Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Support Colectivo Workers this Saturday

This small business Saturday, support Colectivo workers who are seeking union rights with IBEW Local 494 in Milwaukee and IBEW Local 1220 in Chicago.

The workers are launching a “reverse boycott” day of action on Saturday, November 28, and ask union members, valued customers and the general public to show support by patronizing Colectivo and marking your order as “IBEW Strong.”

Show your support for the baristas and cafe workers in their bid for safe working conditions and fair wages in these pandemic times by ordering your coffee IBEW Strong! If ordering from the APP, change your name to: IBEWSTRONGyourfirstname with no spaces.

As Colectivo employees collectively strive to organize their workforce in order to form a union, they are employing new measures to reach their goal. Let’s stand in solidarity and show our support and union power. Make your cup “IBEW Strong.

Milwaukee Art Museum Workers Win Organizing Campaign!

Union Yes at the Milwaukee Art Museum as 141 workers overwhelmingly voted to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Local Lodge 66.

The new Machinists Union members work in every capacity at the Milwaukee Art Museum including Visitor Services, Food and Beverage, Education & Programs, Information Systems, Facilities and more.

“I’m proud to welcome Milwaukee Art Museum workers to the IAM,” said IAM District 10 Directing Business Representative Alex Hoekstra. “Your solidarity through challenging and uncertain times is truly inspiring. Together we will affect real change at work.”

Wisconsin workers are organizing in the face of an unprecedented year for working people. The COVID-19 health pandemic, its economic fallout, and long-standing structural racism has brought into renewed focus the importance of having a voice on the job with a union. Together in union, the workers of the Milwaukee Art Museum have claimed a seat at the table. Their voices will be heard and respected as they together work to make positive change in the workplace and in the community through the collective bargaining process.

“MAM workers overcame a year of tremendous obstacles to achieve this victory and claim their seat at the table,” said IAM District 10 Organizer Anne Wiberg. “The hard work and unwavering solidarity of the organizing team made this historic wall-to-wall union possible.”

Congratulations and welcome to Wisconsin’s newest union members at the Milwaukee Art Museum.  

Recount and Georgia Senate Volunteers Sign Up Information

The bedrock of our democracy is that voters pick our leaders, leaders do not pick their voters. The voters of Wisconsin have spoken and the will of the people is clear. The people have chosen Joe Biden as the next president of the United States.

This year, more Wisconsinites voted than in any other Presidential election. Milwaukee and Dane County saw incredible voter turnout in the midst of a pandemic.

We have won a historic victory in Wisconsin where the labor movement lifted Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to victory! However, there is still work to do.

The Trump campaign has requested a recount of votes in only Milwaukee and Dane counties. We want to thank the election administrators and poll workers who worked tirelessly to ensure that the integrity of this election was upheld to our highest standards.

Any recount changes in vote totals will be insignificant and will not impact the result.

In order to make sure the recount process goes smoothly we need volunteers to help.

Sign up to get involved with our efforts at wisaflcio.org/mobilize and one of our staff will be in touch soon about our volunteer opportunities.

Despite pandemic related challenges, Americans turned out in historic numbers to pick new leaders who will govern for us all and tackle our nation’s greatest challenges head on.  

Also, we need your help to elect two new pro-union, pro-worker Senators in Georgia. Reverend Warnock and Jon Ossoff will be champions for Georgia and are essential to ensure that Joe Biden's agenda is able to move in Congress.

Now is the time to focus on a successful and peaceful transfer of power so that we can move forward together to stop the spread of COVID-19 and provide real economic relief for working families, small businesses, and communities across Wisconsin and across our country.  

Join us between now and January 5th to make sure our priorities can be put front and center in Washington, DC.

Sign up to help with our recount and Georgia runoff efforts at wisaflcio.org/mobilize today.

Union-Made Thanksgiving

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As we celebrate Thanksgiving in new ways as the coronavirus continues to surge in Wisconsin, we hope you and your family are safe and healthy. We take a moment during this challenging year to give thanks for our democracy and our movement of working people who are powering our communities through the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to fight for a better tomorrow for all. We look ahead to moving forward together with a Biden Harris Administration to responsibly tackle this virus head-on and build back better by investing in our families, our communities, and an economic recovery that works for all.

We continue to give thanks for all the frontline farm workers, food processing workers, and grocery store workers who show up day in and day out to keep America fed during the pandemic.

