Last Week in Southern Labor: 10/25 – 11/01

Jacob Morrison

Here’s what workers in the US South and the colonies were up to from October 25 to November 1

New Campaigns

  • Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 584 as the union representing 14 workers at Brent Electric Company in Pryor, OK
  • 24 workers at Starbucks in Dunwoody, GA filed a petition to hold a union election with Starbucks Workers United
  • 2 workers at EMCOR Government Services in Washington DC filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 99
  • 380 workers at Logan Regional Medical Center in Logan, WV filed a petition to hold a union election with the United Steel Workers (USW) 
  • 37 workers at Compass Connections in Harlingen, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 657
  • Workers likely pushed by their employer – with help from the National Right to Work Foundation – filed a petition to decertify the Warehouse Employees Local Union 322 (a Teamsters affiliate) as the union representing 17 workers at NAPA Transportation in Richmond, VA
  • 16 workers at COMO Rocks in Columbia, MO filed a petition to hold a union election with the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 955
  • The Security, Police, and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) filed a petition to raid a unit of 20 security guards at Inter-Con Security Systems in Washington DC
  • The employer filed a petition to hold a union election after a majority of the 42 workers at New Virginia Majority in Alexandria, VA demonstrated support for unionization with the NVM NOVA Canvassers Union, an Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) affiliate
  • The employer filed a petition to hold a union election after a majority of the 16 workers at Olson Brothers Pro-Vac in Manassas, VA demonstrated support for unionization with IUOE Local 77
  • 3 fire captains for the Apopka Fire Department in Apopka, FL filed a petition to hold a union election with the Apopka Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 5293 (an IAFF affiliate)
  • 6 assistant fire chiefs for the Orange County Fire Department in Orlando, FL filed a petition to hold a union election with the Orange County Fire Fighters Association Local 2057 (an IAFF affiliate)

Campaign Updates

  • The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) released a resolution yesterday condemning the Logan County Commission in WV for abruptly deciding it would not bargain with UMWA, after the UMWA won a free and fair election among the employee of the County Commission, and committing to continuing to support those workers as they fight to pressure their employer to bargain in good faith
  • The City of Dallas, TX has paused a quarter million dollar grant to a dance studio that workers argue illegally fired dancers in retaliation for their organizing

Election Results

  • 22 workers at CBG Express in Ft Myers, FL withdrew their petition for a union election with the Teamsters Local 79
  • 13 workers at Starbucks in Norman, OK voted 12 to 1 in favor of unionization with Starbucks Workers United
  • 27 workers at SD&B FW in Ft Worth, TX voted 8 to 5 in favor of unionization with Spiral Workers United, but there were 12 challenged ballots, and the union must have felt like those would swing against them because they withdrew their petition following the vote tally
  • 8 workers at Ferguson Enterprises in Riviera Beach, FL voted 5 to 3 in favor of unionization with United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) Local 630
  • 24 workers at Texair Company in McAllen, TX voted 8 to 16 against unionization with UA Local 211
  • 121 workers at International Rescue Committee in Atlanta, GA voted 71 to 4 in favor of unionization with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 179
  • 22 security guards at Allied Universal Security Services in Washington DC voted 10 to 3 in favor of unionization with Union Rights for Security Officers (URSO) over United Government Security Officers of America (UGSOA) Local 387
  • 149 security guards at Centerra Group in McAllen, TX voted 39 to 0 in favor of unionization with SPFPA
  • 24,000 school workers at Miami-Dade County Public Schools voted 83% in favor of maintaining their union – the United Teachers of Dade. McKenna Schueler has the details.
  • 184 graduate student workers at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, FL voted 5 to 0 in favor of recertifying the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University chapter of the Graduate Assistants United (FAMU-GAU)
  • 2 battalion chiefs for the city of Maitland Fire Department in Maitland, FL unanimously voted 2 to 0 to unionize with the Maitland Professional Fire Fighters Local 3590 (an IAFF affiliate)
  • 675 non-instructional staff for Seminole County Public Schools in Sanford, FL voted 46 to 1 in favor of recertifying the Association of Non-Instructional Personnel of Seminole County Board of Public Instruction 
  • 608 non-instructional staff for Highlands County Public Schools in Sebring, FL voted 279 to 9 in favor of recertifying the Highlands County Educational Support Professionals Association
  • 1313 paraprofessionals, office specialists and other clerical staff for Volusia County Public Schools in Daytona Beach voted 435 to 17 in favor of recertifying Volusia United Educators 
  • 215 non-instructional staff for Hardee County Public Schools in Wauchula, FL voted 64-4 in favor of recertifying the Hardee Education Association/United as their union
  • 543 non-instructional, blue-collar staff for Hernando County Public Schools in Brooksville, FL voted 130-10 in favor of recertifying Hernando United School Workers Local 4730
  • 29 school psychologists employed by Brevard County Public Schools voted 25 to 0 in favor of unionizing with the Brevard Federation of Teachers
  • 487 blue-collar wastewater, utilities, and maintenance workers employed by the city of Orlando, FL voted 103 to 3 in favor of recertifying LIUNA Local 630  
  • 125 accountants, tech workers, and other non-instructional white-collar employees for Duval County Public Schools in Jacksonville, FL voted 27 to 4 in favor of recertifying LIUNA Local 630 
  • 65 employees of the Jacksonville Port Authority in Jacksonville, FL voted 17 to 8 in favor of recertifying the Federation of Public Employees
  • The Florida public sector union information comes from McKenna Schueler’s substack, which you can read at CaringClassRevolt.Substack.com

