Gurion Airport, were at least partially disrupted. Banks were closed and hospitals were only partially operating, the Reuters news agency reported.

    Israel’s labor court ruled that the general strike would need to end by 2:30 p.m. local time on Monday, and the ruling was accepted by the union.

    The nationwide strike came after months of regular protests led by the families of the hostages over Netanyahu’s handling of negotiations aimed at securing a cease-fire and hostage release agreement.  

    As negotiations have taken place between Israel and Hamas through mediators including Qatar, Egypt and the United States, one of the biggest recent sticking points has been whether Israel would agree to pull back its troops from the border area between Gaza and Egypt known as the Philadelphi Corridor after any deal.

    “The country needs quiet. The region needs quiet,” Seigel told CBS News. “Politics are driving the speech, the [cease-fire] non-negotiations negotiations, and are driving an extreme government in attempts to hold on to their power.”

    Seigel said the killing of the six additional hostages meant President Biden should rethink the way the U.S. supports the Israeli government.

    The war “serves political interests that do not jibe with the needs of our country, nor the region, nor Gaza,” Seigel said. “President Biden… we know you will not give up. But not giving up at this point means doing whatever is necessary. The United States can leverage many different interests, issues within Israel, within the region… They need to make some very, very hard decisions now that we have crossed a red line, where everything is available in the arsenal of the United States government to bring a cease-fire, to bring quiet and return hostages.”

    Israel Palestinians
    This combination of six undated photos shows hostages, from top left, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, from bottom left, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Carmel Gat, who were held hostage by Hamas militants in Gaza. On Sept. 1, 2024, the Hostages Families Forum announced their deaths while in Hamas captivity.

    The Hostages Families Forum via AP


    The six hostages whose bodies were recovered were Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Master Sgt. Ori Danino. The Israeli Ministry of Health said that autopsies showed they had each been shot at close range on Thursday or Friday.

    Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s family confirmed his death in a statement released early Sunday, thanking supporters and asking for privacy. His funeral was schedule to take place on Monday, and thousands lined the funeral procession route to pay their respects.

    President Biden, who spoke to the Goldberg-Polin family, said he was “devastated and outraged” by Goldberg-Polin’s killing.

    “Hersh was among the innocents brutally attacked while attending a music festival for peace in Israel on October 7. He lost his arm helping friends and strangers during Hamas’ savage massacre,” Mr. Biden said.

    Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the stalled cease-fire negotiations, saying “whoever murders hostages doesn’t want a deal.”

    Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were scheduled to meet with the team representing the U.S. in the hostage deal negotiations at the White House later on Monday.

    Imtiaz Tyab

    contributed to this report.

    Haley Ott

    Haley Ott is the CBS News Digital international reporter, based in the CBS News London bureau.

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  • Strikes start at top hotel chains across the country as housekeepers seek higher wages

    Strikes start at top hotel chains across the country as housekeepers seek higher wages

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    Hundreds of Boston hotel workers go on strike


    Hundreds of Boston hotel workers go on strike

    02:29

    With up to 17 rooms to clean each shift, Fatima Amahmoud’s job at the Moxy hotel in downtown Boston sometimes feels impossible.

    There was the time she found three days worth of blond dog fur clinging to the curtains, the bedspread and the carpet. She knew she wouldn’t finish in the 30 minutes she is supposed to spend on each room. The dog owner had declined daily room cleaning, an option that many hotels have encouraged as environmentally friendly but is a way for them to cut labor costs and cope with worker shortages since the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Unionized housekeepers, however, have waged a fierce fight to restore automatic daily room cleaning at major hotel chains, saying they have been saddled with unmanageable workloads, or in many cases, fewer hours and a decline in income.

    The dispute has become emblematic of the frustration over working conditions among hotel workers, who were put out of their jobs for months during pandemic shutdowns and returned to an industry grappling with chronic staffing shortages and evolving travel trends.

