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rosalyn51 · 8 months

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SAG-AFTRA & WGA To Hold "National Day Of Solidarity" Rally On Tuesday

by David Robb, Deadline | Aug 21, 2023 | 10:05 AM

UPDATED with latest expected attendees: SAG-AFTRA's Los Angeles Local and the Writers Guild of America will hold a "National Day of Solidarity" rally Tuesday outside Disney Studios.

"SAG-AFTRA and WGA will join forces with the AFL-CIO and its affiliates from across the nation and across industries for a National Day of Solidarity," SAG-AFTRA said in a statement. "In this 'Summer of Strikes,' working Americans everywhere are fighting for fair contracts, better compensation, safe working conditions and protections from encroaching technology. Together, we are showing corporate America that when we fight, we win!"

SAG-AFTRA has been on strike since July 14, and the Writers Guild since May 2. The rally will start Tuesday at 10 am PT.

Among those scheduled to speak at the rally include SAG-AFTRA Secretary-Treasurer Joely Fisher, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Yvonne Wheeler.

Others scheduled to attend include writer-director Aaron Sorkin and fellow The West Wing alums Allison Janney, Dulé Hill, Bradley Whitford, Josh Malina, Richard Schiff, Melissa Fitzgerald, Mary McCormack and Kathleen York; WGA West board member Liz Alper; Directors Guild of America Secretary-Treasurer Paris Barclay; SAG-AFTRA Executive Vice President Ben Whitehair; Teamsters Local 399 chief executive officer Lindsay Dougherty; Laborers Local 724 Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer Alex Aguilar Jr.; American Federation of Musicians Local 47 President Stephanie O'Keefe; Burbank Mayor Konstantine Anthony; and actors Kerry Washington and Sean Astin.

Crabtree-Ireland told reporters last week that "we remain very eager to get back to the table with the AMPTP, as we've said every day" since the actors' strike began. "We have been ready, willing and able to continue bargaining with them and we very much want the AMPTP to come back to the table."

SAG-AFTRA has said that key issues in its strike include "economic fairness, residuals, regulating the use of artificial intelligence and alleviating the burdens of the industry-wide shift to self-taping."

The WGA, after four straight days of bargaining last week, will resume negotiations this week with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. It's chief strike issues include pay raises, viewership-based streaming residuals, the "preservation of the writers' room" through minimum staffing and guaranteed days of employment, and guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence to write scripts.

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Also

WGA & AMPTP Did Not Meet Monday

The Writers Guild and the AMPTP didn't come back to the bargaining table Monday. The two sides last met on Friday, after which the guild told its members that talks would resume sometime this week. The strike is now in its 112th day.

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workersolidarity · 10 months

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Oh I totally get how it works now

The rich pay the politicians, the corporations pay the media to shill, the media shills for the politicians, the politicians and corporations corrupt the Unions, the Unions work for the oligarchy.

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theculturedmarxist · 2 years

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It's not called the AFL-CIA for nothing.

AFL-CIO Excludes Amazon Labor Union & Starbucks Workers

Earlier today, many were unexpectedly locked out of the AFL-CIO convention after the Secret Service closed the doors for the arrival of President Joe Biden. The lockout infuriated activists and delegates who had arrived early to see Biden, but many also saw it as a metaphor for how people are being excluded from the convention as a whole.

Shockingly, the AFL-CIO did not invite the Amazon Labor Union, since it’s an independent union and doesn’t belong to the AFL-CIO. Nor did the convention invite members of the SEIU-affiliated Starbucks Workers United.

“It’s just petty,” one senior union official told Payday Report. “Starbucks and Amazon are two of the most exciting campaigns in recent memory, and we don’t even have anyone here from those campaigns to learn lessons from these campaigns.”

Debate on Democratizing the AFL-CIO is Blocked

Prior to the convention, the Vermont AFL-CIO submitted a motion that would allow for every member of the labor movement to vote on electing the leadership of the national AFL-CIO. Many unions, such as the Teamsters, the UAW, the Steelworkers, and NewsGuild allow their rank-and-file members to vote on leadership. In contrast, the leadership of the AFL-CIO is selected by a body of 500 delegates.

