Last Week in Southern Labor: 11/29 – 12/6

Jacob Morrison

Here’s what workers in the US South and the colonies were up to from November 29 to December 6

New Campaigns

  • 16 workers at Starbucks in Wilkesboro, NC filed a petition to hold a union election with Starbucks Workers United, as did 18 more at a location in Apex, NC, 19 at a location in Denton, TX, and 23 at a location in Cross Roads, TX
  • 202 workers at Phoenix Paper Wickliffe LLC in Wickliffe, KY filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW)
  • 10 workers at KBRwyle (a science and technology company) in Jacksonville, FL filed a petition to hold a union election with the Fleet Area Control and Surveillance Facility (FACSFAC) Jacksonville Union
  • 232 security guards at Triple Canopy in San Juan, PR filed a petition to hold a union election with Unión de Profesionales de la Seguridad Privada y Transporte de Valores (Union of Private Security and Securities Transportation Professionals) 
  • 26 workers at EN Bisso & Son Towing in New Orleans, LA filed a petition to hold a union election with the American Maritime Officers Union
  • 67 workers at Breakthru Beverage Florida in Miramar, FL filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 769
  •  20 workers at Gaylord Chemical in Tuscaloosa, AL filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Chemical Workers Union Council (ICWUC) Local 191T (a UFCW affiliate)
  • Workers likely pushed by their employer, and with help from the National Right to Work foundation, filed a petition to decertify the Teamsters Local 728 as the union representing 39 workers at Republic Services in Calhoun, GA 
  • 212 guards at Paragon Professional Services in El Paso, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 745
  • Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify the Teamsters Local 947 as the union representing 107 workers at Care Centers of Nassau in Fernandina Beach, FL 
  • 11 cops at the Belleview Police Department in Belleview, FL filed a petition to unionize with the Florida Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)
  • 15 cops at the Mascotte Police Department in Central FL filed a petition to unionize with the Florida Police Benevolent Association (PBA)
  • 32 cops at the city of Fort Walton Beach Police Department in FL filed a petition to unionize with the Florida PBA, as did 7 more in a different unit the same police department 
  • 3 firefighters for the Winter Haven Fire Department in FL filed a petition to unionize with the Winter Haven Firefighters, affiliated with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)
  • 23 cops at the St. Lucie Sheriff’s Office in Port St. Lucie. FL filed a petition to unionize with the Palm Beach County PBA.

Election Results

  • 18 workers at Starbucks in Benton, AR voted 11 to 5 in favor of unionization with Starbucks Workers United, as did 18 more at a Springfield, MO location – voting 15 to 1 in favor
  • 69 workers at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, VA voted 37 to 13 in favor of unionization with the IAMAW
  • 24 workers at United Rentals in Kansas City, MO voted 10 to 10 in a union election with the Teamsters Local 541, and ties go to the employer, so the workers did not win a union
  • 200 workers at First Student in Baton Rouge, LA voted 73 to 2 in favor of unionization with the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1546
  • 22 workers at Aquila Food Distribution in Mercedes, TX voted 8 to 14 against unionization with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 455
  • 6 firefighters at Orange County, FL had their petition to unionize with Orange County Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 2057 dismissed by the Public Employees Relations Commission due to invalid signatures
  • 128 workers at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL voted 97 to 0 in favor of recertifying the United Faculty of Florida (UFF) as their union
  • Workers at Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland voted 49 to 2 in favor of recertifying the university’s UFF chapter as their union, according to the Lakeland Ledger
  • 13 workers at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, FL voted unanimously to recertify the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 500 as their union
  • 189 workers at Taylor County Public Schools in FL voted 34 to 3 in favor of recertifying the Taylor County Non-Instructional Association as their union
  • 2 workers at the city of Neptune Beach, FL voted unanimously in favor of recertifying the Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA) Local 630 as their union
  • 124 workers at the city of Titusville, FL voted 49 to 3 in favor of recertifying LiUNA Local 630 as their union
  • 24 workers at the town of Orange Park, FL voted 18 to 1 in favor of recertifying LiUNA Local 630 as their union
  • 9 workers at the city of Neptune Beach, FL voted 6 to 1 in favor of recertifying LiUNA Local 630 as their union
  • 82 workers at the city of Rockledge, FL voted 25 to 1 in favor of recertifying LiUNA Local 630 as their union
  • All information about public sector worker organizing was pulled from McKenna Schueler’s substack, which you can read at CaringClassRevolt.Substack.Com, where you’ll also find originally reported stories, more details on the stories mentioned here, and more

