SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher and National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland provided an update on the unsatisfactory negotiations with executives of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over Zoom. Other labor activists, including members of Starbucks Workers United, were among those in the loud crowd determined to win the strike demands.

Around 180 workers at Republic Services-Waste Management, who collect the garbage from hospitals, industrial sites and other businesses, held a rally on July 21 outside the facility’s Bankhead site. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, their job is one of the most dangerous and deadly.

Yet, despite the very necessary work they do, their grievances about low pay, long hours, safety issues and more get little attention from Republic bosses. These Teamsters union members have voted to strike when their contract expires on July 31 if their demands are not met. The rally numbers were bolstered by other union and community supporters.

As the current United Parcel Service (UPS) contract with the Teamsters union approaches its end date of July 31, “practice” pickets have been occurring across the country, including in Atlanta and all over Georgia, at various UPS facilities. Other union members and labor allies have joined these actions to make clear to UPS that the community has the workers’ backs.