Cincinnati
AFL-CIO
Labor Council
News & Updates
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HEROES Act Is Right for America
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The HEROES Act
, a COVID pandemic response bill unveiled by the pro-worker leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives, is the right prescription for America, according to AFSCME President Lee Saunders.
“The only way to beat COVID and reopen the economy is to save vital public services and the public service workers who provide them – and this bill from the House of Representatives does exactly that,”
Saunders said in a statement
. “This legislation, instead of bailing out wealthy corporations, invests in the services and the people who make our communities strong: people who provide clean water, safe roads, strong schools, fully staffed hospitals and much more.”
AFSCME members – many of them on the front lines of fighting the pandemic – have been leading a
national campaign
to urge Congress to help state and local governments recover from the economic devastation caused by COVID-19, which is forcing cuts to public services at a time when the nation’s communities need them urgently.
AFSCME members
are taking action
to push Congress to help cash-strapped state and local governments so they can continue to provide the public services Americans need at this pivotal moment.
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Sisters, Brothers and Friends,
This week, Republicans on the Ohio Supreme court voted to take away local control of public education and sided with an extreme bill that violated legislative procedures. With their votes to agree with the state takeover of our schools, Justices Kennedy and French again put politics over the best interest of Ohioans.
Because of their consistent pro-business, anti-worker decisions, the Ohio AFL-CIO has endorsed their opponents, Judges Jennifer Brunner and John O'Donnell, for the Ohio Supreme Court this year. Judge Brunner and O’Donnell have a strong judicial record that demonstrates their understanding of issues that hard working Ohioans deal with every day.
It's time for a philosophical shift in the state's highest court, one that supports working families. For too long, the voices of working people have been left behind as Justices French and Kennedy have sided with business interests at the expense of working Ohioans, and now our public schools.
Ohioans need Jennifer Brunner and John O'Donnell to restore fairness to the Ohio Supreme Court and rule on cases based on the best interests of the people and not for politic reasons.
In Solidarity,
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Tim Burga, President
Ohio AFL-CIO
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A Big "
Thank You
" From ATU!
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Today is a historical day for Amalgamated Transit Union Local 627
and all of labor is this region. With 134,316 votes counted Issue 7 only passed by 980 votes. The last time a Transit Tax was passed was in 1972 so it has been a long time. As President/Business Agent of ATU 627, I want to personal thank all the people whom donated time, money, or telling a friend to vote yes on Issue 7. This isn’t just about jobs for us, its about getting people to work, church, doctor’s appointments, and even going to the store.
In Solidarity,
Troy
Troy L Miller
President/Business Agent
ATU Local 627
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A Big "
Thank You
" From ATU!
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Dear Labor family,
Today, a historic measure was passed and it couldn’t happen without Labor! Today issue 7 has passed ushering in a new future for public transit in Hamilton county. Without YOUR efforts we wouldn’t be celebrating this major victory for working people.
Thank you again,
Julien
Julien Johnson
Ohio AFL-CIO
Southwest state representative
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Issue 7 Wins and
Cincinnati
"Moves Forward"
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Issue 7 Partners,
It’s official, Issue 7 has passed! In an historic feat, together we have passed a county-wide transportation levy to transform our bus system, invest in our roads and connect people to jobs and healthcare.
This effort was a result of years of hard work, organizing and the coalescing around a strong plan that brought together a big, broad, diverse, bi-partisan and historic coalition.
So much of our community came together; bus riders, business leaders, environmental advocates, labor leaders, disability advocates, faith leaders, young professionals, seniors and so many more to get this done.
Issue 7 was endorsed by over 30 community organizations and over 40 elected officials across the county. Together we talked to our neighbors, our families and co-workers at our community meetings, cubicles (remember those?) and kitchen tables. We made phone calls,
knocked on doors, posted on social media & distributed Yes on 7 yard signs and flyers.
Thank you for all of the time, support & passion. This race was close and EVERYTHING you did mattered to get the levy over the finish line.
Together we took on one of the biggest challenges facing our community with the urgency that it demanded and together we will continue the work to make our transportation system, a system that connects people to jobs, attracts talents and resources to our region and is a system that is safe, reliable and efficient. You made this happen and our community and generations to come will be better because of our collective efforts to move our country forward.
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Thank you.