    Hotel Workers Contracts
    Union members from Local 26, representing workers in the hospitality industries of Massachusetts, picket outside the Hyatt Regency Boston, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Boston.

    Charles Krupa / AP


    More than 40,000 workers, represented by the UNITE HERE union, have been locked in difficult contract negotiations with major hotel chains that include Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Omni. They are seeking higher wages and a reversal of service and staffing cuts.

    At least 15,000 workers have voted to authorize strikes if no agreements are reached after contracts expire at hotels in 12 cities, from Honolulu to Boston.

    The first of the strikes began Sunday, when more than 4,000 workers walked off the job at hotels in Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and Greenwich, Connecticut, UNITE HERE said.

    “We said many times to the manager that it is too much for us,” said Amahmoud, whose hotel was among those where workers have authorized a strike but have not yet walked out.

    Michael D’Angelo, Hyatt’s head of labor relations for the Americas, said the company’s hotels have contingency plans to minimize the impact of the strikes.”We are disappointed that UNITE HERE has chosen to strike while Hyatt remains willing to negotiate,” he said.

    In a statement before the strikes began, Hilton said it was “committed to negotiating in good faith to reach fair and reasonable agreements.” Marriott and Omni did not return requests for comments.

    Seeking family-sustaining compensation

    The labor unrest serves as a reminder of the pandemic’s lingering toll on low-wage women, especially Black and Hispanic women who are overrepresented in front-facing service jobs. Although women have largely returned to the workforce since bearing the brunt of pandemic-era furloughs — or dropping out to take on caregiving responsibilities — that recovery has masked a gap in employment rates between women with college degrees and those without.

    The U.S. hotel industry employs about 1.9 million people, some 196,000 fewer workers than in February 2019, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nearly 90% of building housekeepers are women, according to federal statistics.

    It’s a workforce that relies overwhelmingly on women of color, many of them immigrants, and which skews older, according to UNITE HERE.

    Union President Gwen Mills characterizes the contract negotiations as part of long-standing battle to secure family-sustaining compensation for service workers on par with more traditionally male-dominated industries.

    “Hospitality work overall is undervalued, and it’s not a coincidence that it’s disproportionately women and people of color doing the work,” Mills said.

    Hotel Workers Contracts
    Union members from Local 26, representing workers in the hospitality industries of Massachusetts, picket outside the Hyatt Regency Boston, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Boston.

    Charles Krupa / AP


    The union hopes to build on its recent success in southern California, where after repeated strikes it won significant wage hikes, increased employer contributions to pensions, and fair workload guarantees in a new contract with 34 hotels. Under the contract, housekeepers at most hotels will earn $35 an hour by July 2027.

    The American Hotel And Lodging Association says 80% of its member hotels report staffing shortages, and 50% cite housekeeping as their most critical hiring need.

    Kevin Carey, the association’s interim president and CEO, says hotels are doing all they can to attract workers. According to the association’s surveys, 86% of hoteliers have increased wages over the past six months, and many have offered more flexibility with hours or expanded benefits. The association says wages for hotel workers have risen 26% since the pandemic.

    “Now is a fantastic time to be a hotel employee,” Carey said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press.

    Hotel workers say the reality on the ground is more complicated.

    Maria Mata, 61, a housekeeper at the W Hotel in San Francisco, said she earns $2,190 every two weeks if she gets to work full-time. But some weeks, she only gets called in one or two days, causing her to max out her credit card to pay for food and other expenses for her household, which includes her granddaughter and elderly mother.

    “It’s hard to look for a new job at my age. I just have to keep the faith that we will work this out,” Mata said.

    Guests at the Hilton Hawaiian Village often tell Nely Reinante they don’t need their rooms cleaned because they don’t want her to work too hard. She said she seizes every opportunity to explain that refusing her services creates more work for housekeepers.

