Here’s what workers in the US South and the colonies were up to from February 14 to February 21
New Campaigns
- 13 workers at King and George in Louisville, KY filed a petition to hold a union election with United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) Local 184
- 60 security guards at United Parks and Resorts in Orlando, FL filed a petition to hold a union election with Security, Police, and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA)
- 16 workers at Starbucks in Dallas, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with Starbucks Workers United, as did 19 workers at a location in Marietta, GA, and 18 workers at a location in Cumming, GA
- 23 workers at Copart in Lebanon, TN filed a petition to hold a union election with the Copart Collective, presumably some independent union
- 60 workers at Oak View Health and Rehabilitation in Conway, SC filed a petition to hold a union election with United Steel Workers (USW)
- 1 worker at AGL Services Company in Atlanta, GA filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1997
Election Results
- 4200 workers at Amazon in Garner, NC voted 2,447 to 829 against unionization with Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment
- 53 workers at Mosaic Family Services filed and then withdrew a petition for a union election with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 277 because they secured voluntary recognition
- 60 security guards at Asset Protections & Security Services in Washington, DC voted 17 to 0 in favor of unionization with the Security, Police, and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA)
- 63 workers at PrimeFlight Aviation Services in Orlando, FL voted 42 to 0 in favor of unionization with the Transport Workers Union (TWU)
- 12 workers at MVM in El Paso, TX voted 3 to 4 against unionization with the Teamsters Local 745
Settlements, Grievances, & Unfair Labor Practices
- Former workers for Stacey Abrams’ New Georgia Project are alleging that the organization fired them for attempting to unionize with the Teamsters Local 728, and the union plans to file an Unfair Labor Practice charge with the NLRB
- Workers at Casey Trees in Washington, DC – who plant and maintain trees for the city and are unionized with the International Association of Machinists (IAM) are saying that management is stonewalling at the bargaining table and refusing to negotiate in good faith. The IAM filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge with the National Labor Relations Board in response to management’s refusal to bargain.
- Firefighters in Oscealoa County, FL – unionized with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 3284 won a settlement with the county. The county now agrees that fire fighters are eligible for overtime pay and will pay out $300,000 to resolve past claims. The IAFF says that other similar lawsuits are in progress throughout the state
Strikes & Bargaining
- 300 laundry workers for Alsco across seven southern states who are unionized with the Teamsters voted to ratify a new three year collective bargaining agreement that the union says increases wages, protections, and pensions
- Hilton Hotel workers near Orlando, unionized with UNITE HERE Local 737, held an informational picket outside their workplace last week as the company has refused to give them a fair contract. The workers – some of whom are making as little as $11/hr, are fighting for higher wages and a better pension
- Federal workers continue to be attacked by the current administration. Some workers elected to participate in the fork in the road initiative last month, had that election accepted, and then were fired anyways. At least one such person had their firing reversed after the increased media attention. Among the people fired that were frantically rehired was the Acting Chief of Defense Nuclear Safety. WTOP in Virginia spoke to a disabled veteran and Trump supporter who was part of the layoffs despite having good performance reviews. He said: “I voted for Donald Trump. But this is not what I was expecting. We didn’t think they were going to take a chainsaw to a silk rug.” WSBTV in Atlanta spoke to a veteran who had worked at the local VA for 12 years who was also laid off. The Washington Post details several such stories, including one person who was ford who has worked for the parks for 25 years. The VA’s Office of Research and Development largely hires on time-based appointments, not permanent career staff (83% are on these temporary appointments). They have been instructed not to renew contracts. This is the same office that developed the cardiac pacemaker and the nicotine patch. The office is one of the largest hubs for medical research in the world. Laid off federal workers should look into the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) program to help them in this transitory phase
- The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), and other federal worker unions, sued the government over these firings. In their statement about the suit, they said, “OPM’s egregious firings were made on false pretenses and violate federal law, including the Administrative Procedure Act and other statutes defining federal employment and OPM’s role… OPM, the complaint asserts, acted unlawfully by directing federal agencies to use a standardized termination notice falsely claiming performance issues. Congress, not OPM,controls and authorizes federal employment and related spending by the federal administrative agencies, and Congress has determined that each agency is responsible for managing its own employees.”
