Orange County Convention Center food-service workers have authorized a strike, and the window for that action opens today.

Members of Unite Here Local 737 voted on November 21 to authorize a strike any time after their contract with the French food service provider Sodexo expired on Wednesday.

The vote in favor of the strike authorization was 235 to zero, and Local 737 President Jeremy Haicken said the issues are clear.

"Sodexo workers need a raise," said Haicken. "That's been our clear message. We need a raise in what people make on the job, and we need a raise in what people get in their retirement. We have full-time workers earning as little as $13.60 an hour and we have people who have no retirement plan."

In a statement, Sodexo says they will "continue to engage in good faith during ongoing CBA negotiations, in a sincere attempt to reach a fair and competitive set of long-term agreements in a timely manner."

Contract negotiations are scheduled to resume on December 13.

According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology cost of living calculator, the living wage in Orlando is now more than $18 per hour.

In turn, Haicken said Unite Here is seeking a minimum wage of $18 per hour - along with improved retirement benefits.

"We're proposing a company-funded traditional pension plan," said Haicken. "Right now the workers have a 401(k). Very few people have enough cash on a weekly basis to put into a 401(k)."

In addition to Orlando, Sodexo is currently in contract negotiations with Unite Here workers at convention centers in Las Vegas, New Orleans, Sacramento and Detroit.

Thousands of U.S. auto workers remain on strike, and the walkout is being felt in Minnesota. A rally was scheduled this morning in the Twin Cities suburb of Plymouth, where the car company Stellantis has a parts distribution center. Employees there, as well as from a G.M. parts facility just across the Wisconsin border, are part of the nationwide strike.

Bernie Burnham, president of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, was among the groups hosting today's rally, and said local workers are telling her that a lot of the contract fight has to do with helping new workers.

"These newer workers are getting a different system of pay - they get benefits, but their pay is to the point where sometimes they have to have a couple of jobs," she said.

She reiterated what UAW leaders have argued - that CEOs at these automakers are taking in big profits as workers push for better pay and benefits. Some companies at the center of the strike have called the walkout unnecessary, arguing they have made stronger offers than what union leaders are claiming.

Burnham pointed out there are safety concerns as well, with workers saying they are having a hard time keeping up with overtime demands.

"You're expected, of course, to do more with less time, and to just kind of keep pushing the pace all the time," she continued.

She suggested those demands stem from higher turnover rates among newer workers, who end up leaving once their pay rate maxes out. Among other demands, the UAW is seeking a switch to a 32 hour week with 40 hours of pay in its contract negotiations.


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Most of the news about the automotive industry this month is focused on the United Auto Workers' strike against the Big Three automakers, but the story is different in rural West Tennessee.

A huge battery and vehicle manufacturing campus is being built in Stanton, with an expected economic impact of $5.6 billion. The nearly 6-square-mile Ford BlueOval City campus is expected to create 6,000 new local jobs.

Ethan Link, assistant business manager for the Southeast Laborers District Council, a division of Laborers International Union of North America, said the project is on track to open in 2025, and should be a major investment in the future of electric vehicles.

"They're building this enormous, and really, state-of-the-art Ford assembly plant to build the F-150, Lightning, as well as a battery plant right next to it, that is going to supply all the batteries they need for that," Link outlined. "We're really excited about the scale and the scope of what this project is going to mean for the new green economy."

A Tennessee College of Applied Technology school is also being planned near the site to train workers for the new jobs. He added the union workers building the plant are making more than $20 an hour and receiving health and pension benefits.

Rodney Bond, trainer from Brownsville with Laborers Southeast Training Fund, a joint fund of the union and participating contractors, is responsible for training the workers to lay asphalt for the plant.

"We did the casing for up under the building, and we poured the concrete for the 'BOS' (basic oxygen steelmaking) plant," Bond explained. "I'm glad and excited to have come here, it changed my life. I mean, it's a blessing to work with these guys."

Stacy Torrance, a laborer for Walbridge Construction Company, said in a region where there are few job opportunities, this has been a good one.

"Right now I work with a carpenter crew, so I tend to them," Torrance noted. "When I started, we were doing walls on body, then we moved to assembly. But now, we are pouring slabs, so we're doing all that; we form 'em up and they pour 'em. When I first came out there, I was new to the whole process, so I got to learn a lot. The pay and stuff is very good."

James DeWalt Sr., another laborer for Walbridge, performs maintenance at the site.

"I maintain the grounds in the building and make sure they stay safe," DeWalt emphasized. "Safety is their most important rule, so we all are safe. So, we try to make sure that everything's pretty safe and clean, so people can move around."

The union said a 10-hour Occupational Safety and Health Administration class is also offered on job site safety, and there are first aid CPR courses and specific training for operating aerial lifts.

Federal data show much of the U.S. is seeing job growth for the clean energy sector, and Minnesota is no exception, as new regional numbers confirm the state is adding more workers to the field.

The organization Clean Energy Economy Minnesota is out with a new report, noting around the state, jobs supporting resources such as solar energy or electric vehicles grew overall by nearly 3.5% last year. Nearly 60,000 Minnesotans work in the clean energy sector.

Amelia Cerling Hennes, managing director of the group, said the encouraging trend is not just confined to certain parts of the state.

"The clean energy sector is benefiting economies all across the state," Cerling Hennes reported. "About one in three clean energy jobs are located in Greater Minnesota."

She cited some regional hot spots, such as St. Cloud, which is the fastest-growing area outside the Twin Cities. Statewide, there was a 10% growth in jobs supporting the transition to electric vehicles. Industry sources acknowledge challenges, with 82% of clean-energy employers citing difficulties in filling open positions, prompting renewed calls for more investments in job-training programs.

Becky Wacker, director of energy services sales for the energy solutions firm Trane, said like many other firms, they are adding to their Minnesota staff. She pointed out there are many types of roles within clean energy, and Trane is trying to help those interested make an easier transition.

"We've got some early talent development programs to help train those young professionals as they're coming into our business," Wacker explained. "Whether it's recent college graduates or technicians or those looking to be out in the field."

Both Wacker and Hennes emphasized because of the demand for services and projects, clean energy can serve as a career, as opposed to a temporary vocation. More broadly, industry leaders are calling on Congress to protect funding -- from policies such as the Inflation Reduction Act -- for additional clean-energy development and the jobs created. Concerns are mounting under demands from House Republicans to cut spending.