The Executive Council blocked the motion from being considered in an open debate. Instead, only motions that passed by unanimous votes were brought to the floor.

“If we’re going to have members willing to go the extra mile, we’re gonna have an engaged rank-and-file who’s willing to do what needs to be done. To build this kind of power, they need to feel ownership of the organization,” says Vermont AFL-CIO President David Van Dussen. “The Vermont AFL-CIO strongly believes that we need to not just talk about democracy as an external thing, but something that’s internal to unions. We can’t build the power we need unless we achieve that.”

Shuler Criticizes AFL-CIO Organizing Approach

However, the AFL-CIO did offer some criticism of itself. New AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said the union would invest more resources into organizing, pledging one million new members in the next decade.

“We have to firm up the structure and the financing. We want to concentrate our resources on organizing,” Shuler told a roundtable of reporters yesterday. “The federation’s muscle on organizing has not been as robust” as it should be.

Alright folks, that’s all for today. Donate to help us pay for food and expenses on this trip. Please if you can, sign up as one of our 694 recurring donors today.

#afl cio #labor unions #starbucks union #amazon union #labor rights #workers union #unions #workers rights #joe biden

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davidaugust · 3 months

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Watching this live in 5 minutes (I think it’ll be available for a replay at the same link after the livestream).

The 5th annual #LITSummit2024 is STARTING SOON! Tune in at 1pm PT/4pm ET on YouTube:

#SAGAFTRAstrong #UnionStrong #alfcio #technology #CES2024 #AI #ArtificialIntelligence

#sag aftra #sag aftra strong #afl cio #technology #summit #labor #labor unions #unions #union strong #union

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triune-god · 5 months

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just realizing i’ve been wearing an iam jacket for years…. life is good!

#union strong #iam #afl cio

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marxman1 · 5 months

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bkenber · 8 months

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SAG/AFTRA and WGA Strike on the National Day of Solidarity

It was another day on the picket line as SAG/AFTRA and the WGA continue their long-running strike against the AMPTP. The fight for a fair contract and better pay rages on even as it looks as if no end is in sight. But, then again, it was not really another day as this was the National Day of Solidarity which not only brought these two unions together, but many others including the AFL-CIO, IATSE…

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monroe-afl-cio-blog · 10 months

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That @USW -represented job “changed my life, We had trouble making ends meet before. Now, I’ve sent three kids to college.” Pro-Worker Laws and Union Power #union #monroelenaweeaflcio https://www.laprogressive.com/labor-social-justice/pro-worker-laws

https://www.laprogressive.com/labor-social-justice/pro-worker-laws

#labor unions #monroelenaweeaflcio #union #michigan #monroelenaweeaflcioclc unions labor monroe #afl cio

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m-o-p-e · 11 months

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"The children yearn for the mines..."

#tweets #twitter #libertarian party #lpnational #labor #wages #workers #sign of the times #2023 #afl cio

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alanshemper · 11 months

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Jan 9, 2020, Jeff Schuhrke

Over the past century, the US government repeatedly disrupted leftist movements and supported or carried out coups around the world — aided by American labor leaders. A full reckoning with the AFL-CIO’s collaboration with US imperialism can help us forge a truly internationalist, left-wing unionism in the twenty-first century.

#afl cio #labor history #cia #deep research #long reads #jeff schuhrke #unions

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workersolidarity · 10 months

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Boston Chinese American unionist targeted as "foreign agent"

Western governments have completely given over to their Fascist instincts. With the United States pushing a new Cold War against Russia, China and Iran, the US and its Western allies are doing everything in their power to suppress pro-Chinese or Pro-Russian opinions online, including the outright suppression of Freedom of Speech, an essential Right under Capitalism if we're to ever have any chance of overthrowing the Capitalist system.

On May 17th, 2023 The Grayzone correspondent Kit Klarenberg was detained by British Anti-Terror Police after landing at London's Luton Airport. During his detainment, Kit Klarenberg was extensively interrogated over 5 hours in a small room in the airport.

All of Kit Klarenberg's electronic devices were seized by British Anti-Terror Police, they took his SD cards, fingerprinted him, took DNA swabs, and photographed him extensively.

