Labor Rights News Thread

[weatheriscool]

Amazon workers in upstate New York file for union election
Source: AP

By HALELUYA HADERO

NEW YORK (AP) — Backed by the grassroots labor group that secured the first-ever union victory of an Amazon warehouse in the U.S., workers of another warehouse filed a petition on Tuesday for an election in upstate New York in the hopes of a similar outcome.

A spokesperson for the National Labor Relations Board said the petition was filed for the warehouse known as ALB1, located in the town of Schodack, roughly 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of Albany.

To qualify for a union election, the NLRB requires signatures from 30% of eligible voters at a specific facility. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding how many employees it has at the Schodack location.

Heather Goodall, a warehouse worker and a former insurance agent who’s leading the organizing effort, said in an interview earlier this month that workers had enough support to file for a union petition, but were choosing to delay in order to pick up even more signatures. On Tuesday, she said the group’s attorneys were not ready to release information on the number of signatures collected to the public.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm ... fe755be88e

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In Landslide 1,108-to-387 Vote, Maine Nurses Reject Effort to Decertify Their Union
by Jake Johnson
August 19, 2022

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) Nurses at Maine Medical Center have voted by an overwhelming margin to keep the union that they opted to join last year, fending off a decertification effort backed by a right-wing legal group dedicated to rolling back workers' ability to organize and bargain collectively.

The vote, held in person on August 17 and 18, favored the union even more heavily than the initial 1,001 to 750 vote in 2021.

A tally released late Thursday showed that the Maine Med nurses voted 1,108 to 387 in support of retaining the Maine State Nurses Association/National Nurses United as their collective bargaining representative, a nearly 75% vote in favor of the union.

Jonica Frank, a registered nurse at Maine Med and a member of the union's bargaining team, said that "we have already negotiated historic improvements in pay, in working conditions, and on patient safety issues" since voting to join the union last year.

"A 'no' vote in this election would have meant that all these things could be taken away from us," said Frank. "Once again in this election, we have spoken. And we are not going back!"

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022 ... eir-union

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Federal Judge Orders Starbucks to Rehire Fired Union Organizers in Memphis
by Brett Wilkins
August 18, 2022

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) Labor advocates on Thursday cheered a U.S. federal judge's order compelling Starbucks to reinstate seven employees who were illegally fired from their Memphis store earlier this year for leading a unionization campaign.

U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman ordered Starbucks to rehire the so-called "Memphis Seven" within five days, writing that their firing "supports an inference of discriminatory motive" by the Seattle-based coffee giant. In May, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a motion to reinstate the workers, accusing Starbucks of directing "a wide variety of coercive measures" in its union-busting bid.

The seven workers at Starbucks' Poplar and Highland location were terminated in February during the early months of what has become a nationwide unionization wave in which employees at more than 200 of the company's stores have now voted to form unions.

While Starbucks officials claimed the seven were fired for violations including allowing at least one reporter inside the store to conduct an after-hours interview, the group accused the company of retaliating against the workers for organizing. In June, Poplar and Highland employees voted overwhelmingly to form a union.

"Today's federal court decision ordering Starbucks to reinstate the seven unlawfully fired Starbucks workers in Memphis is a crucial step in ensuring that these workers, and all Starbucks workers, can freely exercise their right to join together to improve their working conditions and form a union," NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo said in a statement following the ruling.

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022 ... s-memphis

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UPS Drivers are Dying of Extreme Heat. The Company Doesn't Care
August 19, 2022

Introduction:

(More Perfect Union) UPS drivers are collapsing in the street, suffering heat stroke & dying because the company refuses to put air conditioning in their trucks. UPS made $13 billion in profit last year yet won’t pay for A/C like FedEx & Amazon already do. We spoke with workers fighting back against UPS. Below is a full transcript of the video (see link that follows).