    Hospitality industry rebounds but not for workers 

    Since the pandemic, UNITE HERE has won back automatic daily room cleans at some hotels in Honolulu and other cities, either through contract negotiations, grievance filings or local government ordinances.

    But the issue is back on the table at many hotels where contracts are expiring. Mills said UNITE HERE is striving for language to make it difficult for hotels to quietly encourage guests to opt out of daily housekeeping.

    The U.S. hotel industry has rebounded from the pandemic despite average occupancy rates that remain shy of 2019 levels, largely due to higher room rates and record guest spending per room. Average revenue per available room, a key metric, is expected to reach a record high of $101.84 in 2024, according the hotel association.

    David Sherwyn, the director of the Cornell University Center for Innovative Hospitality Labor & Employment Relations, said UNITE HERE is a strong union but faces a tough fight over daily room cleaning because hotels consider reducing services part of a long-term budget and staffing strategy.

    “The hotels are saying the guests don’t want it, I can’t find the people and it’s a huge expense,” Sherwyn said. “That’s the battle.”

    Workers bristle at what they see as moves to squeeze more out of them as they cope with erratic schedules and low pay. While unionized housekeepers tend to make higher wages, pay varies widely between cities.

    Chandra Anderson, 53, makes $16.20 an hour as a housekeeper at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor, where workers have not yet voted to strike. She is hoping for a contract that will raise her hourly pay to $20 but says the company came back with a counteroffer that “felt like a slap in the face.”

    Anderson, who has been her household’s sole breadwinner since her husband went on dialysis, said they had to move to a smaller house a year ago in part because she wasn’t able to get enough hours at her job. Things have improved since the hotel reinstated daily room cleaning earlier this year, but she still struggles to afford basics like groceries.

    Tracy Lingo, president of UNITE HERE Local 7, said the Baltimore members are seeking pensions for the first time but the biggest priority is bringing hourly wages closer to those in other cities.

    “That’s how far behind we are,” Lingo said.

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  • Israeli airstrike hits Beirut and kills 1 person in escalating tensions with Hezbollah

    Israeli airstrike hits Beirut and kills 1 person in escalating tensions with Hezbollah

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    Israel carried out a rare strike on Beirut Tuesday, killing at least one person and raising the stakes in the escalating tensions with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.Video above: State Department says US not currently planning to evacuate US citizens from LebanonThe Israeli military said the strike targeted the militant commander allegedly behind the deaths of 12 children and teens in a weekend rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, as well as the deaths of numerous Israeli civilians hit in other strikes.Israel has blamed the rocket attack Saturday in the town of Majdal Shams on the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has denied any role. “Hezbollah crossed a red line,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted on the platform X shortly after Tuesday’s strike.Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that the strike, carried out with a drone that launched three rockets, killed one woman and wounded several other people, some of them seriously. The wounded were taken to nearby hospitals. Bahman Hospital near the site of the blast called on people to donate blood.It was not immediately clear if the intended target of the strike had been killed or injured.The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately release a statement, but minutes after the strike sent a photo of the prime minister with his national security advisor and other officials.A Hezbollah official and the group’s TV station said that an Israeli airstrike hit Hezbollah’s stronghold south of Beirut on Tuesday evening, causing damage.The airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburb of Haret Hreik damaged several buildings but it was not immediately clear if any Hezbollah official was hit, the Hezbollah official said on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.The strike hit an apartment building next to a hospital, collapsing half of the targeted building. The hospital sustained minor damages, while the surrounding streets were littered with debris and broken glass. Paramedics could be seen carrying several injured people out of the damaged buildings. It was not immediately clear if anyone had been killed.A resident of the suburb whose home is about 200 meters (yards) away said that dust from the explosion “covered everything,” and that the glass in his son’s apartment was broken.“Then people went down on the streets,” he said. “Everyone has family. They went to check on them. It was a lot of destruction.” He spoke on condition of anonymity out of concerns about his security at a tense moment.The last time Israel targeted Beirut was in January, when an airstrike killed a top Hamas official, Saleh Arouri. That strike was the first time Israel had hit Beirut since the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006.