Meanwhile in the United States, the DOJ is using the Foreign Agents Registration Act to suppress and arrest foreign-born American Activists and Union members, accusing them of being Agents of China and Russia without evidence.

And this is what I've been afraid of for some time. That the ruling Capitalist Class should decide the Western facade of "democracy" and "Freedoms" is no longer worth keeping up with and begin a new 1950's style unAmerican Activities campaign to economically ruin and politically imprison dissenters.

The US ruling class is doing everything in its power to disenfranchise, deplatform, and silence voices critical of Western Imperialism and Capitalist exploitation.

Meanwhile, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance is calling for the dropping of Liang's charges and his reinstatement to his previous job position.

It is unlikely the Govt will oblige them.

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mostlysignssomeportents · 8 months

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NLRB rules that any union busting triggers automatic union recognition

Tonight (September 6) at 7pm, I'll be hosting Naomi Klein at the LA Public Library for the launch of Doppelganger.

On September 12 at 7pm, I'll be at Toronto's Another Story Bookshop with my new book The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation.

American support for unions is at its highest level in generations, from 70% (general population) to 88% (Millenials) – and yet, American unionization rates are pathetic.

That's about to change.

The National Labor Relations Board just handed down a landmark ruling – the Cemex case – that "brought worker rights back from the dead."

https://prospect.org/labor/2023-08-28-bidens-nlrb-brings-workers-rights-back/

At issue in Cemex was what the NLRB should do about employers that violate labor law during union drives. For decades, even the most flagrantly illegal union-busting was met with a wrist-slap. For example, if a boss threatened or fired an employee for participating in a union drive, the NLRB would typically issue a small fine and order the employer to re-hire the worker and provide back-pay.

Everyone knows that "a fine is a price." The NLRB's toothless response to cheating presented an easily solved equation for corrupt, union-hating bosses: if the fine amounts to less than the total, lifetime costs of paying a fair wage and offering fair labor conditions, you should cheat – hell, it's practically a fiduciary duty:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/468061

Enter the Cemex ruling: once a majority of workers have signed a union card, any Unfair Labor Practice by their employer triggers immediate, automatic recognition of the union. In other words, the NLRB has fitted a tilt sensor in the American labor pinball machine, and if the boss tries to cheat, they automatically lose.

Cemex is a complete 180, a radical transformation of the American labor regulator from a figleaf that legitimized union busting to an actual enforcer, upholding the law that Congress passed, rather than the law that America's oligarchs wish Congress had passed. It represents a turning point in the system of lawless impunity for American plutocracy.

In the words of Frank Wilhoit, it is is a repudiation of the conservative dogma: "There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect":

https://crookedtimber.org/2018/03/21/liberals-against-progressives/#comment-729288

It's also a stunning example of what regulatory competence looks like. The Biden administration is a decidedly mixed bag. On the one hand there are empty suits masquerading as technocrats, champions of the party's centrist wing (slogan: "Everything is fine and change is impossible"):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/10/the-courage-to-govern/#whos-in-charge

But the progressive, Sanders/Warren wing of the party installed some fantastically competent, hard-charging, principled fighters, who are chapter-and-verse on their regulatory authority and have the courage to use that authority:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/18/administrative-competence/#i-know-stuff

They embody the old joke about the photocopier technician who charges "$1 to kick the photocopier and $79 to know where to kick it." The best Biden appointees have their boots firmly laced, and they're kicking that mother:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/16/the-second-best-time-is-now/#the-point-of-a-system-is-what-it-does

One such expert kicker is NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo. Abruzzo has taken a series of muscular, bold moves to protect American workers, turning the tide in the class war that the 1% has waged on workers since the Reagan administration. For example, Abruzzo is working to turn worker misclassification – the fiction that an employee is a small business contracting with their boss, a staple of the "gig economy" – into an Unfair Labor Practice:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/10/see-you-in-the-funny-papers/bidens-legacy

She's also waging war on robo-scab companies: app-based employment "platforms" like Instawork that are used to recruit workers to cross picket lines, under threat of being blocked from the app and blackballed by hundreds of local employers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/30/computer-says-scab/#instawork

With Cemex, Abruzzo is restoring a century-old labor principle that has been gathering dust for generations: the idea that workers have the right to organize workplace gemocracies without fear of retaliation, harassment, or reprisals.