Read more here: https://perfectunion.us/ups-drivers-are ... esnt-care/


Produced and edited by Libby Rainey and Josh Hirschfeld-Kroen.
Videography by Camila Ortega

[caltrek]

Workers Begin Strike at UK’s Largest Shipping Container Port
August 21, 2022

Introduction:

(Al Jazeera) Workers at the United Kingdom’s largest container port have begun what they say will be an eight-day strike, becoming the latest workers in the country to take action to demand higher pay amid rising inflation and the soaring cost of living.

Nearly 2,000 workers at the Port of Felixstowe, which handles about four million containers a year from 2,000 ships accounting for more than half of the country’s incoming shipping freight, walked off the job on Sunday.

The dispute has raised fears of supply chain problems and comes as the transport industry is already reeling from work stoppages, with only one in five trains running in the UK on Saturday amid a railway workers’ strike.

Postal workers also plan a four-day strike later this month, while telecoms giant BT recently faced its first stoppage in decades. Amazon warehouse staff, criminal lawyers and refuse collectors are among those who have staged walkouts in recent weeks.

Read more here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/ ... iner-port

caltrek’s comment: It seems weird that Al Jazeera is apparently taking more of an interest in labor issues in Great Britain than I am finding in U.S. based web sites that I normally monitor.

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The National Labor Relations Board is seeking compensation for workers whom it said the company had shortchanged.

By Noam Scheiber

Federal labor regulators have accused Starbucks of illegally discriminating against unionized employees by denying them wage and benefit increases that the company put in place for nonunion employees.

In a complaint on Wednesday, a regional office of the National Labor Relations Board accused the company of breaking the law when its chief executive, Howard Schultz, “promised increased wages and benefits at U.S. stores if its employees rejected the union as their bargaining representative,” and when it withheld raises and benefits from unionized workers.

The labor board is seeking, among other things, that affected employees be made whole for the denial of benefits and wage increases. It is also asking that Mr. Schultz read a notice to all employees informing them that some had been unlawfully denied benefits and pay increases and explaining their rights under federal labor law. Alternatively, a board official could read this material to employees in Mr. Schultz’s presence.

The labor board’s case is scheduled for a hearing on Oct. 25 before an administrative law judge, unless Starbucks settles with the agency beforehand. Starbucks could appeal any ruling by an administrative judge to the full board.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/25/busi ... -nlrb.html

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'Historic Victory': Chipotle Workers in Michigan Vote to Form Fastfood Chain's First Union
by Brett Wilkins
August 26, 2022

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) Labor advocates on Thursday hailed employees at a Chipotle in Michigan who voted to unionize, becoming the first of the company's 3,000 locations to do so and adding momentum to a nationwide wave of worker organizing.

"Today's victory is an amazing moment for our team that has worked so hard and spent many months organizing," Samantha Smith, an 18-year-old crew member at the West Saginaw Highway Chipotle in Lansing, said in a statement following employees' 11-3 vote to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 243.

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022 ... rst-union

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Tesla Illegally Restricted Union Shirts, Labor Board Rules
Source: Bloomberg

Josh Eidelson

(Bloomberg) “Wearing union insignia, whether a button or a t-shirt, is a critical form of protected communication,” NLRB Chairman Lauren McFerran said in a statement Monday after the 3-2 ruling by the agency’s Democratic majority. “For many decades, employees have used insignia to advocate for their workplace interests -- from supporting organizing campaigns, to protesting unfair conditions in the workplace -- and the law has always protected them.”

The electric carmaker required production workers to wear black shirts with the Tesla logo, or occasionally all-black shirts when a supervisor gave permission, according to the ruling. The majority said the policy interferes with workers’ rights under the 1935 National Labor Relations Act.

The company didn’t respond to a request for comment on the ruling. Tesla had argued that its dress code was meant to prevent clothing from mutilating cars, and that employees were free to display other sorts of union insignia on the job.

