Last Week in Southern Labor: 3/21 – 3/28

Jacob Morrison

Here’s what workers in the US South and the colonies were up to from March 21 to March 28

New Campaigns

  • 135 workers at Real Alloy Recycling in Morgantown, KY filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 89
  • 119 workers at Breakthru Beverage Group in St Louis, MO filed a petition to hold a union election with the Liquor and Wine Sales Representatives Union Local 3 (this is an interesting filing because Teamsters have been organizing a lot of workers at this company across the country)
  • 20 workers at Fritz Enterprises in Birmingham, AL filed a petition to hold a union election with the United Steel Workers (USW)
  • 75 workers at Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with the United Auto Workers (UAW)
  • 18 workers at Starbucks in Mechanicsville, VA filed a petition to hold a union election with Starbucks Workers United 
  • 15 workers at Diversicare of Pell City in Pell City, AL filed a petition to hold a union election with the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) 
  • 90 drivers at United Natural Foods Inc (UNFI) in Texas and Louisiana are demanding recognition of their unionization with the Teamsters
  • 2 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
  • 40 workers at Blue Grass Energy Cooperative Corporation in Nicholasville, KY filed a petition to hold a union election with IBEW Local 2100
  • 4 workers at Fire Protection Equipment Company in Richmond, VA filed a petition to hold a union election with the Road Sprinkler Fitters Local 669 of the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters (UA)
  • Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify UNITE HERE Local 74 as the union representing 16 workers at Norwood Hills Country Club in Jennings, MO
  • 10 workers at Constellation in Washington DC filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) 
  • The employer filed a petition to hold a union election after a majority of the 2 workers at ASH Electrical Services in San Angelo, TX demonstrated support for unionization with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 520
  • 6 workers at Securemedy in Washington DC filed a petition to hold a union election with the National Capital Union for Security Officers (NCUFSO)
  • Workers likely pushed by their employer (and with help from the freaks at the National Right to Work Foundation) filed a petition to decertify the IBEW Local 520 as the union representing 3 workers at Smart Charge America in Austin, TX
  • 21 workers at Gibson Connect in Trenton, TN filed a petition to hold a union election with the IBEW Local 474

Election Results

  • 147 machinists at BWXT in Lynchburg, VA voted 84 to 60 in favor of unionization with the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) Local 45
  • 59 workers at Via 313 Pizza in Austin, TX voted 22 to 16 in favor of unionization with Restaurant Workers United, but the employer is challenging the election, it’s unclear why   
  • 7 workers at Mary Queen and Mother Center in St Louis, MO withdrew their petition for a union election with SEIU Healthcare Missouri / Kansas
  • 25 workers at Pardue Masonry of Central Florida in Tampa, FL voted 0 to 19 against unionization with the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (IUBAC) Local 8 Southeast
  • 12 workers at Breakthru Beverages Virginia in Virginia Beach, VA voted 9 to 3 in favor of unionization with the Teamsters Local 822

Grievances, Unfair Labor Practices, & Court Cases

  • The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) filed two unfair labor practice charges against Warrior Met in Alabama for violations of sections 8a3 and 8a1 of the National Labor Relations Act: illegally discharging or not hiring union supporters and retaliating against workers for engaging in concerted activity

Strikes & Bargaining

  • Arbitrator Nolan imposed a contract on the National Association of Letter Carriers that is more or less the same as the Tentative Agreement that was overwhelmingly voted down. Shortly thereafter, Postmaster General DeJoy resigned sooner than expected, reportedly over clashes with DOGE
  • UAW members at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, TN are increasing the pressure on the company to come to an agreement, with Shawn Fain holding multiple events in the city last week and recording fiery speeches
  • United Airlines Teamsters’ rejected the company’s latest proposal by 99.5 percent. The union characterized the vote as a rejection of the company’s attempt “to cut their wages and send their work to communist China,” calling the proposal “radical” and “un-American.” They also noted that the company made $4B in profits last year
  • Drivers and riders in Kansas City got the Transportation Authority to agree not to implement cuts at this time, and community groups are urging them to find other ways of dealing with the budget shortfall
  • After rejecting a tentative agreement last week, bus drivers for Mobile, AL’s Wave transit service – unionized with the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 770 – voted to authorize a strike. They haven’t announced when a strike would begin. They did file an unfair labor practice charge against Wave for disciplining workers over their protected concerted activities, presumably due to their sick out last week. Meanwhile the Mayor is raising concerns about spending
  • Workers at Wells Fargo locations who have unionized across the country held a nationwide mobilization last week, informing customers about union busting happening at their branches
  • The International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees (IATSE) came to an agreement with the producers of a low budget movie: The Last Story of David Allen in Memphis, TN, which the union and producers hope can serve as a model for union benefits for crew on such productions
  • Workers at Mersen in Columbia, TN are restarting bargaining for an initial collective bargaining agreement after concluding effects bargaining over layoffs at the plant. Workers recently unionized with IUE-CWA Local 88502