From Ocean Spray products, some of which are made right here in Wisconsin by members of the Machinists Union, to Birdseye Vegetables made in Darien by United Food and Commercial Workers to crescent rolls, made by Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers workers and more -- there’s a bounty of union made in America food items to choose from this Thanksgiving. You can even serve your meal on union made plates with union made cutlery. View our list of union-made Thanksgiving items below.

 

Union-Made Thanksgiving

*indicates made in Wisconsin

Turkey

Boar's Head—UFCW

Butterball—UFCW

Foster Farms—UFCW

Smithfield—UFCW

Thumann's—UFCW

Side Dishes and Vegetables

*Ocean Spray whole berry cranberry sauce—IAM

*Birds Eye—UFCW

Andy Boy—UFW

Eurofresh —UFCW

Mann's—UFCW

Muranaka Farm —UFW

Sunripe —UFCW

Keebler (Kellogg) crackers—BCTGM

Potatoes

Betty Crocker specialty potatoes—BCTGM

Dole—IBT

Mann's fresh culinary cuts sweet potatoes—UFCW

Ore-Ida—UFCW,IBT

Bread and Stuffing

Pillsbury crescent rolls, frozen and ready to bake rolls/breads—BCTGM

Stroehmann bakery products—BCTGM

Manischewitz—UFCW

Dessert

Banquet fruit pies—UFCW

Entenmann's—BCTGM

Marie Callender's—UFCW

Sara Lee pie—BCTGM

Mother’s Kitchen cheesecakes—BCTGM

Nabisco (Mondelez) cookies—BCTGM

Rich Products pies and cakes—BCTGM

Pillsbury pie crusts—BCTGM

Del Monte fresh apples—IBT

Food Club canned pumpkin pie filling—UFCW

Kroger pumpkin pie filling—UFCW

Set the Table

All-Clad cookware—USW

Corning-Ware—USW

*Regal Ware—USW

Fiestaware—GMP

Anchor Hocking—GMP

Pyrex – USW

Bennington Potters—UNITE HERE

Clauss knives—USW

Homer Laughlin china—GMP

Libbey glassware—USW and GMP

Milwaukee Art Museum Workers Vote ‘Union Yes’ to Join Machinists Union

Stephanie Bloomingdale, President of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, released the following statement welcoming the newest members of the Wisconsin labor movement as 141 workers at the Milwaukee Art Museum vote to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Local Lodge 66. The new Machinists Union members work in every capacity at the Milwaukee Art Museum including Visitor Services, Food and Beverage, Education & Programs, Information Systems, Facilities and more.

“Congratulations to Wisconsin’s newest union members, the workers at the Milwaukee Art Museum, who voted overwhelmingly to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Local Lodge 66,” said Stephanie Bloomingdale, President of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO. “I am proud to welcome you all to the Wisconsin labor movement. I am inspired by the momentum of new union organizing during this challenging year for working people. Together in union, you have claimed your seat at the table. Your voices will be heard and respected as you work to make positive change in your workplace and in our community through the collective bargaining process.”

Working People Call for COVID Relief

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Working people have elected true allies to the White House with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. They visited our union halls, they marched on our picket lines and they campaigned as unabashed friends of labor unions. Now that the people have spoken, it is critical for Congress to finally move COVID-19 relief in a lame-duck session.

Passing the HEROES Act is the emergency medicine we need as President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris prepare to take office.

Call your U.S. Senator now: 866-832-1560. Tell them to pass the HEROES Act.

The coronavirus is raging in Wisconsin. Over 2,500 Wisconsinites have died from COVID-19. The numbers are going up, we must help working families through the worst of this pandemic.    

The American people have been waiting months and months for another round of COVID-19 relief. The Senate must Act. The HEROES Act includes an emergency workplace infectious disease standard; gives aid for state and local governments, public schools, the U.S. Postal Service, and pension funding relief; keeps workers on payrolls to avoid mass layoffs; extends unemployment insurance; provides more direct payments to working people; extends health care coverage; provides housing and food benefits; and much more.

Every single day that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republican leaders fail to act is another day that more Americans fall sick, lose our income, lose our jobs, lose our homes. We cannot afford to wait another day, another week or another month.

Call the Senate at 866-832-1560 or click here to call to pass the HEROES Act to help working families and communities through the worst of this pandemic

Despite the pandemic, working people turned out in record numbers and made our voices heard this fall. We have done our job. Now it’s time for the Senate to do the same. It’s time to move forward together for a better day for working people and that starts with passing the HEROES Act.