But as Harold Meyerson writes for The American Prospect, the Cemex ruling has its limits. Even if the NLRB forces and employer to recognize a union, they can't force the employer to bargain in good faith for a union contract. The National Labor Relations Act prohibits the Board from imposing a contract.

That's created a loophole that corrupt bosses have driven entire fleets of trucks through. Workers who attain union recognition face years-long struggles to win a contract, as their bosses walk away from negotiations or offer farcical "bargaining positions" in the expectation that they'll be rejected, prolonging the delay.

Democrats have been trying to fix this loophole since the LBJ years, but they've been repeatedly blocked in the senate. But Abruzzo is a consummate photocopier kicker, and she's taking aim. In Thrive Pet Healthcare, Abruzzo has argued that failing to bargain in good faith for a contract is itself an Unfair Labor Practice. That means the NLRB has the authority to act to correct it – they can't order a contract, but they can order the employer to give workers "wages, benefits, hours, and such that are comparable to those provided by comparable unionized companies in their field."

Mitch McConnell is a piece of shit, but he's no slouch at kicking photocopiers himself. For a whole year, McConnell has blocked senate confirmation hearings to fill a vacant seat on the NLRB. In the short term, this meant that the three Dems on the board were able to hand down these bold rulings without worrying about their GOP colleagues.

But McConnell was playing a long game. Board member Gwynne Wilcox's term is about to expire. If her seat remains vacant, the three remaining board members won't be able to form a quorum, and the NLRB won't be able to do anything.

As Meyerson writes, centrist Dems have refused to push McConnell on this, hoping for comity and not wanting to violate decorum. But Chuck Schumer has finally bestirred himself to fight this issue, and Alaska GOP senator Lisa Murkowski has already broken with her party to move Wilcox's confirmation to a floor vote.

The work of enforcers like DoJ Antitrust Division boss Jonathan Kanter, FTC chair Lina Khan, and SEC chair Gary Gensler is at the heart of Bidenomics: the muscular, fearless deployment of existing regulatory authority to make life better for everyday Americans.

But of course, "existing regulatory authority" isn't the last word. The judges filling stolen seats on the illegitimate Supreme Court had invented the "major questions doctrine" and have used it as a club to attack Biden's photocopier-kickers. There's real danger that Cemex – and other key actions – will get fast-tracked to SCOTUS so the dotards in robes can shatter our dreams for a better America.

Meyerson is cautiously optimistic here. At 40% (!), the Court's approval rating is at a low not seen since the New Deal showdowns. The Supremes don't have an army, they don't have cops, they just have legitimacy. If Americans refuse to acknowledge their decisions, all they can do it sit and stew:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/26/mint-the-coin-etc-etc/#blitz-em

The Court knows this. That's why they fume so publicly about attacks on their legitimacy. Without legitimacy, they're nothing. With the Supremes' support at 40% and union support at 70%, any judicial attack on Cemex could trigger term-limits, court-packing, and other doomsday scenarios that will haunt the relatively young judges for decades, as the seats they stole dwindle into irrelevance. Meyerson predicts that this will weigh on them, and may stay their hands.

Meyerson might be wrong, of course. No one ever lost money betting on the self-destructive hubris of Federalist Society judges. But even if he's wrong, his point is important. If the Supremes frustrate the democratic will of the American people, we have to smash the Supremes. Term limits, court-packing, whatever it takes:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/20/judicial-equilibria/#pack-the-court

And the more we talk about this – the more we make this consequence explicit – the more it will weigh on them, and the better the chance that they'll surprise us. That's already happening! The Supremes just crushed the Sackler opioid crime-family's dream of keeping their billions in blood-money:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/11/justice-delayed/#justice-redeemed

But if it doesn't stop them? If they crush this dream, too? Pack the court. Impose term limits. Make it the issue. Don't apologize, don't shrug it off, don't succumb to learned helplessness. Make it our demand. Make it a litmus test: "If elected, will you vote to pack the court and clear the way for democratic legitimacy?"