Taylor
Taylor Liggins
Campaign Manager, Move Forward PAC
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Fighting For All Workers
During The Crisis
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COVID-19 and the economic fallout from the pandemic has hit working people in this country hard.
Current unemployment numbers are at the highest level since the Great Depression. Working families are suddenly finding themselves without health insurance during a public health crisis, and the future of our economy is appearing more and more uncertain with each passing day of inaction by the Trump administration. And workers are on the front lines of this crisis, risking their health and their lives to keep America running, often without proper protection.
In the midst of this uncertainty, America’s labor movement is fighting for all working people.
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We need a response that serves and prioritizes working people, and unions are leading the call for workplace protections and a plan to reopen the country safely.
WHAT: Facebook Live event with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Working America Executive Director Matt Morrison
WHEN: Noon ET on Friday, May 15
Join us to discuss America’s Five Economic Essentials that we need before reopening the economy, Working America’s innovative response to the crisis and how we can work together to protect the interests of ALL workers during this difficult time.
In Solidarity,
Team AFL-CIO
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Key Ohio Legislation: Civil Immunity & Unemployment Compensation
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Friends,
Below, please find recently introduced legislation in the General Assembly that should be of interest to you.
SJR 4 – Repay Federal Unemployment Advances.
Sponsored by Senators Peterson and Schuring, SJR 4 proposes a ballot issue on November’s ballot for the state to issue bonds to repay any federal borrowing on behalf of the unemployment compensation program. The bonds are not general obligation bonds but rather backed by the taxes and fees paid by employers subject to unemployment compensation laws. As we heard from Lieutenant Governor Husted, the state’s unemployment compensation system is careening towards insolvency in a month or two so something will need to be done.
HB 606/SB 308 – Civil Immunity COVID-19.
Sponsored by Rep. Grendell and Sen. Matt Huffman respectively, these bills are not currently companion legislation. Both, however, seek to provide civil immunity to those individuals and businesses providing services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As segments of the state’s economy continue to reopen, it is clear that the General Assembly is poised to act on this legislation in the near term. If you have particular interests/concerns in changes to be made, please let us know as quickly as possible so we can advance those with the sponsors and House and Senate Leadership.
Regards,
Chip
Charles H. Gerhardt, III
President & CEO
700 Walnut Street, Suite 450
Cincinnati, OH 45202
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(Click on the images to download a copy of the full document)
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CFT Covid 19 Resolution for
Safe Reopening of Schools
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Good morning,
I just wanted to share the Resolution on Safe Reopening of Schools that CFT passed last night and we will be using this as our guidance moving forward.
It is likely schools will be ordered to re-open before a vaccine for COVID-19 is available. Much of our members’ concerns center on the highly contagious and deadly nature of this virus. CFT convened a ‘CFT COVID-19 Taskforce’ and collected input from CPS staff using focus group interviews with over 150 teachers, and from an online survey that collected 526 employee responses. The CFT Taskforce members also participated in collaborations with local, state, and national COVID-19 public education coalition groups. The result of over 1,000 hours of dialogue and research is the CFT “Our Lives, Our Safety” Resolution on Reopening Schools.
This Resolution was approved by the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers on May 7, 2020. The Resolution offers a framework of concerns as it relates to CPS employees and students safely returning to school, and it informs our District just how in-depth the reopening plan will have to be, to ensure a safe return to in-school instruction.
We need a robust plan to ensure the safety of every employee and student in this District, and we must center our member’s expertise – the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers and Cincinnati Federation of Office Professionals’, in the development of the plan. Without transparency and joint decision-making, there is a real risk of distrust, the spread of misinformation, and a lack of compliance with the reopening plan.
The survival of our District depends on our educators trusting their schools will be safe, and our families trusting that their children will be safe.
The Resolution can be downloaded by clicking on the button below. CFT looks forward to working together with the Cincinnati Public Schools District.
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Best,
Julie
Julie Sellers, President
Cincinnati Federation of Teachers
2368 Victory Parkway, Suite 100
Cincinnati, Ohio 45206
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Lunch With Legislators
TODAY at 11:00 AM!
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Join your State Legislators again this morning,
Friday, May 15, at 11:00 am
on Facebook Live and Zoom. This week, Representatives Miranda, Kelly, Ingram and Denson will be joined by three special guests to delve into
education during a public health crisis
. Please
sign up here
or by clicking the invitation graphic.