Strikes & Bargaining

  • Another International Paper mill closure was announced last week, this in Georgetown, SC. The Post and Courier reports that IP says this is part of an effort to “right” the company, and also that the local union president was “shocked” to hear the news. This mill has been around for almost 90 years, and the closure will eliminate 700 jobs
  • The various rail unions continue to bargain agreements one by one with each rail carrier. Railroad Workers United, a cross craft caucus of rail workers, oppose this in favor of united and coordinated bargaining, but have created a tool for people to use to help them see the status of bargaining with the various unions and companies. 
  • 1,300 pilots at Allegiant Air nationwide, represented by the Teamsters, are voting to authorize a strike in response to management’s stalling on real movement towards a fair contract. Management is trying to get scheduling concessions in exchange for wage increases, despite publicly boasting about their “wildly successful” business
  • In a press release sent to The Valley Labor Report, ATU Local 689 announced “a coalition with the DMV Drivers Alliance and the Asian American Pacific Islander Civic Engagement (ACE) Collaborative to raise pay standards, benefits, and working conditions for rideshare workers in Maryland and DC,” with a goal particularly towards building a legal framework in the area to raise standards for rideshare drivers
  • Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 517, which represented hundreds of blue collar workers for the Orange County municipal government, was decertified by the state of Florida without an election as a result of SB 256, and when a union is decertified, the contracts they negotiated with the employers are null and void. However, the Orange County government, unlike some Florida employers, have agreed to honor at least parts of the contract through its negotiated expiration, specifically wages and rules around work performed outside of a job description
  • Warehouse workers at Sysco/Sygma in Kansas City, MO, unionized with the Teamsters, went on a strike that ended after one day when they were able to reach a tentative agreement with the company. The agreement that was unanimously ratified contract contained a 22% general wage increase over the 4 year term of the contract with an immediate 13% raise, doubled the night premium, and more
  • In a press release sent to The Valley Labor Report, the Teamsters announced that they are preparing to call for a national boycott of Chipotle if the company does not agree to a fair contract at the only unionized store in the country in Michigan
  • 400 maintenance workers at the University of South Florida had their union decertified without an election as a result of the new anti-union law SB 256, and now, without bargaining, USF has announced they are privatizing the entire unit. Reportedly, the workers wages will remain the same, with the primary difference being they are no longer paying into their pension funds, and any employee not already vested loses it altogether

Political & Legislative

  • 133 members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed onto a letter supporting Amazon Teamsters by demanding information from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy regarding the retail behemoth’s unlawful violations of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
  • The Georgia State AFL-CIO, Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) International President Matthew Loeb, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson and Dan Duncan, who recently retired as the executive secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department (MTD), rallied with union members on Saturday in Atlanta
  • Union members have knocked on millions of doors in support of Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, and the AFL-CIO has put together a website detailing what a second Trump administration would mean for workers. The UAW reports that they have made an attempt to contact every member during this election for the first time ever.