Political & Legislative

  • In the largest assault on union rights in my lifetime, possibly in American history, Donald Trump purported to take away collective bargaining rights for two thirds of federal workers, and 75% of the federal workers who are currently represented by a union – one million workers. He purports to do this on national security grounds, but he gave away the game in his “fact sheet,” when he said he didn’t like that some federal unions are “fighting” him. Almost all large unions have come out strongly against, especially the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), with the Teamsters being a notable exception. AFGE and allies are preparing a lawsuit, and there is explicit talk about PATCO and how unions didn’t do enough to defend the strikers – it’s unclear how much those words mean though. 
  • The Social Security system is already beginning to creak and crack: the website crashed 4 times over the course of 10 days, the phone service is degrading, customers are seeing longer wait times, and DOGE cut the agency’s program to measure customer experience. This after significant forward momentum under Martin O’Malley only last year
  • Immigrants continue to be kidnapped and disappeared without due process over their speech, now including a student at the University of Alabama, and in this case we still don’t even know what he is alleged to have said after multiple days
  • Florida has seen significant job shortages due to immigrants leaving the state, so they are, I kid you not, floating loosening child labor laws explicitly as a way to combat these issues
  • At least 120 employees at the Mine Safety and Health Administration – or 7% of the agency – accepted the buyout offer, leaving the agency with less employees than its had in decades, even as it struggles to do the bare minimum now
  • Alabama’s US Senator Katie Britt has introduced legislation to ban Project Labor Agreements on federal construction
  • Mississippi lawmakers are attempting to pass legislation that has already passed in Alabama and Tennessee which would bar businesses from voluntarily recognizing their workers’ unions if they get tax incentives from the state 
  • The gender pay gap hit a historic low in 2024, with women earning only 18% less than men on average, according to the Economic Policy Institute
  • Republicans in the US Senate voted to overturn a recently finalized rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that caps overdraft fees at $5
  • Democrats have introduced a bill in the US House and Senate that would allow striking workers to qualify for food stamps – the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) issued a statement supporting the move
  • In Charlotte, NC, the People’s Budget Coalition has come out with a proposed budget for the city that the city workers union supports, calling for higher wages for city workers, among many other things
  • The South Carolina AFL-CIO highlighted a new report by the Economic Policy Institute showing that the state has seen job growth, but no wage gains or expansions of benefits like paid leave or child care
  • In Kentucky, Republican legislators passed laws to weaken safety standards generally in workplaces (HB 398) and specifically in coal mines (HB 196). Governor Beshear vetoed HB 398 and sent HB 196 back without a signature. The legislature overrode his veto and passed both into law
  • Dropsite News reports that they have sources informing them that plans are already being made to further privatize Medicare once Dr. Oz gets confirmed, specifically by making the less efficient Medicare Advantage plans the default plans
  • The IRS is reportedly nearing a deal with ICE to share data of undocumented immigrants – something that the government has promised it would not do for decades
  • The United Auto Workers (UAW) came out strongly in support of the Trump administration’s auto tariffs
  • DOGE cuts at the Department of Labor include programs seeking to fight worker exploitation in other countries – the elimination of which will undercut workers in the US further. DOGE has also all but eliminated the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service at this point
  • SAG AFTRA is pushing for film tax cuts in Florida

Internal Union Affairs

  • With elections for the presidency of the Teamsters coming up next year, Sean O’Brien is touting his accomplishments: 80,000 new Teamsters, 250 strikes, and record contracts, according to the union. Left unsaid, of course, is the controversy he is creating. It remains to be seen if that will be a problem for him in the election