Last Week in Southern Labor: 8/22 – 8/29

Jacob Morrison

Here’s what workers in the US South and the colonies were up to from Friday, August 22, to Friday, August 29

New Campaigns

  • 14 workers at Starbucks in Madisonville, KY filed a petition to hold a union election with Starbucks Workers United, as did 17 more at a location in Paducah, KY 
  • Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify Workers United as the union representing 21 workers at Rare Bird Coffee in Falls Church, VA
  • 7 workers at Texas New Mexico Power Company in Alvin, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 66
  • Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify the Communication Workers of America (CWA) as the union representing 11 workers at Jewish Family Services of St Louis in St Louis, MO 
  • 10 workers at Sunbelt Rentals in Louisville, KY filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 181
  • Workers likely pushed by their employer – and with help from the National Right to Work Foundation – filed a petition to decertify the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) Local 421 as the union representing 43 workers at Environmental Air Systems in High Point, NC
  • Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify the Coqui Del Mar Workers Union as the union representing 5 workers at Coqui Del Mar in San Juan, PR  

Campaign Updates

  • 1,200 workers at Blue Oval SK in Glendale, KY voted 526 to 515 in favor of unionization with the United Auto Workers (UAW), but 41 ballots were contested because the union says they are not part of the bargaining unit. The eligibility of those votes will be decided by the NLRB and they will ultimately decide the outcome, unless Ford decides to drop their contest. The UAW said in a statement that they are “calling on Ford to acknowledge the democratic decision of its workforce. They should immediately drop their anti-democratic effort to undermine the outcome of the election and recognize a majority of BlueOval SK’s production and maintenance employees have chosen to join the UAW and ensure battery jobs in Kentucky are good, safe, union jobs.”

Strikes & Bargaining

  • Workers at the Epcot Italy pavilion in Disney World Orlando, who are unionized with UNITE HERE Local 737, are in the middle of contract negotiations as their current agreement expires on September 30th. They are demanding an $8/hr raise over 3 years, free health care, and a pension plan. They will be holding a strike authorization vote soon, with announcement of the vote to come on September 10th
  • The American Train Dispatchers Association (ATDA) reached a tentative first Collective Bargaining Agreement for members from the Genesee & Wyoming Railroad (G&W). Workers there unionized in September 2024. The new contract will include an average raise of 13% immediately upon ratification, then another across the board increase of 7% just a few months later, on January 1, 2026, along with seniority, seniority-based job bidding, order of call, the right to appeal discipline, and more, according to the union.
  • Cherokee County (Georgia) Fire and Emergency Services (CCFES) has boosted its minimum staffing from two fire fighters per apparatus to three after Local 4047 leaders spent years pushing for the change. Three-person staffing began August 17, using about 40 new fire fighters from two recent recruit classes. They will be spread among 22 fire stations across the county and bring the total number of fire fighters close to 500
  • 3,200 IAMAW members at Boeing in St. Louis remain on strike – negotiations have stopped and no new negotiations are scheduled, according to the company
  • The Association of Flight Attendants continues to survey why their members voted down their tentative agreement with United Airlines. One outlet thinks a major reason may be that the new TA still doesn’t include full pay for ground time. 
  • Approximately 50 union members and other supporters gathered with VW workers to urge the Chattanooga City Council to consider a resolution calling for one of the area’s largest employers to bargain for a fair contract. Workers unionized in April 2024 with the UAW and since then have dealt with management slow-walking bargaining and refusing to discuss core concerns like wages and health insurance. Chattanooga Area Labor Council President Geoff Mehldal and Trustee Kim Hensley urged attendees to contact council members about endorsing the resolution. 
  • Nurses from University Medical Center New Orleans (UMCNO) who are unionized with National Nurses United (NNU) in Louisiana were joined by community members, labor allies, and union leaders at a rally at 7 p.m. on Labor Day as they continue to bargain for a first contract with LCMC Health, their employer.

Political & Legislative

  • Employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) wrote a public letter to Congress outlining concerns with the administration’s handling of the agency, including the fact that the head of the agency does not have the legally required expertise (and didn’t even know the US has a hurricane season), the huge decrease in personnel, and funding cuts. For speaking out against the administration’s actions, they have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, like workers at the Environmental Protection Agency who signed a similar letter before them. Those employees have now been fired. 
  • In July, the Trump administration released their “AI Action Plan.” Henry Wu writes that this plan treats workers as soon-to-be casualties of disruption, rather than co-creators in a new economy. 
  • The Trump administration fired Robert Primus, a member of the Surface Transportation Board (STB) (a federal agency that regulates railroads) after he announced his public concerns with the proposed merger between Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific. The Sheet, Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers Union (SMART) issued a statement condemning the firing as the Trump administration doing corporate America’s bidding and called on the White House to reinstate him. Primus was originally appointed by Trump and re-appointed by Biden, confirmed by the Senate both times. 
  • Republican State Senators in Alabama are concerned about impacts to the state budget from Trump’s budget law. It’s going to increase the cost the state pays for food stamps alone by tens of millions. A quick fix would be to increase taxes on the wealthiest Alabamians, but that won’t happen
  • Friend of the show Max Alvarez interviewed AFGE President Everett Kelley about attacks on federal workers and the labor movement
  • Workers with Stand Up KC, Missouri Workers Center, SEIU Local 1, SEIU Healthcare, and other unions; Missouri Jobs with Justice Voter Action; Missouri Voter Protection Coalition; Indivisible KC; and 50501 Kansas City held a mass Labor Day rally in Kansas City, Missouri, to protest President Donald Trump’s calls for Missouri lawmakers — including Speaker of the House Jonathan Patterson (HD-30) who represents the Kansas City suburbs most at risk in Missouri — to illegally redraw the state’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. 
  • There are over 1,000 other labor day protests across the country, including hundreds in the south