Here’s what workers in the Southern U.S. and the Colonies were up to from September 22-29:
We continue to try to make this newsletter more informative for you, so we want to add in this section whether or not the new filing is employer filed or worker filed. An employer filed election petition is one that was, you guessed it, filed by an employer, after their workers requested voluntary recognition with at least a 50%+1 showing of signed authorization cards – documents that workers sign stating that they wish to be unionized. Employer filed petitions have significantly increased in the last month following the Cemex ruling, which now states that if 50%+1 of your workforce signs authorization cards and requests recognition, you have to recognize them or file for a secret ballot election within ten days. This is one more way that this NLRB is speeding up the election process and making it easier for workers to unionize, so we want to make sure that yall know about, and that you know not to be worried when you read that an employer filed for a union election. In fact, that’s good! It means the workforce has already shown majority support and they have already forced the boss to act. Without further adue, here are last week’s new filings:
The employer filed a petition for union election after 24 workers at Starbucks in Farmers Branch, TX showed majority support for unionizing with Starbucks Workers United
19 Workers at Spirit Lexus in Creve Coeur, MO filed for a union election with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) District Lodge 9
2 nurses at Children’s National Hospital in Washington DC filed for a union election with the DC Nurses Association
3 mechanics and other workers at ISS Action in Del Rio, TX filed for a union election with IAMAW Local Lodge 2949
101 security guards at Maxsent and Kerberos International as joint employers in Spotsylvania, VA filled for a union election with the International Guards Union of America
8 workers at L&W Supply Corporation in Karns, TN filed for a union election with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 519
47 security guards at Constellis in Herndon, VA filed for a union election with Protective Service Officer’s United
The employer filed for a union election after 9 workers at Homestate, A Joint Operation LLC showed majority support for unionization with the Teamsters Local 955
20 workers at Aerostar Airport Holdings in Carolina, PR filed for a union election with IAMAW
6 workers at Lush Cosmetics in Lexington, KY filed for a union election with UFCW Local 227
34 security guards at FJC Security Services, Inc in Nashville, TN filed for a union election with the International Guards Union of America
50 workers at Morton Salt in Cape Canaveral, FL withdrew their petition for union election with the United Steel Workers International Union
54 workers at The Springs of Avalon in West Memphis, AR filed to decertify their union – the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1529
7 workers at Missouri Red Quarries in Ironton, MO filed to decertify their union – the Laborers International Union of North America, Missouri and Kansas Laborers District Council
4 quality assurance workers at Mid America Conversion Services in Kevil, KY won their election to unionize with the USW unanimously
12 workers at Restaurant Technologies in Dallas, TX won their election to unionize with the Teamsters Local 745, 9 to 2
94 workers at Silgan Containers Manufacturing Corporation in Saint Joseph, MO won their election to unionize with the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers International Association (SMART) Local 2, 43 to 39
In an election between two unions, 29 workers at MV Transportation in Baton Rouge, LA decided to unionize with the Transport Workers Union over the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1546, with 16 voting for the TWU, 2 for ATU, and 4 for no union at all
9 workers at French Truck in New Orleans, LA won their election to unionize with the Teamsters Local 270 unanimously
20 workers at Starbucks in Lexington, SC won their election to unionize with Starbucks Workers United unanimously
An administrative law judge held that Starbucks broke federal labor law when it withheld new raises and benefits only from unionized or unionizing stores, in a nationwide ruling. From Bloomberg:
The judge ordered Starbucks to compensate thousands of unionized workers for the wages and benefits they were unlawfully denied. Starbucks argued that giving the pay raises to unionized baristas would have been illegal because federal law prohibits the company from making unilateral changes to union workers’ jobs. The judge stated this argument wasn’t lodged in good faith, and would require her to presume that Starbucks and its attorneys “so misapprehended basic labor law concepts that it considered itself compelled to deny wage and benefit increases on the basis of employees’ union activities.”
Starbucks Workers United tweeted:
Turns out the “we are very stupid” legal argument didn’t convince the judge, huh
The Georgia Staff Organization prevailed in an arbitration case where they asserted that they were being denied meal reimbursements by the Georgia Association of Educators, an NEA affiliate, despite unambiguous language in the collective bargaining agreement.
The staff at the AFLCIO headquarters has begun informational picketing outside the office in DC, as they try to bargain a new contract. Pay is the primary issue, with the staff stating that they haven’t received a raise in 9 years, which has led to a marked attrition in staff and difficulty attracting talent. They have barely more than half the staff they did 7 years ago, and entire departments are unstaffed.
Alabama school teachers will receive, wait for it, a whopping 2% pay raise this year, beginning on October 1st. And I was just told last week that the Teachers Union secures higher wages than they deserve. Weird how they’re taking a pay cut, again, this year in real wages.
United Airline Pilots secured and then ratified a tentative agreement that includes, among other things, a 40% raise.
188 UAW members at ZF Manufacturing, a Mercedes parts manufacturer, are still on strike in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Shangrila dispensary workers with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 655 in Columbia, MO are still on strike – they began in May.
Three Brothers Coffee workers with UFCW 1995 in Nashville, TN have been on strike since June
Memphis soy protein production workers with Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) Local 390G have also been on strike since June.
UAW has expanded their strike to two more facilities at Ford and GM, adding 7,000 workers to the strike, bringing the total number of Big 3 UAW members on strike to 25,000
The union at NPR has come to a tentative agreement with the broadcasting organization, guaranteeing remote and hybrid work over the life of the agreement.
1,400 members of the Communication Workers of America ratified their tentative agreement with Frontier Communications in West Virginia and Regular Virginia. The CWA says they achieved significant wage increases, preserved existing job security language, and maintained quality health and welfare benefits. In addition, Frontier has committed to creating additional jobs and a long-term work at home agreement.
The @USDOL has awarded the AFL-CIO Working in America Institute a grant to launch a pilot program in Birmingham, AL in order to empower women, especially women of color, to join our nation’s manufacturing workforce & obtain good-paying jobs that lead to lifelong careers
About 22,000 Alabamians lost Medicaid coverage in July, according to recent eligibility data from the Alabama Medicaid Agency. Jennifer Harris, health policy advocate with the nonprofit Alabama Arise, anticipates that eventually 60,000 to 80,000 Alabamians will lose coverage because of the end of the COVID-19 emergency.
Mississippi’s State Auditor released a report attacking Mississippi’s colleges, in particular what remains of their humanities programs, and the United Campus Workers of Mississippi replied in a statement, saying in part: Our colleges and universities do not exist solely to “produce graduates who complement Mississippi’s workforce needs.” They exist to enable students to pursue the study of subjects they find meaningful and important.
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