News & Commentary September 3, 2023 SEC to make Shein prove it doesn't use forced labor

[Omaha Steve]

https://onlabor.org/september-3-2023/

By Will Ebeler

Will Ebeler is a student at Harvard Law School.

In this weekend’s news and commentary, dockworkers on the West Coast ratify new contract, SAG-AFTRA begins voting on whether to authorize strike against video game companies, Republican state attorneys general urge SEC to make Shein prove it doesn’t use forced labor, and news from across the country about tomorrow’s Labor Day.

On Thursday, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union announced that its members had voted to approve a new six-year contract with the Pacific Maritime Association. According to the union, the contract was approved by 75% of the members who voted. The deal will cover 22,000 dockworkers at 29 ports along the West Coast who had been working without a contract since July 2022. Neither party has released the details of the new contract.

SAG-AFTRA will vote starting this week on whether to authorize a strike against video game companies. The union is seeking wage increases and protections against the use of artificial intelligence for video game performers. Employer use of artificial intelligence has been an important issue in negotiations throughout the entertainment industry this year and has been a continued source of tension with movie and television studios, in addition to these negotiations with video game companies. In a statement, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said, “Once again, artificial intelligence is putting our members in jeopardy of reducing their opportunity to work.” Voting will close on September 25, and according to the union bargaining is scheduled to resume on September 26.

FULL story at link above.