    TEL AVIV, Israel —

    Israel carried out a rare strike on Beirut Tuesday, killing at least one person and raising the stakes in the escalating tensions with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

    Video above: State Department says US not currently planning to evacuate US citizens from Lebanon

    The Israeli military said the strike targeted the militant commander allegedly behind the deaths of 12 children and teens in a weekend rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, as well as the deaths of numerous Israeli civilians hit in other strikes.

    Israel has blamed the rocket attack Saturday in the town of Majdal Shams on the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has denied any role. “Hezbollah crossed a red line,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted on the platform X shortly after Tuesday’s strike.

    Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that the strike, carried out with a drone that launched three rockets, killed one woman and wounded several other people, some of them seriously. The wounded were taken to nearby hospitals. Bahman Hospital near the site of the blast called on people to donate blood.

    It was not immediately clear if the intended target of the strike had been killed or injured.

    The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately release a statement, but minutes after the strike sent a photo of the prime minister with his national security advisor and other officials.

    A Hezbollah official and the group’s TV station said that an Israeli airstrike hit Hezbollah’s stronghold south of Beirut on Tuesday evening, causing damage.

    The airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburb of Haret Hreik damaged several buildings but it was not immediately clear if any Hezbollah official was hit, the Hezbollah official said on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

    The strike hit an apartment building next to a hospital, collapsing half of the targeted building. The hospital sustained minor damages, while the surrounding streets were littered with debris and broken glass. Paramedics could be seen carrying several injured people out of the damaged buildings. It was not immediately clear if anyone had been killed.

    A resident of the suburb whose home is about 200 meters (yards) away said that dust from the explosion “covered everything,” and that the glass in his son’s apartment was broken.

    “Then people went down on the streets,” he said. “Everyone has family. They went to check on them. It was a lot of destruction.” He spoke on condition of anonymity out of concerns about his security at a tense moment.

    The last time Israel targeted Beirut was in January, when an airstrike killed a top Hamas official, Saleh Arouri. That strike was the first time Israel had hit Beirut since the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006.

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  • Video game actors are going on strike. Here’s why