- Boeing in Huntsville is laying off 71 more workers due to changes at NASA
- The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Local Lodge 44 in Decatur, AL, which represents some 300 workers at United Launch Alliance, took a strike authorization vote last week as their negotiating committee heads into bargaining with the company. The contract expires in May
- In Fairfax County, VA, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) local there is fighting against proposed budget shortfalls by the school’s board of supervisors
- In Lorton, VA, the Transportation Communications Union (TCU-IAM) held an informational picket at Amtrak to protest the employer – Drummac’s – stalling at the bargaining table. The union says workers there are paid half the industry standard and have gone a year without a raise
- IAM District 837 is preparing for negotiations with Boeing in St. Louis, MO, which will begin in June
- The executive board of the National Association of Letter Carriers voted unanimously against sending a revised tentative agreement to the membership – they’re going straight to arbitration
Political & Legislative
- In Texas, after they banned abortion, new data analyzed by ProPublica reveals that for women hospitalized when they lost their pregnancies in the second trimester, rate of sepsis shot up more than 50%. From 2019 to 2023, even as maternal deaths declined by 7.5% nationally, they increased by 33% in Texas
- The Trump administration announced that Medicare will no longer cover most telehealth services starting 1 April
- The IAM is calling on the Trump administration yo enforce strong penalties against Chinese ship builders because of their alleged unfair trade practices
- The Texas Observer reported on an ICE prosecutor in the state who ran a literal white supremacist twitter account, saying things like “Yeah, I’m in a courthouse wating [sic] on warrants, Turns out there’s a lot of bitch work to be done to make mass deportations happen,” “America is a White nation, founded by Whites. … Our country should favor us,” “All blacks are foreign to my people,” “Freedom of association hasn’t existed in this country since 1964 at the absolute latest,” further clarifying the post was referring to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in a reply to a comment, and “I’m not a commie, I’m a fascist”
- The Corps of Engineers has identified 600 energy and infrastructure projects that could be fast tracked under Trump’s declaration of a national energy emergency
- Louis DeJoy announced he is stepping down. A frequent target of attacks from postal unions over the years, messages I got from letter carriers were more of a concerned nature than a joyful one – fearing what might come next
- Speaking of what might come next, the Washington Post reported that Trump is planning to completely ignore the law and remake the postal service – dissolving its congressionally created independent structure and absorbing it into the Commerce Department. When asked about the reporting, Trump did not deny it
- Trump’s nominee for Labor Secretary, of whom much was made because of her support for the PRO Act, backtracked on her support of the bill in her confirmation hearing, specifically the provisions that would repeal state right to work laws and the joint employer rules (two of the biggest provisions in the damn legislation)
- In Alabama, HB 89, a bill increasing access to maternal health care and SB 22, a bill cracking down on companies that violate child labor laws passed in the House and Senate, respectively. HB 29, which would add more red-tape barriers to unemployment insurance for Alabamians facing joblessness also passed the House though
- An Alabama grand jury is calling for the abolition of the Hanceville Police Department due to its rampant corruption
- Kentucky unions are fighting a roll back of state workplace safety regulations
- In 2016, Alabama’s legislature pre-empted municipalities from raising their minimum wage after Birmingham did in 2015. This year, a Democratic lawmaker filed a bill to repeal that law (it won’t go anywhere).
- AT&T is requesting authorization from the FCC to discontinue landline services in a bunch of states, including most of the south. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) filed complaints requesting the FCC stop them, saying that they are prioritizing shareholders over investing in their workforce and network
Internal Union Affairs
- Tyler Turner, a Texas native and member of OPEIU Local 277 was appointed to serve as international president of the union following the retirement of previous president Richard Lanigan