Posts tagged equity
AI: Jobs and Regulation
November 13, 2023 // Despite that, while there are some basic safety precautions that should be taken, for example, to limit the extent to which AI is integrated into nuclear weapon systems, it is hard to see how, short of adopting economic autarky, the U.S. could renounce or even slow down the broader advance of AI. A technology cannot be uninvented, and, if the U.S. applied the brakes, its geopolitical or economic competitors would do their best to take advantage, by pressing on with AI, probably recruiting American experts to help in their efforts to do so. Thus it’s interesting to see that a number of European countries have been pushing back against the EU’s efforts to regulate AI development (with the harshest regulation, naturally, being reserved, EurAktiv reports, for “leading providers that currently are non-European companies”). The regulation would be “risk-based,” which, as typically interpreted in Brussels, a place where the precautionary principle is taken to absurd levels, would be bleak news for innovators.
NEW YORK: Workers at Sage and Coombe Architects Unionize
September 19, 2023 //
Virginia Tech graduate students and staff are launching labor unions
September 7, 2023 // It’s an effort that has been in the works for three years, as the groups have quietly recruited members while, across the country, campus labor unions have gained attention. On Tuesday, members of the United Campus Workers of Virginia Tech (UCW-VT) and the Virginia Tech Graduate Labor Union (VT GLU) will team up in a rally on the Blacksburg campus. They hope going public will attract new members and draw attention to their efforts to press university administrators for improvements for campus workers at all levels. Together, the unions have a potential membership of about 20,000 people affiliated with Tech.
‘It’s not as glamorous as you think’: Local actors weigh in on impact of SAG-AFTRA strike
September 1, 2023 // For the last month, the Jameses have been striking with SAG-AFTRA, the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, to which they’ve belonged since 1997. Without a resolution to the union’s ongoing labor dispute, Gilda and Chris’s usual lineup of acting work just doesn’t exist. Come this fall, Gilda and Chris plan to work a number of odd jobs, including at the polls during election season and at Spooky World, a Halloween-themed attraction park in Litchfield, N.H., where costumed actors try to scare patrons. Chris shuddered at the thought. The gig — which he calls “stage in your face” — pays $10 an hour and is “the toughest acting I’ve ever done.” It would be their third season there.
ProPublica, lauded journalism nonprofit, is latest newsroom to unionize
July 31, 2023 // Reporters at investigative journalism nonprofit ProPublica announced Wednesday they are unionizing, bringing an industry wave of labor organizing to a somewhat unexpected corner of the media world. The announcement, timed to the 15th anniversary of ProPublica, comes as its corporate peers are grappling with layoffs and cutbacks that have stoked employee discontent. By comparison, ProPublica, a donor-supported nonprofit that counted over $57 million in assets on its most recently available tax forms, has been comparatively insulated from the economic challenges of the industry. In a statement, staffers said a union “is essential to preserving the best parts of working at ProPublica and ensuring our values do not waver regardless of leadership changes or turbulence within the industry.” The campaign could shift labor relations at ProPublica, which is one of few national news outlets of its size and distinction where staffers do not have union representation.
Actors’ Equity Issues Strike Threat for Broadway National Tours (Exclusive)
April 5, 2023 // Actors’ Equity has issued a strike threat against The Broadway League. The union, which represents more than 51,000 stage managers and actors, has been bargaining with The Broadway League, which represents industry producers, presenters and general managers, since mid-January to create a new touring contract. Now, Actors’ Equity has authorized executive director Al Vincent Jr., its lead negotiator, to call a strike on all Broadway national tours, if he deems it necessary, after the union says it ran into roadblocks around a number of key issues.
Tacoma Art Museum at leadership crossroads at a time when employees work to unionize
December 27, 2022 // Employees began their union efforts last spring and announced in October they were organizing. They invited TAM’s board to voluntarily recognize their union, TAM Workers United (TAMWU). The board declined. In a statement, TAM’s board acknowledged that its staff has legitimate grievances over personnel management and workplace equity.
READOUT: At US Department of Labor, Workers’ Voice Summit stresses collaboration in addressing workers’ rights concerns
October 6, 2022 // Event focused on workforce equity, expanding accessibility for underserved workers U.S. Department of Labor officials gathered with workers, union representatives and labor organizers from a range of industries to discuss the value of building relationships and collaborating on ideas to address workers’ concerns at its Workers’ Voice Summit, Sept. 27-29, 2022. Hosted by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the three-day summit focused on trends affecting workers and the need to foster open dialogue to identify workplace problems and find solutions. Participants also discussed the benefits of advancing equity and making the department more accessible to underserved workers and their advocates. Officials from the department’s Wage and Hour Division, Office of the Solicitor, Women’s Bureau, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, and Office of Public Engagement also joined the event.
Champaign-Urbana Public Health workers intend to unionize
September 29, 2022 // Nearly 100 Champaign-Urbana Public Health District employees signed a card in support of unionizing. The signatures are inching closer to the majority needed to join the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 in Springfield, according to organizing member and CUPHD case manager/counselor Darya Shahgheibi.
Film Forum Workers Vote to Unionize in NLRB Election
June 21, 2022 // Full and part-time staffers who work in the theater, in programming, publicity, facilities and administration participated in the vote. According to the union, employees hope unionizing will improve compensation, change organizational development practices and standardize work conditions for workers across departments. The union adds that workers’ experience throughout the pandemic with furloughs and health and safety concerns helped spur their unionization attempt. Chad Bolton, Claudia Francois, Stephanie Gross, sustainable workplace, Alamo Drafthouse theater, Anthology Film Archives, Film at Lincoln Center,