But during a 2018 hearing in the case, former Tesla employees testified that managers told them to remove t-shirts supporting the United Auto Workers union, even though their co-workers wore shirts supporting sports teams without incident.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/t ... 6beb1ef405

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Behind Starbucks Union-Busting Stands CEO Who Got $940,000,000 Richer During Pandemic
by Jake Johnson
August 31, 2022

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) An analysis released Wednesday shows that the multi-billionaire chief executive spearheading Starbucks' aggressive and unlawful union-busting campaign has gotten $940 million richer during the coronavirus pandemic as employees at the coffee chain have struggled to get by on low wages.

Compiled by the progressive group Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF), Billion-Dollar Union Busters: How Starbucks and Its Rich CEO Are Stifling Worker Organizing was published as the nationwide unionization drive at the coffee chain continues to grow in the face of increasingly brazen opposition from management, with more than 200 locations voting to join Workers United since December 2021.

“Starbucks and its billionaire CEO, Howard Schultz, can well-afford to improve employees' pay and working conditions through unionization," reads the new report. "Schultz's personal fortune increased by nearly $1 billion during the Covid pandemic, leaping to nearly $4 billion today. Over the last decade his wealth has increased by about $640,000 a day on average, or more money in a single day than most of his store employees are likely to make from Starbucks in a lifetime."

Schultz retook the helm at Starbucks in an interim capacity earlier this year as the unionization push spread rapidly to coffee shops across the country. Given his long history of union-busting, Schultz's return was widely viewed as part of the corporation's attempt to crush organizing momentum.

While recent data shows the union drive slowed slightly last month, the number of stores filing for union elections and winning is still rising at a striking pace, an indication that Starbucks' aggressive anti-union tactics—from firing organizers to denying unionized workers wage and benefit improvements—have thus far been largely unsuccessful.

Read more of the Common Dreams article here: here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022 ... -pandemic

Read the Billion-Dollar Union Busters: How Starbucks and Its Rich CEO Are Stifling Worker Organizing here: https://americansfortaxfairness.org/ ... final.pdf

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As U.S. Workers Fight for Labor Rights, Public Support for Unions Soars to Five-Decade High
by Julia Conley
August 30, 2022

Introduction:

(Common Dreams ) Amid a continued high-profile push for workers' rights at U.S. companies including Starbucks and Amazon, polling released Tuesday showed that Americans' approval of labor unions is the highest it's been in nearly six decades and has risen substantially since a low point in the 2010s.

Gallup's annual Work and Education Survey, conducted between August 1-23, found that 71% of Americans now approve of labor unions.

Further extracts:

In 2021, 68% of people said they supported labor unions, and 64% reported the same before the coronavirus pandemic marked a shift in many American workplaces.
…
The Gallup poll, released less than a week before Labor Day, found that support for unions is now the highest it's been since 1965 and has jumped by 23 points in just 13 years, following the Great Recession.
…
Restaurant workers in Austin, Texas have formed an independent union with the goal of organizing the nation's entire food services industry

Read more of the Common Dreams article here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022 ... cade-high

For more on the formation of an independent union for restaurant works: https://perfectunion.us/these-pizza-wor ... -industry/

For more on the Gallup poll results regarding support for unions: https://news.gallup.com/poll/398303/app ... 1965.aspx

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How Unions are Winning Again, in Four4 charts
by Rani Molla
August 30, 2022

The four charts referenced in the title show:

• Unions won more elections in 2022 than they have in nearly 20 years.

• Unions are winning more than three-quarters of their elections.

• Three times as many U.S. workers went on strike in 2022 as in 2021.

• The share of Americans who approve of unions is at its highest level since 1965.

Read more here: https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/8/30/2 ... s-strikes

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'Great Day for Labor': NLRB Rejects Amazon Attempt to Overturn Union Win
by Jake Johnson
September 2, 2022

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) The National Labor Relations Board on Thursday completely rejected Amazon's attempt to dispute and overturn a historic union victory in New York earlier this year, paving the way for the JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island to become the company's first-ever certified union shop in the United States.

In a new filing, the NLRB officer who presided over weeks of virtual hearings on Amazon's election objections concluded that the corporation's protests against the union's landmark victory "should be overruled in their entirety."

