It’s Wednesday, January 31.

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Good morning, readers. 

Workers across the Triangle are taking action to demand fair wages and better working conditions this week. 

Today, 12 schools in the Durham Public Schools district are closed as educators and staff attend protests planned in Durham in support of classified workers who were told they wouldn’t continue to receive raises they were promised. 

In Wake County, maintenance workers at Duke Raleigh Hospital said yes to a union last Thursday, voting 14-11 to join the Local 465 chapter of the International Union of Operating Engineers.

The workers were inspired to start organizing last year after seeing unions form at Duke Graduate School and Starbucks and REI stores in Durham. 

In December, they filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board and were able to cast ballots with expedience thanks to a new policy that removes unnecessary delays from the voting process. 

“We’re just trying to provide for our families, be treated fairly, and have our hard work respected,” said Corey Brown, a newly unionized Duke Raleigh worker, in a release. “People have kids, houses, and lives at stake, and before the hospital could do pretty much whatever they wanted. Now we will have the power to secure our future together.”

The win marks the first union victory in the state of North Carolina this year.

Have a good Wednesday, everyone.

—Lena

Durham

Durham Public Schools has closed 12 schools in the district today as educators and staff have called out of work as part of a “sick out.” Protests will take place across the district to call on district leaders to pay school workers more, following the salary error that affected classified employees this month.

Op-Ed: School board member Jovonia Lewis writes that students will feel the impact of educators and school staff who are scared and struggling. 

Wake

At a special Raleigh City Council public hearing Tuesday evening, dozens of residents spoke in favor of and against a Transit Overlay District along New Bern Avenue that would bring more density to the Bus Rapid Line planned along the corridor. The council will likely consider the rezoning of the 700-plus property parcel along the corridor in phases.

Orange

The Town of Chapel Hill’s Parks and Recreation department is holding listening sessions to help guide design for a new inclusive playground at the town’s Community Center Park.  

The Daily Tar Heel takes a look at the politics surrounding governance of the UNC System. 

North Carolina

The Campaign for Southern Equality has filed a federal complaint over the newly-adopted “Parents’ Bill of Rights” law.

Gov. Roy Cooper has signed onto an amicus brief in a case that will go before the Supreme Court on the legality of access to the abortion drug mifepristone.

Today’s weather

Rainy with a high of 48 degrees.

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