    Video game actors are going on strike. Here’s why

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    Hollywood’s video game performers voted to go on strike Thursday after negotiations with game industry giants that began nearly two years ago came to a halt over artificial intelligence protections.Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have billed the issues behind the labor dispute — and AI in particular — as an existential crisis for performers. Game voice actors and motion capture artists’ likenesses, they say, could be replicated by AI and used without their consent and without fair compensation.The union says the unregulated use of AI poses “an equal or even greater threat” to performers in the video game industry than it does in film and television because the capacity to cheaply and easily create convincing digital replicas of performers’ voices is widely available.“We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members. Enough is enough. When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can live — and work — with, we will be here, ready to negotiate,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement Wednesday. “Here are five things to know about the strike, which starts at 12:01 a.m. Friday:Who is covered under the contract?The agreement covers more than 2,500 “off-camera voiceover performers, on-camera (motion capture, stunt) performers, stunt coordinators, singers, dancers, puppeteers, and background performers,” according to SAG-AFTRA.Which game companies are involved? The union had been negotiating with an industry bargaining group consisting of signatory video game companies, including divisions of Activision and Electronic Arts. Those companies are Activision Productions; Blindlight; Disney Character Voices; Electronic Arts; Productions Inc.; Formosa Interactive; Insomniac Games; Take 2 Productions; VoiceWorks Productions; and WB Games.The game companies have said that they were negotiating in good faith and had reached tentative agreements “on the vast majority of proposals.”Not the first time video game actors have gone on strikeWednesday’s labor action marks the second time SAG-AFTRA’s video game performers have gone on strike. Their first work stoppage, in October 2016, began after more than one year of negotiations failed. The union and video game companies reached a tentative deal 11 months later, in September 2017. At the time, the strike — which helped secure a bonus compensation structure for voice actors and performance capture artists — was the longest in the union’s history, following the merger of Hollywood’s two largest actors unions in 2012.What are performers asking for? SAG-AFTRA has said that some of the key issues include securing wages that keep up with inflation, protections around “exploitative uses” of artificial intelligence and safety precautions that account for the strain of physical performances as well as vocal stress. Union negotiators told The Associated Press that they had made gains in bargaining over wages and job safety, but that the game studios refused to “provide an equal level of protection from the dangers of AI for all our members.”The signatory companies refused to extend AI protections to on-camera performers, the union said.“They’re saying we’ll protect voiceover performers, but we won’t protect anybody else,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s executive director, said in an interview last month. “The bottom line is if you have performers working for you, helping create the content that’s in your game, whether it’s voice content, whether it’s stunt work, whether it’s motion work…all of those performers deserve to have their right to have informed consent and fair compensation for the use of their image, their likeness or voice, their performance. It’s that simple.”AI is the sticking pointAlthough the unchecked use of artificial intelligence has been a sticking point in talks, voice actors and members of the union negotiating committee have said they are not anti-AI. The performers are worried, however, that unchecked use of AI could provide game makers with a means to displace them — by training an AI to replicate an actor’s voice, or to create a digital replica of their likeness without consent.Some also argue that AI could also strip less experienced actors of the chance to land smaller background roles, such as non-player characters, where they typically cut their teeth before landing larger roles. The unchecked use of AI, performers say, could also lead to ethical issues if their voices or likenesses are used create content that they do not morally agree with.SAG-AFTRA created a separate contract in February that covered indie and lower-budget video game projects. The tiered-budget independent interactive media agreement contains some of the protections on AI that video game industry bargaining group rejected.The union also announced a side deal with AI voice company Replica Studios in January that enables major studios to work with unionized actors to create and license a digital replica of their voice. It also sets terms that allow performers to opt out of having their voices used in perpetuity.

    Hollywood’s video game performers voted to go on strike Thursday after negotiations with game industry giants that began nearly two years ago came to a halt over artificial intelligence protections.

    Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have billed the issues behind the labor dispute — and AI in particular — as an existential crisis for performers. Game voice actors and motion capture artists’ likenesses, they say, could be replicated by AI and used without their consent and without fair compensation.

    The union says the unregulated use of AI poses “an equal or even greater threat” to performers in the video game industry than it does in film and television because the capacity to cheaply and easily create convincing digital replicas of performers’ voices is widely available.

    “We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members. Enough is enough. When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can live — and work — with, we will be here, ready to negotiate,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement Wednesday. “

    Here are five things to know about the strike, which starts at 12:01 a.m. Friday:

    Who is covered under the contract?

    The agreement covers more than 2,500 “off-camera voiceover performers, on-camera (motion capture, stunt) performers, stunt coordinators, singers, dancers, puppeteers, and background performers,” according to SAG-AFTRA.

    Which game companies are involved?

    The union had been negotiating with an industry bargaining group consisting of signatory video game companies, including divisions of Activision and Electronic Arts. Those companies are Activision Productions; Blindlight; Disney Character Voices; Electronic Arts; Productions Inc.; Formosa Interactive; Insomniac Games; Take 2 Productions; VoiceWorks Productions; and WB Games.

    The game companies have said that they were negotiating in good faith and had reached tentative agreements “on the vast majority of proposals.”

    Not the first time video game actors have gone on strike

    Wednesday’s labor action marks the second time SAG-AFTRA’s video game performers have gone on strike. Their first work stoppage, in October 2016, began after more than one year of negotiations failed. The union and video game companies reached a tentative deal 11 months later, in September 2017. At the time, the strike — which helped secure a bonus compensation structure for voice actors and performance capture artists — was the longest in the union’s history, following the merger of Hollywood’s two largest actors unions in 2012.