"The employer has not met its burden of establishing that Region 29 [of the NLRB], the petitioner, or any third parties have engaged in objectionable conduct affecting the results of the election," the federal labor official wrote, dismissing Amazon's claims that the union committed "electioneering in the polling area" and "distributed marijuana to employees in exchange for their support," along with a slew of other allegations.

Christian Smalls, president of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), said in response to the decision that "today is a great day for labor."

"After dealing with all of that virtual court, it feels good to finally have celebratory news," Smalls said in a statement. "We're hoping that the NLRB certifies it so we can get some rights in the building and protect workers."

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022 ... union-win

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Lufthansa Cancels 800 Flights as Pilots Strike Over Better Pay
September 2, 2022

Introduction:

(Al Jazeera) Hundreds of Lufthansa flights have been cancelled as pilots stage a one-day strike to press their demands for better pay and conditions at Germany’s biggest carrier.

The airline said about 800 flights were grounded at its two biggest hubs, Frankfurt and Munich, on Friday due to the walkout. More than 100,000 passengers would be affected, it said.

Lufthansa said it had offered a one-off increase of 900 euros ($900), amounting to a five-percent increase for senior pilots and an 18-percent increase for those starting the profession.

“Lufthansa is working flat out to return flight operations to normal as soon as possible,” it said in a statement.

Michael Niggemann, the Lufthansa executive board member responsible for human resources, said the German carrier had made a good, balanced offer during talks and the strike would inconvenience several thousand customers.

Read more here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/ ... etter-pay

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4,000 Google cafeteria workers quietly unionized during the pandemic

The tech giant is known for its free lunches for employees. The people who make those lunches have joined unions en masse.

By Gerrit De Vynck and Lauren Kaori Gurley
September 5, 2022 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

Google is famous for its cafeterias, which serve its legions of programmers and product managers everything from vegan poke to gourmet tacos — free.

But the cooks and servers behind those meals are generally contractors who work for other companies, and do not get the generous perks and benefits reserved for Google employees. So over the past few years, thousands of them have unionized, securing higher wages, retirement benefits and free platinum health care coverage.

Unite Here, a 300,000-member union hotel and food service workers, has been steadily working to unionize Silicon Valley cafeteria workers since 2018, experiencing the most success at Google. Employed by the contract companies Compass and Guckenheimer, those unionized now make up about 90 percent of total food services workers at Google, according to the union. Workers have unionized at 23 Google offices nationwide, including in Seattle and San Jose.

Now, the union is tackling new territory: the South. On Wednesday, Google workers in Atlanta employed by a different cafeteria company — Sodexo — presented their manager with a list of demands and said they plan to unionize.

{snip}

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technolo ... -pandemic/

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While Hoping for a Deal, Seattle Teachers Vote to Strike on the Eve of First Day of School
by Brett Wilkins
September 6, 2022

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) Members of the union representing roughly 6,000 Seattle teachers voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to strike the following day—a move the labor group says it hopes to avoid, as public school classes are set to resume on Wednesday.

The Seattle Education Association (SEA) announced Tuesday that of the 75% of its members who voted, 95% elected to authorize a strike, which is set to begin at 7:30 am Wednesday absent an agreement with Seattle Public Schools (SPS) officials.

"None of us want to strike. SPS has forced us to because of its repeated refusal to provide our students with the supports they need to thrive," SEA explained in a statement. "Our bargaining team continues to work at the table and we still hope to announce an agreement rather than a strike tonight."

Jamillah Bomani, a fourth grade teacher at Leschi Elementary School, told KING-TV that "we want to come to school for our students, we want to be here on Wednesday, we want to be ready. But we want to make sure we are coming back to school with everything we need and everything our students need."

"So we are still holding out hope that something will happen and we can come tomorrow," she added, "but we are ready and willing, if we need to, to let the district know that we're not going to show up if we don't have everything our students need."