Meanwhile, Cemex is already bearing fruit. After an NYC Trader Joe's violated the law to keep Trader Joe's United from organizing a store, the workers there have petitioned to have their union automatically recognized under the Cemex rule:

https://truthout.org/articles/trader-joes-union-files-to-force-company-to-recognize-union-under-new-nlrb-rule/

With the NLRB clearing the regulatory obstacles to union recognition, America's largest unions are awakening from their own long slumbers. For decades, unions have spent a desultory 3% of their budgets on organizing workers into new locals. But a leadership upset in the AFL-CIO has unions ready to catch a wave with the young workers and their 88% approval rating, with a massive planned organizing drive:

https://prospect.org/labor/labors-john-l-lewis-moment/

Meyerson calls on other large unions to follow suit, and the unions seem ready to do so, with new leaders and new militancy at the Teamsters and UAW, and with SEIU members at unionized Starbucks waiting for their first contracts.

Turning union-supporting workers into unionized workers is key to fighting Supreme Court sabotage. Organized labor will give fighters like Abruzzo the political cover she needs to Get Shit Done. A better America is possible. It's within our grasp. Though there is a long way to go, we are winning crucial victories all the time.

The centrist message that everything is fine and change is impossible is designed to demoralize you, to win the fight in your mind so they don't have to win it in the streets and in the jobsite. We don't have to give them that victory. It's ours for the taking.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/06/goons-ginks-and-company-finks

#nlrb #cemex #unions #labor #class war #photocopier kickers #ulp #unfair labor practices #jennifer abruzzo #thrive pet care #national labor review board #scotus #afl-cio #trader joes #harold meyerson #labor day #pluralistic

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ms-myself · 2 years

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The big unions are too focused on getting legislation passed in Congress and haven't paid enough attention to grassroots organizing efforts. "Labor can't just act or be perceived as a wing of the Democratic party," says Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants (part of the AFL-CIO).

Institutional labor is out of touch, said one person familiar with the inner workings of the AFL-CIO who didn't want to publicly criticize their own organization. Too many union officers didn't start out as unionized workers — but instead rose through the ranks as staffers for the organization. "If you can't relate to the people you're representing, you're lost," the source said.

#big labor #unionize #unions #afl cio

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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 10 months

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In a week when parts of the state are getting triple-digit temperatures and weather officials urge Texans to stay cool and hydrated, Gov. Greg Abbott gave final approval to a law that will eliminate local rules mandating water breaks for construction workers.

House Bill 2127 was passed by the Texas Legislature during this year’s regular legislative session. Abbott signed it Tuesday. It will go into effect on Sept. 1.

Supporters of the law have said it will eliminate a patchwork of local ordinances across the state that bog down businesses. The law’s scope is broad but ordinances that establish minimum breaks in the workplace are one of the explicit targets. The law will nullify ordinances enacted by Austin in 2010 and Dallas in 2015 that established 10-minute breaks every four hours so that construction workers can drink water and protect themselves from the sun. It also prevents other cities from passing such rules in the future. San Antonio has been considering a similar ordinance.

Texas is the state where the most workers die from high temperatures, government data shows. At least 42 workers died in Texas between 2011 and 2021 from environmental heat exposure, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers’ unions claim this data doesn’t fully reflect the magnitude of the problem because heat-related deaths are often recorded under a different primary cause of injury.

This problem particularly affects Latinos because they represent six out of every 10 construction workers, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Unions expect heat-related deaths to go up if mandated water breaks go away.

“Construction is a deadly industry. Whatever the minimum protection is, it can save a life. We are talking about a human right,” said Ana Gonzalez, deputy director of policy and politics at the Texas AFL-CIO. “We will see more deaths, especially in Texas’ high temperatures.”

The National Weather Service is forecasting highs over 100 degrees in several Texas cities for at least the next seven days.

Heat waves are extreme weather events, often more dangerous than tornadoes, severe thunderstorms or floods. High temperatures kill people, and not just in the workplace. Last year, there were 279 heat-related deaths in Texas, based on data analysis by The Texas Tribune.

