Last Week in Southern Labor: 2/6 - 2/13

Here’s what workers in the US South and the colonies were up to during the week between Friday, February 6, and Friday, February 13

New Campaigns

266 workers in 8 bargaining units have gone public with their union campaigns, and 6 workers in 1 bargaining unit are trying to decertify their union

33 workers at MEMC SOI in Saint Peters, MO filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) District 9
7 workers at Cushman & Wakefield in Arlington, VA filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 99
2 staff for the Teamsters Local 512 in Jacksonville, FL filed a petition to hold a union election with the United Steel Workers (USW) International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC
8 workers at Brown & Root Industrial Services, LLC in Palmyra, MO filed a petition to hold a union election with The International Association of Heat & Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 1
Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 978 as the union representing 6 workers at Appalachian Power in Pulaski, VA
157 workers at Graphic Packaging International in Waco, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with the USW
13 workers at Republic National Distributing Company in Lubbock, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 577
38 workers at Zenith Logistics in Louisville, KY filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 89
8 workers at Big Sandy Rural Electrical Cooperative Corporation in Paintsville, KY filed a petition to hold a union election with the IBEW 317

Election Results

24 workers across 2 bargaining units unionized, 85 workers across 2 bargaining units voted against unionization, 258 workers across 2 bargaining units decertified their union, and 6 workers in 1 bargaining unit withdrew their petition for a union election

6 workers at UPS in Dallas, TX withdrew their petition with the Teamsters Local 745
246 security guards at Southern Nuclear Operating Company in Waynesboro, GA voted in favor of decertifying the Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) (the National Union of Nuclear Security Officers NUNSO took the occasion to try to raid, but they didn’t get enough votes either. The final tally was 55 for SPFPA, 35 for NUNSO, and 117 for no union)
18 workers at Starbucks in McLean, VA voted 9 to 8 in favor of unionization with Starbucks Workers United
16 workers at Concessions International St. Croix in Christiansted, VI voted 1 to 13 against unionization with the Virgin Islands Workers Union
6 security guards at Allied Universal Security Services in Washington, DC voted 3 to 0 in favor of unionization with Union Rights for Security Officers (URSO)
12 workers at Miller Painting Co. in Savannah, GA voted 6 to 1 in favor of decertifying the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 77
69 workers at Laboratory Corporation of America in Tucker, GA voted 22 to 39 against unionization with the IUPAT District Council 77

Grievances, Unfair Labor Practices, & Court Cases

The National Labor Relations Board is giving up its oversight of SpaceX, saying it is rightly governed by the Railway Labor Act, following a decision by the National Mediation Board which governs jurisdiction. This could have very concerning impacts for workers at the United Launch Alliance who have been unionized under the NLRA for decades now
The Teamsters are suing UPS for alleged violations of the contract, seeking an emergency restraining order in particular to prevent a second buyout program from being rolled out. Specifically, the union says this program violates the contract by eliminating positions when it was contractually obligated to create more positions, and by direct dealing with workers thereby circumventing the collective bargaining process

Strikes & Bargaining

30,000 oil workers nationally look like they have averted a strike. The United Steel Workers (USW) – which represents the workers – announced that they had reached a pattern agreement with the oil refineries which will now go to a vote of the membership. The union said the agreement contains “strong wage increases and other national priorities.” Reuters is reporting that the deal includes a 15% wage increase over four years, along with a $2,500 signing bonus
Union workers with ProPublica, Texas Tribune, and the Austin American-Statesman picketed in downtown Austin, TX last week, marching in solidarity with ProPublica workers across the country as they fight for a union contract. Workers in all three units are bargaining for a first contract
Last month, the NLRB ruled in favor of the UAW, certifying that a majority of eligible bargaining unit employees at the Blue Oval plant in Kentucky had voted to unionize with the UAW. This came after an election last year where the challenges were determinative, with the UAW arguing that the challenged ballots were by people not in the bargaining unit. The NLRB agreed, siding with the UAW. This obligates Blue Oval to bargain with the UAW, even if it is just over severance conditions and recall rights for the now UAW represented workers who are being laid off. Workers submitted over one thousand signatures to that effect were delivered to the company’s headquarters last week. This negotiation – particularly over recall rights – as Ford is planning to use the plant to produce batteries for the grid, rather than for vehicles

Political & Legislative

A new inspector general report is raising the alarm about the underfunding at OSHA. In the report, the IG notes that there are 11.6 million worksites and barely more than 700 OSHA inspectors (a record low), meaning more of their time has to be spent reacting to death and injury reports rather than proactive investigations and training
Likely in response to the Tyson plant closing in Nebraska (5% of all US beef was produced there), Trump signed an executive order quadrupling beef imports from Argentina. This won’t help US farmers, nor lower prices, but it will raise profits for Tyson
We got a new jobs report, and it’s still bad. While January’s numbers weren’t table, 2025 numbers were. Minus healthcare and social services, the US lost jobs. For blue collar jobs specifically, there were 166,000 jobs lost in 2025. Even though the overall jobs numbers in January were mostly fine, there were some concerning portions to the numbers, like how January 2026 saw the most job cuts in a January since 2009

Internal Union Affairs

The United Auto Workers is going to organize the South – that’s what they said at their National Community Action Program conference last week, saying that the union plans to add 25,000 new members at foreign automotive plants in the South over the next two years. Their recent victory at Volkswagen – securing a 20% raise, a 20% reduction in healthcare costs, and a $6,500 bonus will surely help with that goal. Pro-union workers at Mercedes lost a vote two years ago, but they haven’t given up yet. It took three elections to win a union at Volkswagen – and look where they are now. In his keynote address, UAW President Shawn Fain also condemned the way has been behaving and renewed the unions calls for Medicare for All and retirement security for everyone
The American Federation of Government Employees also held its legislative conference last week, emphasizing to delegates the importance of building their unions to come back from the vicious attacks from the Trump administration
The NLRB found that the Teamsters International President Sean O’Brien and Teamsters Local 657 had likely attempted to intimidate a member by encouraging his employer to fire or otherwise take adverse action against