Come, enjoy lunch with your legislators, while they answer your questions and discuss what the future holds for all of us. Or maybe just stop by the stream to say hello and let them know how you are doing. So, please
sign up here
to enjoy another conversation with your legislators.
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Help Prevent COVID-19 Infections
Among Health Care Workers
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Health care workers are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, facing risk of exposure, infection and even death. Their work is central to efforts to save lives and reduce further transmission.
Many thousands of healthcare workers have already been sickened by the virus. In order to prevent future cases, we need to learn more about what is occurring in a range of health care settings, from hospitals and nursing homes to patient homes and prisons. And more information is needed about the challenges of preventing exposures to all types of health care workers, from nurses and physicians to laundry workers and security guards.
The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health is launching a web-based
Health Care Worker COVID-19 Survey
open to all
health care workers who have been exposed to or infected by the COVID-19 virus. The announcement of the study is
here
.
We are conducting this survey to gather information on situations, practices and policies that increase the risk of exposure and infection among health care workers and highlight opportunities to improve worker health and safety and infection control in health care settings. The data we collect will be available to researchers and the public.
I am writing to ask you to spread the word and encourage health care workers to take the survey, which can be completed in about 10 minutes. The survey is anonymous; we will not ask for the name or employer of survey participants.
I'd be grateful if you would share the
survey
with health care workers and organizations representing health care workers in your network.
If you have questions or suggestions regarding the survey, please contact
WorkersC19@gwu.edu
.
Thank you for your help on this initiative.
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David Michaels
David Michaels, PhD, MPH, Professor
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
Milken Institute School of Public Health
The George Washington University
950 New Hampshire Ave NW
Washington, DC 20052
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Workplace Checklist for Prevention of Exposure to COVID 19
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This checklist is a tool to help employers, unions, and workers in non-healthcare facilities
assess workplace exposure, and identify prevention and control measures for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease. Key exposure risk factors include working within 6 feet of people who are known to be or are potentially infected with the virus and working with equipment, materials, and/or surfaces that are potentially contaminated with the virus.
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Long-term Response, Recovery and Revitalization Effort
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Dear United Way Friends,
COVID-19 changed the world and created a sense of urgency at the United Way. We no longer play by the same playbook.
That extends to our annual campaign. While the community kickoff normally takes place in August, you will see campaign action this month, with an official kickoff slated for later in May. We must act now. United Way has never been more needed. Our COVID-19 relief campaign will blend into our annual campaign. The two will be intertwined for the next two years – this is a long-term response, recovery and revitalization effort.
We are fortunate to have David Taylor and P&G leading our campaign during this extremely challenging time. The timing could not be better. P&G infused a lot of manpower, and leveraged several creative partners, to make this successful. “The Way” to success will be prevalent as the campaign rolls out over the next few weeks.
COVID-19 will disproportionately devastate those United Way serves: low-income families throughout Greater Cincinnati. With more than 100 years of experience developing systemic solutions, this is our time to lead. United Way is uniquely positioned to bring together social service agencies, governments, businesses, donors and more to tackle a persistent, community-wide problem in a coordinated, comprehensive way. This is why we exist.
We have already accomplished much:
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- Allowed United Way agency partners to access early allocations for help with emergency relief.
- Established the COVID-19 Regional Response Fund with Greater Cincinnati Foundation, raising more than $7.5 million and already pushing more than $6 million into the community, supporting 200+ nonprofits.
- Set up communication groups so social service agencies or CEOs can chat about their needs and concerns.
- Established 211 as a one-stop shop for COVID-19 relief.
- Reached out to non-traditional partners (faith-based and community-based organizations) to ensure our relief work hits all communities.
- Delivered iPads to help isolated seniors connect with their families.
- Established partnership with Hamilton County Job & Family Services and delivered tens of thousands of dollars of gift cards directly into the hands of food assistance applicants to fill the void between application submittal and approval.
- Connected United Way 211 and Meals on Wheels to proactively reach out to seniors living alone and inquire if they need social services.
- Delivered masks and hand sanitizer to organizations throughout our community. We will ultimately deliver nearly 1 million masks and thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer!
Our fully coordinated response will ultimately help hundreds of thousands across our region.
But our work is not over. This is a long-term effort. You can play a part in that success. United is The Way to respond, recover and revitalize.
I hope you join us in this effort.
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Sincerely,
Moira
Moira Weir
President/CEO
United Way of Greater Cincinnati
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FMCS Institute
Learning Opportunities At A Distance!
