Workers update

Labor 411 - This year will go down as one of the most historic for the labor movement as workers all over the country stood in solidarity for fair pay, better safety, and respect on the job. “More than 525,000 workers in the United States walked off the job in 2023, according to Bloomberg Law’s database of work stoppages, making it one of the three biggest strike years since 1990,” The Washington Post reports. And the workers won.

The Teamsters stood up to UPS in the summer and didn’t waver. The workers won new protections from dangerous high-temperature working conditions and secured wage hikes, bringing the average top rate to $49 an hour. The UAW, with its new reform-minded president Shawn Fain, called a strike against the Big Three carmakers in the fall. And the workers stuck together despite heavy-handed management tactics. Not only did the workers win a 25% raise but they won the hearts and minds of the American public. President Fain said, “The result is one of the most stunning contract victories since the sit-down strikes in the 1930s.” In May, over 10,000 screenwriters went on strike, followed by 160,000 actors in July. They won protections against the growing use of artificial intelligence and agreed to streaming bonuses.

A study looking at the effects of working outside in hot weather by New York City-based Turner Construction discovered many workers’ core body temperatures reached risky levels even on moderate summer days. The heat pilot study, conducted over three days last summer with an average peak temperature of 88 degrees Fahrenheit, found that 43% of the 33 workers monitored had core temperatures reach over 100.4 F, even in “cooler than typical summer conditions.” OSHA lists 100.4 F as the benchmark for an elevated risk of heat stress.