Here’s what workers in the US South and the colonies were up to from Friday, August 8th to Friday, August 15th
New Campaigns
- 5 workers at Hillside Rehab and Healthcare Center filed a petition to hold a union election with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Missouri Kansas
- 34 workers at Waste Connections in Richwoods, MO filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 610
- 62 workers at New Fortress Energy in San Juan, PR filed a petition to hold a union election with the United Steel Workers (USW)
- 14 workers at Custom Fabrication in Philpot, KY filed a petition to hold a union election with the Central Midwest Regional Council of Carpenters
- 55 workers at QSL and Ameri-Force Management Services in New Orleans, LA filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA)
- 36 workers at GM Culinary in Austin, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with UNITE HERE Local 23
Election Results
- 69 workers at People’s Transit in Atlanta, GA voted 11 to 3 in favor of unionization with the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 732. In a statement commending the workers for their victory, the union highlighted poor pay, weak benefits, and concerns about the safety of the vehicles that transport people with disabilities and seniors as issues they will be looking to address in their first contract
- 360 workers at Pratt & Whitney Engine Services in Bridgeport, WV voted 121 to 222 against unionization with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW)
- 5 workers at Marmic Fire & Safety in Gulfport, MS voted 0 to 5 against unionization with the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA)’s Road Sprinkler Fitter Local 669
- 80 workers at Magic City Casino in Miami, FL voted in a decertification election 32 to 46 against maintaining unionization with UNITE HERE Local 355 – the union has been decertified
- 20 workers at Starbucks in Kansas City, MO voted 12 to 4 in favor of unionization with Starbucks Workers United
- 176 security guards at Preeminent Protective Services in Washington, DC voted 11 to 0 in favor of unionization with Preeminent Protective Services Workers United
Strikes & Bargaining
- Workers at several DC restaurants owned by STARR and Knightsbridge unionized recently. Rather than respecting the workers’ wishes, management launched an anti-union campaign. The union has now called for a boycott of STARR’s Le Diplomate. Osteria Mozza, The Occidental, and Knightsbridge’s Rasika, Modena and Bombay Club. Sixty-four members of Congress have signed a pledge to respect the boycott
- Nonunion carriers operating at the General Motors Bowling Green Assembly Plant in Kentucky are refusing to meet area standard compensation and benefits, undercutting decades of progress made under the Teamsters National Master Automobile Transporters Agreement (NMATA). Teamsters carhaul drivers picketed the plant in protest
- The Teamsters threatened to strike UPS in Kentucky and several other states if the company didn’t budge, and budge the company did. As a result of the Teamsters strike threat, the company resolved multiple outstanding grievances and agreed to a first contract for newly unionized administrative workers in Louisville. In their press release celebrating the win, the Teamsters did still point to other outstanding issues, like a lack of movement on new trucks with AC, the illegal buyout offers, and company violations of contractual time rules
- Workers at Diversicare – a nursing home – in Pell City, AL who recently unionized with the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) secured their first union contract with significant pay increases and increased paid time off, according to the union
- Restaurant workers in Kentucky at Feast BBQ and Royals Hot Chicken who recently unionized with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 227 secured their first union contract with $1/hr wage increases immediately and more over the life of the contract, plus health insurance and a grievance process
- Workers at Nexstar Media Group – the largest local news network in the country – who are organized with NABET-CWA are calling on their employer to negotiate fair contracts
- UFCW Local 400 members in Fairmont, WV voted to ratify a new contract with Keurig Dr. Pepper. The union says the contract includes significant wage increases and more
Political & Legislative
- A man tried to commit a mass shooting at the CDC in Atlanta because of misinformation regarding the vaccine. While he didn’t make it in the building, he did kill a police officer in his attempt before being killed himself. The union at the CDC blames the attack in part on their boss – RFK Jr.
- The week before last, Trump ripped up union contracts with workers at the VA. Last week, he did the same at FEMA, USCIS, the EPA, and the USDA. Justin Chen, President of AFGE Council 238 which represents 8,000 EPA workers, said the union will continue to fight for its members and the agency’s mission. Milton Jones, President of the United Food and Commercial Workers, which represents workers in industries that the USDA regulates, said “All workers deserve to have a voice on the job and strong union contracts with pay increases, guaranteed benefits, and safe working conditions. The USDA unilaterally breaking union contracts that have already been signed and ratified demonstrates a disturbing, illegal pattern of union busting across federal agencies. Food safety inspectors work closely with UFCW members in meatpacking and food processing plants to make sure the meat, poultry, and eggs that reach families’ tables are safe to eat. This decision doesn’t just erode labor rights – it damages the public’s trust in the safety of our food supply.”
- As if ripping up union contracts at the VA was not enough – the Trump administration is now rescinding weeks of parental leave for VA workers, including some who are giving birth this week. No doubt because of decisions like this, doctors who are offered a job at the VA are turning down the offers at 4 times the rate that they were last year. VA employees in Nashville, along with friend of the show Vonda McDaniel, protested this in a rally last week
- The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 26 to 3 in favor of restoring millions of dollars in funding at public health agencies for the fiscal year that begins on October 1st. AFGE leaders at NIOSH and the CDC applauded the move, but cautioned that the budget process is far from over
- Railroad Workers United, a cross craft caucus of railroad workers, issued a statement opposing the proposed merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. They noted that “should that merger move forward and be condoned by the U.S. government… the remaining two Class One railroads, BNSF and CSX, would in effect be forced to amalgamate as well, resulting in just four major rail corporations controlling not just the industry, but the infrastructure as well. Upwards of 90% of the rail traffic of North America will be controlled by these four corporations.” They point to potential bad outcomes for Amtrak, workers for railroads, and shippers who use the rails. Most rail unions have been public in their opposition as well. The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen,
- Social Security is 90 this year, and the AFL-CIO celebrated the program while pointing to the ways that the Trump administration is endangering it.
Internal Union Affairs
- Alabama man Nathaniel Loyd from Local 108 in Bessemer, AL won the Apprentice of the Year award from the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
- The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) won an $8M grant from the National Institutes of Health to expand their HazMat response training programs – the largest grant in the union’s history
- North America’s Building Trades Unions launched a partnership with Tennessee’s Department of Labor and the TVA to increase opportunities for children in foster families to access building trade union apprenticeships