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We are open for business and offering a variety of virtual training opportunities!
Sharpen your skills with live, web-based courses.
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FEATURED COURSE
(TWO-PART LIVE WEBINAR)
Wednesday, June 17 and Friday, June 19
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EDT
Two 90-minute sessions
Registration fee: $150
Costing is an essential tool for everyone at the bargaining table. Costing a contract allows you to compare options, set priorities, make sensible proposals and evaluate trade-offs. Join two of FMCS’s most experienced mediators for a lively presentation, discussion and tutorial on this important topic.
This course consists of two 90-minute sessions. Session one includes review of basic math skills for estimating and understanding costs, then, using case studies and hypotheticals, take a look at how parties can most constructively develop, share and use costing information to reach agreement. Additional examples will be provided as homework. Session two will work through those homework examples, and provide opportunity for questions and explanation where needed.
Instructors: FMCS Commissioners Larry Passwaters and Valerie Harragin
Thank you and stay well.
Joe
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Commissioner
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
4600 Montgomery Rd., Suite 100
Cincinnati, Ohio 45212
Office: (513) 684-2952
Cell: (513) 256-1445
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Footnotes: Solidarity In The Midst Of Separation
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In 2010, Barack Obama walked into the well of the House to deliver his annual State of the Union address and declared: “A new decade stretches before us.” He spoke to us of our frustrations and anger, many of which were fresh, open wounds inflicted upon us by the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. But then he quickly pivoted to a more optimistic note and said, “In this new decade, it’s time the American people get a government that matches their decency, that embodies their strength.” Well, from where I sit at the close of that decade, that optimism has yet to be born out.
In the decade since Barrack Obama first sounded that now remote note of optimism, political, cultural, and economic gaps have widened, hearts have hardened, and anxiety born of a prolonged financial crisis has come to define so many of our behaviors, relationships, and conversations. Divergent ideologies now determine even the sources by which we gather our news and harvest our information, resulting in alternative and irreconcilable truths. And then, just when you think the world cannot become more divided, a thing called COVID-19 comes along and adds a literal twist to what had been only a metaphor as we spoke loosely of “a nation divided.”
Well, if you are still reading this after that rather stark assessment, let me tell you that I say all that to better illustrate this… Amid all this, let's try for a moment to take a slightly different perspective … a more horizontal interpretation of our culture. We may even find some silver lining. To the extent that this world of ours has continued to function in these terrible times of political division and COVID 19, we have been given a unique and inspiring look at the true face of our nation. As unsolvable as it all may seem, to the extent that America continues to galumph its way along in spite of the ineptitude and false hopes of it's so-called leaders, it does so riding squarely on the solid, reliable, steadfast backs of its hard-working middle class.
Yes. The hard-working people of America’s Labor Movement have once more proven to be the “not-so-little engine that could.” It's you… it’s us… it’s our Sisters and Brothers in Healthcare, Public Safety, Building Trades/Construction, Food Workers/Retail, Transportation, Public Sector, Education and US Postal Service putting your lives on the line every hour of every day. To the extent this nation is functioning, you can thank a Union Worker.
Bravo Sisters and Brothers! Its us!
So yes, live humbly, but take pride in each other… and in the very noble work we do…work too often performed in silence and out of the view of the more strident minority. However, know that today, you are heard! You are seen! Your voice rings out in the sound of our hammers and in the squeaking of our brakes…in the roar of our engines, the quenching of fires, the formation of young minds, and the easing of pain… in our hands -- the hands that do God's noble work… the hands of America's Unions! You are America at its best!
You my Sisters and Brothers are why this nation will persevere. You are why we will continue and pull out of this... because we persist, we will see more and brighter days ahead. And here, as we stand once again… on the edge of yet another new decade, it may yet prove out that in this new decade, the American people will get "...a government that matches their decency, that embodies their strength.” We have the opportunity to get it right this time.
So, thank you, Sisters and Brothers, for all you do… and for all that you are. A sometimes seemingly ungrateful nation sees you now and is indeed grateful. And what they see is the absolute best of this nation’s character and it's hope. You have shown them what is truly meant by
“Solidarity forever!”
God bless you and God bless America!
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Brian D. Griffin
Director of Communication & Technology
Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council
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Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council
Bill Froehle, President | Pete McLinden, Executive Secretary-Treasurer
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