In 2022, Texas saw its second-hottest summer on record, and an extreme drought swept the state. This summer is not expected to be as hot as the weather pattern known as La Niña eases, which typically brings dry conditions to Texas, state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said.

Still, climate change amplifies the effects of heat waves, said Hosmay Lopez, an oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who studies heat waves. Climate change causes heat waves to stretch for longer periods of time, reach higher temperatures and occur more often than they would otherwise. The problem is especially pronounced in dry areas of the Southwest due to a lack of vegetation and soil moisture, which in wetter regions produces a cooling effect through evaporation.

At the same time, he added, increased urbanization across the U.S. — especially in places like Texas where cities are expanding — makes more people vulnerable to health dangers from extreme heat due to the “urban island” effect. Essentially, the combination of concrete and buildings, plus a lack of green spaces causes ground-level heat to radiate, increasing the temperature in cities.

“The impact of climate change on extreme heat is not only enhanced [by weather events] but also enhanced through social dynamics as well,” Lopez said.

HB 2127, introduced by state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, is perhaps Texas Republicans’ most aggressive attempt to curb progressive policies in the state’s largest, liberal-leaning cities. Under the new law, local governments would be unable to create rules that go beyond what state law dictates in broad areas like labor, agriculture, business and natural resources.

Beyond eliminating mandated water breaks for construction workers, opponents of the legislation argue that it will also make it more difficult for cities and counties to protect tenants facing eviction or to combat predatory lending, excessive noise and invasive species. Labor unions and workers’ rights advocates opposed the law, while business organizations supported it, including the National Federation of Independent Business, a lobbying group with more than 20,000 members in Texas. Abbott said it would “provide a new hope to Texas businesses struggling under burdensome local regulations.”

Supporters of HB 2127 say that local regulations on breaks for construction workers are unnecessary because the right to a safe labor environment is already guaranteed through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Water breaks are better solved by OSHA controls, argued Geoffrey Tahuahua, president of Associated Builders and Contractors of Texas. Tahuahua believes local rules impose a rigid scheme that, unlike OSHA guidelines, does not allow the flexibility needed to tailor breaks to individual job site conditions.

“They try to make one size fits all, and that is not how it should work,” he said. “These ordinances just add confusion and encourage people to do the minimum instead of doing the right thing.”

David Michaels, who was head of OSHA from 2009 to 2017, disagreed with the approach of HB 2127 proponents.

“Under OSHA law, it is employers who are responsible to make sure workers are safe,” said Michaels, now a professor at the George Washington University School of Public Health. “And we have compelling evidence that they are doing a very poor job because many workers are injured on the job, especially in Texas.”

Michaels pointed out that OSHA does not have a national standard for heat-related illnesses and issues citations only for over-exposure to heat after an injury or death, but not before that occurs.

“The better solution would be to have a national standard, but since we do not, local ordinances are very important for saving lives,” he said. “Prohibiting these local laws will result in workers being severely hurt or killed.”

Gonzalez, from the Texas AFL-CIO, disagrees with the idea that local regulations hurt businesses.

Mandated water breaks “were passed in 2010 in Austin and construction is still growing, especially in the state’s largest cities,” Gonzalez said. “It is simply false, an excuse to limit local governments’ power and an intrusion into democracy.”

HB 2127 does not impede the enactment of a state law establishing mandatory breaks for construction workers, and during the regular session, two bills were filed to that effect.

House Bill 495, authored by Rep. Thresa Meza, D-Irving, sought to establish 10-minute mandatory breaks every four hours for contractors working for a governmental entity. House Bill 4673, by Rep. Maria Luisa Flores, D-Austin, would have created a statewide advisory board responsible for establishing standards to prevent heat illness in Texas workplaces and set penalties for employers who do not comply with them.

Neither bill made it through the legislative process.

Daniela Hernandez, state legislative coordinator for the Workers Defense Project, said she hopes legislators will push for a state law mandating water breaks for workers. She added that she would not discard the possibility that cities sue to try to keep their water break ordinances.

“Without an ordinance or a law, there is no safeguard. There is no guarantee that the worker will have those water breaks,” he said. “We will keep fighting.”

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