Biden, Sanders meet with young labor organizers from Starbucks, Minor League Baseball
Brett Samuels
Mon, July 17, 2023
President Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday met with union organizers at the White House in a show of support for organized labor.
The two leaders dropped in on a meeting with young workers who have organized unions in industries that have traditionally not been organized, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing.
The meeting included employees from Starbucks, SEGA and Minor League Baseball, Jean-Pierre said. Other administration officials in attendance included acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and National Economic Council director Lael Brainard.
“You’re seeing unions standing up and trying to end the rather poor conditions that they are working under,” Sanders told reporters after the meeting.
Biden, who has touted himself as the most pro-union president in history, tweeted Monday afternoon, “In my White House, labor will always be welcome.”
The meeting comes as the unions representing Hollywood writers and actors are both on strike, and as UPS workers threaten to go on strike.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien told union members over the weekend the White House has been asked not to intervene if UPS workers strike, saying the administration should be concerned only with corporate greed.
Brett Samuels
Mon, July 17, 2023
President Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday met with union organizers at the White House in a show of support for organized labor.
The two leaders dropped in on a meeting with young workers who have organized unions in industries that have traditionally not been organized, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing.
The meeting included employees from Starbucks, SEGA and Minor League Baseball, Jean-Pierre said. Other administration officials in attendance included acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and National Economic Council director Lael Brainard.
“You’re seeing unions standing up and trying to end the rather poor conditions that they are working under,” Sanders told reporters after the meeting.
Biden, who has touted himself as the most pro-union president in history, tweeted Monday afternoon, “In my White House, labor will always be welcome.”
The meeting comes as the unions representing Hollywood writers and actors are both on strike, and as UPS workers threaten to go on strike.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien told union members over the weekend the White House has been asked not to intervene if UPS workers strike, saying the administration should be concerned only with corporate greed.
Biden meets labor organizers from Starbucks, Minor League Baseball
Updated Mon, July 17, 2023
By Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders met with young labor organizers from Starbucks and Minor League Baseball among others at the White House on Monday as a growing number of worker strikes grip the country.
After decades of declining union membership, organized labor is witnessing a resurgence in the U.S., as sky-high costs of living, housing shortages and technological disruptions have bred unusual levels of solidarity among workers in disparate industries, from dockworkers to Hollywood screenwriters.
Employees seeking better working conditions and higher pay have recently organized unions at companies such as Starbucks, Amazon.com, and Apple even as businesses have become more aggressive in pushing back against union activity.
Biden and Senator Sanders, who chairs a committee on labor issues, was expected to congratulate organizers for the work they have done and discuss the president's "belief that worker power is essential to growing the economy from the middle out and bottom up," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
In a tweet on Monday night, Biden said he and Sanders met with young labor leaders to discuss their fight for better pay and benefits.
"The presence of a union means there is democracy. And organizing or joining a union - that's democracy in action," Biden tweeted.
Administration officials in Monday's meeting included Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, White House National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard, and White House Director of Governmental Affairs Tom Perez, the official said.
Biden, who is often referred to as the most pro-union president in U.S. history by labor leaders, had a similar meeting with union activists from Amazon and Starbucks at the White House last year.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Sonali Paul)
Updated Mon, July 17, 2023
By Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders met with young labor organizers from Starbucks and Minor League Baseball among others at the White House on Monday as a growing number of worker strikes grip the country.
After decades of declining union membership, organized labor is witnessing a resurgence in the U.S., as sky-high costs of living, housing shortages and technological disruptions have bred unusual levels of solidarity among workers in disparate industries, from dockworkers to Hollywood screenwriters.
Employees seeking better working conditions and higher pay have recently organized unions at companies such as Starbucks, Amazon.com, and Apple even as businesses have become more aggressive in pushing back against union activity.
Biden and Senator Sanders, who chairs a committee on labor issues, was expected to congratulate organizers for the work they have done and discuss the president's "belief that worker power is essential to growing the economy from the middle out and bottom up," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
In a tweet on Monday night, Biden said he and Sanders met with young labor leaders to discuss their fight for better pay and benefits.
"The presence of a union means there is democracy. And organizing or joining a union - that's democracy in action," Biden tweeted.
Administration officials in Monday's meeting included Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, White House National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard, and White House Director of Governmental Affairs Tom Perez, the official said.
Biden, who is often referred to as the most pro-union president in U.S. history by labor leaders, had a similar meeting with union activists from Amazon and Starbucks at the White House last year.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Sonali Paul)
A little more than a week after contract talks between UPS and the union representing 340,000 of its workers broke down, UPS said Friday, July 14, 2023, it will begin training many of its non-union employees in the U.S. to step in should there be a strike, which the union has vowed to do if no agreement is reached by the end of this month.
CHRIS MEGERIAN
Mon, July 17, 2023
WASHINGTON (AP) — With labor turmoil roiling industries from coast to coast, President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders met with organizers at the White House on Monday to talk about ways to boost union membership.
The organizers represent industries and workplaces that have not traditionally been represented by unions, such as Starbucks coffee shops and video game companies.
Sanders, an independent from Vermont, said outside the White House that more people are “standing up and saying it is important for us to have a union so we can earn better wages, better working conditions, better pensions and dignity on the job.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president believes that “worker power is essential for growing the economy from the middle out and the bottom up.”
The meeting took place as strikes have been launched and threatened around the country. Entertainment unions representing actors and writers have shut down film and television production over concerns about how revenue is shared in an industry geared more toward streaming content online.
“The president believes all workers, including the writers, including the actors, they deserve a fair pay," Jean-Pierre said. "And they deserve fair benefits.”
She said the administration hopes that "the parties come together and have a mutually beneficial agreement as soon as possible.”
There's already talk of a United Auto Workers strike as contract talks get under way and the industry wrestles with a transition toward electric vehicles. In addition, the Teamsters said its drivers might walk off the job as they struggle to reach a new contract with UPS. Negotiations have a deadline of July 31, and union leader Sean O’Brien said he doesn't want the White House to get involved.
“My neighborhood where I grew up in Boston, if two people had a disagreement and you had nothing to do with it — you just kept walking,” he said on Sunday.
All of this is taking place as Biden pushes the Senate to confirm Julie Su as his new secretary for the Department of Labor. She helped resolve a dispute between dockworkers and shippers, but that has not dislodged her nomination, which is opposed by Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat.
Jean-Pierre said the White House had an “unwavering” commitment to Su and would continue to fight for her.
___
AP White House correspondent Zeke Miller contributed to this report.
No comments:
Post a Comment