Here’s what workers in the US South and the colonies were up to from August 2nd to August 9th:
New Campaigns
- 34 workers at Wood County Electric Cooperative in Quitman, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 738
- 8 workers at Battleground Texas in Dallas, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with United Professional Organizers (UPO)
- 23 workers at Veolia in Tampa, FL filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 30
- 22 workers at Starbucks in Arlington, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with Starbucks Workers United, as did 10 more workers at a Starbucks in Clearwater, FL
- Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify the Transport Drivers Union of Beverage Products Corporation (??) as the union representing the workers at Pepsico Beverages North America in Tulsa, OK
- 11 workers at Builders First Source in Shelbyville, KY filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 89
- 16 workers at Sysco South Florida in Medley, FL filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 769
- 8 workers at Reliable Automotive in Springfield, MO filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) District Lodge 9
- On board rail workers at Brightline Florida are filing cards with the National Mediation Board to unionize with the Transport Workers Union (TWU) of America (they’re under the Railway Labor Act)
- 13 workers at All American Fire Systems in Claremore, OK filed a petition to hold a union election with the United Association’s (UA) Sprinkler Fitters Local 669
- Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify the United Steel Workers (USW) Local 202-02 as the union representing 34 workers at Delek Refining in Tyler, TX
- 18 workers at Transdev in West Palm Beach, FL filed a petition to hold a union election with the Amalgamated Transit Workers (ATU) Local 1577
- The employer filed a petition to hold a union election after a majority of the 24 workers at Barter Theatre in Abingdon, VA demonstrated support for unionization with the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE)
Election Results
- Every adjunct professor’s union in the state of Florida has been decertified after they failed to retain 60% membership and were unable to garner the signatures to refile. That’s 8,000 workers now without their union rights and who no longer have the protections of a CBA. St Pete College, for instance, confirmed to the Orlando Weekly that their contract with the AFT chapter was now “null and void.”
- 159 workers at Sibelco North America in Spruce Pine, NC voted 54 to 95 against unionization with the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA)
- 23 workers at the Sun Sentinel Company in Deerfield Beach, FL voted unanimously in favor of unionization with the NewsGuild CWA
- 3 workers at the El Paso Electric Company in El Paso, TX voted unanimously in favor of unionization with the IBEW Local 960
- 17 workers at Underwater Mechanix Services in Jacksonville, FL voted unanimously against unionization with the Deep6Divers-Union
- 19 workers at Starbucks in Northfield, KY voted unanimously in favor of unionization with Starbucks Workers United
- 8 workers at H&M in Lakeland, FL voted against unionization with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1625
- 73 workers at Southern Protection Agency in Lexington, NC voted 20 to 15 in favor of unionization with the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 919
- 64 workers at Mountain Enterprises in Hagerhill, KY voted 38 to 24 in favor of keeping the USW as their union in a decertification election
- 6 workers at the Lee County Electric Cooperative in North Ft Myers, FL voted 5 to 1 in favor of unionization with IBEW Local 1933
- 11 workers at OTL Logistics in Claycomo, MO voted 7 to 1 in favor of unionization with Teamsters Local 41
- 3 workers at Midwest Air Traffic Control Service in Hollister, MO voted unanimously in favor of unionization with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA)
Settlements, Grievances, & Unfair Labor Practices
- The Teamsters won the right to picket at Amazon’s Northern Kentucky airhub after the company tried to bar them
- Teamsters Local 391 celebrated getting a UPS driver his job back with backpay following a wrongful termination
- An NLRB Administrative Law Judge found that the ACLU illegally terminated an employee for protected concerted activity, after wasting 2 years and over $1M in donor money. They can still appeal further, but hopefully they come to their senses. The union representing the worker – the NonProfit Employees Union (NPEU – IFPTE) – released a statement saying that the ruling is significant
Strikes & Bargaining
- Communications Workers of America (CWA) is in negotiations with AT&T in both the southeastern region and the West. In the West, the union and the company reached a tentative agreement last week. In the Southeast, they’re still negotiating and the contract expired a week ago. Workers are continuing to work under an expired contract but have voted to authorize a strike if necessary. The Southeastern agreement covers 15,000 workers
- Workers at the National Audobon Society, unionized with the Bird Union CWA Local 1180 – voted to authorize a strike after the company has bargained in bad faith and unilaterally changed working conditions
- The Teamsters kicked off negotiations with United Airlines, where the union represents some 10,000 aviation maintenance and related craft workers. They are demanding industry-leading wages, a faster timeline for reaching the top pay rate, improved health care benefits, and higher safety standards. The union is getting a jump-start on bargaining by opening the contract four months before it becomes amendable.
- Teamsters Local 322, representing custodial and plant workers in Virginia, got a new contract with a 22% increase in wages
- Nursing Home CNAs at Aspire Health Group in Orlando, FL, unionized with 1199 SEIU Florida, held a rally saying that the company’s disinterest in staffing level improvements wasn’t going to cut it.
- The International Longshoremen’s Association issued the required 60 day notice to the major carriers that they will not be extending the contract at South Carolina ports past the September 30 expiration date, ratcheting up the strike threat. Reportedly, the union is asking for an 80% wage hike over the 6 year life of its next contract
- Registered nurses at Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC – unionized with National Nurses United – held an informational picket last week to pressure management to agree to their demands in negotiations. They have been working under an expired agreement for over a month
Political & Legislative
- The AFL-CIO released its annual CEO paywatch last week. This year, it revealed that CEOs made on average 268x the median worker’s pay
- Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed suit with 14 other AGs to prevent undocumented migrants from getting health insurance through the ACA
- Marshall hasn’t been as public about this, but he also filed suit against the Department of Labor to prevent 66,000 Alabamians from benefiting from the new overtime rule
- The American Federation of Government Employees released a statement on the Federal Labor Relations Authority finally being fully staffed, saying Anne Wagner’s confirmation is good for workersInternal Union Affairs
- A CWA AT&T worker administered CPR to a woman who was technically dead for 4 minutes – but the CPR kept her brain oxygenated, likely saving her life
- UE Local 150, a union representing city, state, and manufacturing workers in North Carolina, is having its 13th biennial statewide convention