    What are performers asking for?

    SAG-AFTRA has said that some of the key issues include securing wages that keep up with inflation, protections around “exploitative uses” of artificial intelligence and safety precautions that account for the strain of physical performances as well as vocal stress. Union negotiators told The Associated Press that they had made gains in bargaining over wages and job safety, but that the game studios refused to “provide an equal level of protection from the dangers of AI for all our members.”

    The signatory companies refused to extend AI protections to on-camera performers, the union said.

    “They’re saying we’ll protect voiceover performers, but we won’t protect anybody else,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s executive director, said in an interview last month. “The bottom line is if you have performers working for you, helping create the content that’s in your game, whether it’s voice content, whether it’s stunt work, whether it’s motion work…all of those performers deserve to have their right to have informed consent and fair compensation for the use of their image, their likeness or voice, their performance. It’s that simple.”

    AI is the sticking point

    Although the unchecked use of artificial intelligence has been a sticking point in talks, voice actors and members of the union negotiating committee have said they are not anti-AI. The performers are worried, however, that unchecked use of AI could provide game makers with a means to displace them — by training an AI to replicate an actor’s voice, or to create a digital replica of their likeness without consent.

    Some also argue that AI could also strip less experienced actors of the chance to land smaller background roles, such as non-player characters, where they typically cut their teeth before landing larger roles. The unchecked use of AI, performers say, could also lead to ethical issues if their voices or likenesses are used create content that they do not morally agree with.

    SAG-AFTRA created a separate contract in February that covered indie and lower-budget video game projects. The tiered-budget independent interactive media agreement contains some of the protections on AI that video game industry bargaining group rejected.

    The union also announced a side deal with AI voice company Replica Studios in January that enables major studios to work with unionized actors to create and license a digital replica of their voice. It also sets terms that allow performers to opt out of having their voices used in perpetuity.

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  • Striking Minneapolis park workers deliver counterproposal amid strike

    Striking Minneapolis park workers deliver counterproposal amid strike

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    Minneapolis Park and Rec Board reacts to union’s counterproposal


    Minneapolis Park and Rec Board reacts to union’s counterproposal

    00:28

    MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board says a counteroffer by their striking workers will add nearly $1 million in costs this year.

    The park board says it received the new proposal from the park workers’ union, LIUNA Local 363, which will cost $800,000 more overall. The union’s previous three-year proposal cost $6.7 million, the board says.

    The new proposal would cost $7.5 million over three years, compared to the park board’s offer of $4.6 million over three years.

    The park board said it presented its last, best and final offer, which includes a 10.25% wage increase over three years, plus two market adjustments for 13 positions.     

    The counteroffer was a total package, which the park board says indicates “a rejection of any portion constitutes a rejection of the entire proposal.”

    Park workers say they’re still waiting to receive the board’s official reaction to that offer.

    “We remain committed to serious negotiations at the bargaining table and addressing proposals in good faith,” said AJ Lange, LIUNA Local 363 business manager. “If the park board is genuinely interested in resuming talks, we expect them to reach out through proper channels, as we have done. We will focus our efforts on productive negotiations.”

    The two sides will meet with a mediator for negotiations at 11 a.m. on Monday.

    Workers have been on strike for more than a week, calling for better pay and benefits. The workers are tasked with maintaining the city’s parks, which are consistently ranked among the top in the nation. The union represents a little more than a third of the city’s full-time and seasonal staff labor staff. 

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    Riley Moser

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  • Strike! Midtown building cleaners go on strike to protest wage cuts, insurance cancelations

    Strike! Midtown building cleaners go on strike to protest wage cuts, insurance cancelations

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    Hundreds of 32BJ SEIU union members rallied on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in support of workers who lost their jobs and had their wages slashed after a new landlord took ownership of a Fifth Avenue property in Midtown’s Diamond District.

    Photo credit: 32BJ SEIU