Strikes & Bargaining

  • A union of restaurant workers in Asheville has been successfully organizing mutual aid efforts in the city post Hurricane Helene, including getting money from the city council to stop evictions. LaborNotes chronicled their post-Hurricane activities in addition the foundation they have set up over the last 2 years
  • Workers represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) of the Teamsters Rail Conference at Florida Gulf & Atlantic (FG&A) Railroad – which operates 430 miles of track in Florida and Georgia ratified their first contract. The five-year agreement includes just cause provisions, an 18.3 percent raise,  increased paid personal time off, and more
  • The Teamsters filed multiple unfair labor practice charges against Costco for violating federal labor law and the national master agreement in a calculated effort to undermine workers’ rights and disrupt the collective bargaining process. The company has been expelling union representatives from stores, harassing union members, and more. Negotiations for a new national master agreement covering more than 18,000 Costco Teamsters nationwide will resume next week. Talks were suspended in August.
  • Workers unionized with the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689 at Arlington Transit ratified their first contract by 98%. The three year agreement includes increased paid time off, increased retirement contributions, and raises. 
  • Before he left his post as Social Security Administration Commissioner, Martin O’ Malley agreed to extend the contract of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), protecting telework – among other things – until 2029. Trump folks are not happy with the deal
  • Boeing has announced layoffs of 158 people in Huntsville, AL as part of its broader plan to cut 10% of its entire staff. It is unclear if the unionized bargaining unit in Huntsville is affected
  • UE Local 150, which represents public sector workers in North Carolina, are holding events across the state to pressure officials to adopt heat protection standards
  • Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has been forced out after a long battle not just with the United Auto Workers (UAW), but his own board, dealerships, and basically the whole company. Shawn Fain had this to say about his resignation: Tavares’ resignation is a major step in the right direction for a company that has been mismanaged and a workforce that has been mistreated for too long. Tavares is leaving behind a mess of painful layoffs and overpriced vehicles sitting on dealership lots. For weeks, thousands of UAW members at Stellantis have been calling for the company to fire Tavares due to his reckless mismanagement of the company. We are pleased to see the company responding to pressure and correcting course. 
  • Last week, animation workers at White Board Geeks rallied to demand that their employer negotiate in good faith for a fair Collective Bargaining Agreement. The dozen workers represented by The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839 (TAG) and the Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700, demonstrated in Chesterfield, VA. One worker is quoted as saying “The Whiteboard Geeks production staff stand united in our desire to have a workplace that not only provides fair wages, but also offers basic protections such as just cause for termination. Our employer, on the other hand, is offering 30 to 80 percent pay cuts and refuses to accept reasonable proposals around job security.

Political & Legislative

  • According to records uncovered by McKenna Schueler at the Orlando Weekly, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) last year pitched a bill to the Republican legislature to create a permit for some undocumented immigrants to be able to work in Florida, after an anti-immigrant bill has had some “unintended consequences” for business, according even to some Republican legislators who supported its passage. UNITE HERE Local 737, which represents thousands of workers in the hospitality industry, said they would welcome such legislation. The FRLA has declined to say if they will push for this legislation again this year
  • The Biden Department of Labor released a proposed rule abolishing the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities, and NLRB General Counsel Abruzzo is trying to get the Board to overturn precedent that says some disabled workers lack union rights because their relationship with their employer is “primarily rehabilitative”
  • Nashville voters overwhelmingly approved a half cent sales tax increase to improve public transit in the city – now a conservative group is suing to stop the change from being implemented
  • Unions are calling on the Senate to confirm Lauren McFerran to another term on the NLRB
  • Senator Dick Durbin and Senator Josh Hawley introduced the Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act which would place restrictions on executive compensation for companies that filed bankruptcy, improve claims employees and retirees can make in the process, and move their claims further up the priority line so workers aren’t left holding the bag. The Teamsters and the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) applauded the move