Wisconsin AFL-CIO Stands in Solidarity with the Workers of Wisconsin Voices

Stephanie Bloomingdale, President of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, released the following statement in support of workers at the non-profit organization Wisconsin Voices who are seeking union rights with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 9. A letter was also sent to Wisconsin Voices Interim Executive Director Debra Huntley, urging that the organizing and union election process proceed in a free and fair way. 

“Every worker has the right to stand together with co-workers to form a union free of intimidation and retaliation. On behalf of working families across the state of Wisconsin, I send support and solidarity to the workers of Wisconsin Voices who are standing together in union. I urge organizational leadership to respect both the legal and ethical rights of the workers and let the union election process proceed in a free and fair manner. Strong unions and good collective bargaining agreements lift up all workers in the community, helping to create a more stable and fair economy for us all.”  

Joe Biden Elected 46th President of The United States!

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The voters have spoken and Joe Biden has won more votes than any presidential candidate in history, including 60 percent of union households. Biden has now won the Electoral College, flipping multiple states from Trump, and is the next President of the United States of America. The bedrock of our American democracy is that the voters, not the candidates, get to decide who our next leaders are.

Together, with a Biden Harris Administration, we look forward to the continued fight to revive our economy by growing the labor movement to protect the rights and safety of all workers. A president who respects the dignity of work and supports our union rights will advance our nation.

President-elect Biden understands that unions are an essential underpinning of a healthy American economy that works for everyone.

Congratulations to all our endorsed candidates who won down the ballot and are ready to fight for working families in Congress and our state legislature!

We got to work on our member to member Labor 2020 program with virtual phone banks, worksite leaflets and conversations, mail pieces and digital ads. Our union member education and mobilization program faced many pandemic related challenges, and still delivered like never before.

Now, we celebrate all the voters who came out amid a global pandemic as well as the local election officials who worked around the clock to count every vote.

We look ahead to the fight to strengthen working families with renewed resolve. Together, in solidarity, we will win a better day for America’s working people.

Undermining Governor Evers for Partisan Political Gain Leaves Wisconsinites Needlessly Unprotected from Unchecked COVID Spread

Instead of partisan fights, Wisconsin leaders should let Governor Evers lead

(November 6, 2020) – Stephanie Bloomingdale, President of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, released the following statement reacting to the Wisconsin circuit court ruling stating that Governor Evers’ orders to limit the size of indoor gatherings is invalid and unenforceable.

“From the very start of the pandemic Governor Evers has followed the science and taken sound and reasonable action to slow the spread of COVID-19 to save lives. At every step of the way, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and the Republican leadership have chosen to play political games with our pandemic response, throwing up roadblock after roadblock, mostly in the form of legislative inaction and legal challenges, to hinder our response. Unfortunately, as a result, Wisconsin is now one of the leading hotspots for new coronavirus cases. Our hospitals are stretched to capacity, our healthcare workers providing care to the sick are at increased risk of contracting this deadly virus, and Wisconsinites are dying every day.

New reports show an alarming jump in nurses and health care workers sidelined due to coronavirus exposure or infection themselves, leaving Wisconsin hospitals with gaping shortages of frontline workers to care and treat the surging coronavirus cases ravaging through Wisconsin. 

Obstructing Governor Evers’ common-sense measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 for partisan political gain means more Wisconsinites will die, get sick and it will take us longer and longer to get this virus under control. Let’s stop this partisan madness and let our Governor lead in this crisis.”

Biden Wins Wisconsin

Wisconsin workers have delivered the state for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Joe Biden’s lead in Wisconsin currently stands at about 20,697 votes. Donald Trump has signaled he will request a recount, but we are confident the will of the people will stand.

Voters turned out in record numbers in Wisconsin and across our country to make our voices heard. When all the votes are counted across our country, it will be clear the people have elected Joe Biden as our next President. Nationally, Joe Biden will receive the most votes of any presidential candidate ever.

​We know Joe Biden and Kamala Harris understand that it is the labor movement that creates, sustains, and strengthens our great American middle class. Union members voted in historic numbers for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris because they’ll rebuild our American middle class with pro-worker policies like the PRO Act, investments in infrastructure and American manufacturing, and an economic recovery plan that puts working people first.

Union members voted for a President who will take immediate action to control the spread of covid 19, which is at an all-time high in Wisconsin, and keep workers safe with enhanced workplace protections and safety standards. 

Together, we look forward to the continued fight to revive our economy by growing the labor movement to protect the rights and safety of all workers.

Together, in solidarity, we will win a better day for America’s working people. We will count every vote, deliver our democracy, and swear in a government of, by, and for the people. THIS is what Democracy looks like.