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022 ... ay-school

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'Great News' for Ball Players as Major League Baseball to Voluntarily Recognize Minor League Union Drive
by Brett Wilkins
September 9, 2022

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) Labor advocates on Friday welcomed a move by Major League Baseball to recognize an effort by minor league players—who often endure grueling working conditions for near-poverty wages—to unionize.

Major League Baseball (MLB) commissioner Rob Manfred said during a Friday press conference that the league will voluntarily recognize any union representing Minor League Baseball (MiLB) players, who are attempting to unionize with the MLB Players Association (MLBPA), according to ESPN.

"We, I believe, notified the MLBPA today that we're prepared to execute an agreement on voluntary recognition,'' Manfred said during a briefing in which he also discussed on-field rule changes—which include a pitch timer, limits on defensive shifts, and larger bases—for the 2023 MLB season.
"I think they're working on the language as we speak," he added.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a longtime supporter of minor league player rights who, while mayor of Burlington, led a successful effort to bring an MiLB team—the Vermont Reds—to town, hailed Friday's announcement as a "major victory."

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022 ... ion-drive

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UAW workers go on strike at Stellantis plant in Indiana
Source: AP

DETROIT (AP) — United Auto Workers union members went on strike Saturday at the Stellantis casting plant in Indiana, citing health and safety issues including the company’s alleged refusal to repair and replace the plant’s air conditioning and heating systems.

The 35-acre plant in Kokomo makes parts used in the power trains of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and RAM vehicles and a long-term strike could affect vehicle assembly lines across North America.

Stellantis says production had not been scheduled for this weekend and it hoped to resume negotiations as soon as possible on a contract with striking UAW Local 1166.

In a statement, Stellantis said it was committed “to providing a safe and healthy work environment for all employees. After bargaining in good faith for two days and presenting an offer we believed addressed the union’s concerns, we are disappointed by the UAW’s decision to walk out.”

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/indiana-nort ... 32d2f4652a

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^^^ I generally don't like to cite AP directly. Over time, the link to the article no longer works and the article becomes inaccessible. Citing a third-party source that features an AP article is more likely to be accessible for a longer period of time. At least, it sure seems that way to me.

[weatheriscool]

Biden jumps into rail dispute to avert possible strike

Source: Politico

President Joe Biden has been directly in touch with unions and railroad companies to try to avert a potential strike that is already disrupting freight and passenger service across the country, according to a White House official.

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh participated in negotiations last week between the parties and the National Mediation Board. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack have also been working with the parties to find a resolution.

Service disruptions already starting: Freight and passenger rail service is already being affected by anticipation of a possible work stoppage as early as Friday, when a federally-mandated “cooling off” period ends.

Amtrak is suspending service on three long-distance routes and part of a fourth on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern announced Monday that starting Tuesday it is closing all gates to intermodal traffic that travels by ship or by truck before or after a rail journey. The railroad is also beginning to shut down a variety of other services. The Class I railroads began to suspend service of hazardous and security-sensitive materials on Monday to avoid stranding them in stopped railcars.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/1 ... e-00056241

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Rail systems brace for shutdowns, Amtrak cancels routes as strike threat nears
Source: Washington Post

Transit systems across the country were on edge Wednesday amid the threat of a freight rail worker strike, making preparations ahead of possible travel disruptions that could affect hundreds of thousands of rail customers. Amtrak said it is canceling all of its long-distance trains starting Thursday.

Some regional transit agencies said they are preparing for service stoppages as early as Thursday evening ahead of a possible 12:01 a.m. Friday shutdown. They are wrapping up plans to communicate with commuters if a strike is not averted, and some are working with other agencies to direct people to bus alternatives.

The disruptions to passenger systems that operate on freight lines would be felt across several major metropolitan areas, including Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles. The strike threat also eliminated most Amtrak service outside the Northeast Corridor, forcing travelers to find other modes of transportation or cancel plans at the last minute.

Amtrak canceled service on all of its long-distance routes beginning Thursday, most of which have a daily trip in each direction and provide cross-country connections for thousands of Americans. Between 24 and 28 daily trains will not operate while service is suspended.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/transpor ... ce=twitter