Last TWO Weeks in Southern Labor

Every week in the south, workers organize new unions, they bargain for new contracts, they fight for good legislation and against bad legislation, and they put the boss in their place. Here are all the stories we could find from Friday, March 20 to Friday, April 3:

New Campaigns

681 workers in 13 bargaining units have gone public with their union campaigns, 34 workers in 1 bargaining unit are trying to decertify their union, and 1 union is attempting to raid a unit of 28 workers

428 workers at The Doe Run Company in Viburnum, MO filed a petition to hold a union election with the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 829
68 workers at Goldbelt, Inc. in Elizabeth City, NC filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Union of Electrical Workers (IUE-CWA)
21 workers at Starbucks Corporation in Inwood, WV filed a petition to hold a union election with Starbucks Workers United
49 workers at CPC Logistics in Jackson, MO filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 600
Workers likely pushed by their employer – and with help from the National Right to Work Foundation – filed a petition to decertify the Teamsters Local 728 as the union representing 34 workers at Republic Services in Calhoun, GA
- I thought this group of workers seemed familiar, and it’s because in November of 2023 they won a union election. In January of 2025, they defeated a decertification attempt. All the while, Republic Services has slow walked negotiations with the union
31 workers at Pepsi in Lithonia, GA filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 528
12 workers at Amrize, Ste. Genevieve Cement Plant in Bloomsdale, MO filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1
3 workers at Advanced Ready Mix in Louisville, KY filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 89
4 workers at IMI Concrete in Brandenburg, KY filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 89
2 workers at TCL Specialties, LLC in Proctor, WV filed a petition to hold a union election with the United Steel Workers (USW)
10 workers at Hertz Corporation in El Paso, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 745
The National Alliance of Security Officers is attempting to raid a unit of 28 security guards at Allied Universal Security Services in Washington, DC who are currently represented by the National Capital Union for Security Officers (NCUFSO)
11 workers at Legacy Supply Chain in Bowling Green, KY filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 89
5 workers at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC filed a petition to hold a union election with the District of Columbia Nurses Association
- Regular readers will probably recognize this unit by now – there has been probably for years at this point a small unit of nurses at the Children’s National Hospital that keeps filing for an election and then withdrawing the petition. If anyone knows the scoop, would love to get looped in!
37 workers at WeDriveU, Inc. in Saint Louis, MO filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 618

Campaign Updates

The Teamsters have won multiple big victories against Amazon in the last two weeks. First, they won a case at the National Labor Relations Board, forcing Amazon to concede that its workers at all of its locations have the right to strike, that they won’t retaliate against workers who strike, that they will restore benefits to workers who struck and had them illegally taken away, and that they will post a notice of these things in all of its facilities. Then, the NLRB ruled that Amazon must bargain with the New York workers who organized years ago, stating that the company had illegally refused to recognize the union. That case will likely be appealed to the federal courts, but is nevertheless a huge win. While we’re talking about Amazon, I’ll mention that new filings show they spent over $26M on union busting lawyers in just the last year.

Election Results

634 workers across 15 bargaining units unionized, 39 workers across 3 bargaining units decertified their union, 16 workers across 2 bargaining units withdrew their petition for a union election, and 9,539 Florida public sector workers in 7 bargaining units recertified their unions

144 workers at Graphic Packaging International in Waco, TX voted 104 to 16 in favor of unionization with the United Steel Workers (USW)
81 workers at Home Depot subsidiary TEMCO Logistics in Lithonia, GA voted 42 to 33 in favor of unionization with the Teamsters Local 528
61 workers at WEHT/WTVW in Henderson, KY voted 30 to 11 in favor of unionization with the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET-CWA)
7 workers at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. in Apex, NC voted 2 to 5 in favor of decertifying the Wells Fargo Workers United (WFWU-CWA)
- This is a big blow for the CWA’s campaign to organize Wells Fargo – after picking up momentum and organizing several locations, new wins have stalled and now one unit decertified the union
- The NLRB Regional Director closed a decertification campaign at a separate Wells Fargo in Spring Hill, NC, where WFWU-CWA represents 8 workers, though the reason why doesn’t appear to be public. Decertification petitions are not infrequently struck down though, typically because of a lack of signatures, or because the NLRB believes them to be motivated by the employer or that the employer has violated the law in some way
5,133 workers at Miami-Dade County and the Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County in Miami, FL voted 510 to 5 in favor of recertifying the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1363 as their union
1,963 water and sewer department workers at the Miami-Dade County government in Miami, FL voted 1,017 to 4 in favor of recertifying AFSCME Local 121 as their union
10 workers at Oklahoma Natural Gas in Oklahoma City, OK withdrew their petition with the IBEW Local 1002
15 workers at IMI Kentucky in Elizabethtown, KY voted 11 to 4 in favor of unionization with the Teamsters Local 89
4 workers at Delaware Resource Group of Oklahoma LLC in Randolph AFB, TX voted 4 to 0 in favor of unionization with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW)
The regional director closed an election petition among 6 workers at Washington Drama Society, Inc. in Washington, DC with the Treasurers and Ticket Sellers Union Local 868 (an IATSE affiliate)
25 workers at Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, LLC in Lakeland, FL voted 22 to 3 in favor of unionization with the Teamsters Local 79
42 workers at Precoat Metals Washington LLC in Washington, MO voted 32 to 10 in favor of unionization with the IAMAW District 9
74 workers at Silgan Containers Manufacturing in Saint Joseph, MO voted 46 to 24 in favor of retaining their union – the Sheet Metal, Air Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Local 2 – in a decertification election
13 workers at Cardinal Health 414, LLC in Springfield, MO voted 7 to 6 in favor of unionization with the Teamsters Local 245
21 workers at Hertz Transporting, Inc. in Houston, TX voted 12 to 4 in favor of unionization with the Teamsters Local 988
7 workers at Cushman & Wakefield U.S., Inc. in Arlington, VA voted 6 to 0 in favor of unionization with the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 99
6 workers at Appalachian Power in Pulaski, VA voted 0 to 6 against retaining their union – the IBEW Local 978 – in a decertification election
50 workers at Parker O-Ring & Engineered Seals Division in Lynchburg, VA voted 24 to 20 in favor of retaining their union – the International Chemical Workers Union Council (ICWUC-UFCW) Local 845C – in a decertification election
17 workers at RE Global in Fort Stewart, GA voted 11 to 0 in favor of unionization with the Industrial Technical and Professional Employees Union (ITPE-OPEIU) Local 487
11 workers (the NLRB recorded this as 1 worker, but it must’ve been a typo) at Third Street Stuff in Lexington, KY voted 7 to 2 in favor of unionization with the Third Street Staff Union
26 workers at Walden Security in Chattanooga, TN voted 3 to 19 against retaining their union – the United States Court Security Officers (USCSO) – in a decertification election

Grievances, Unfair Labor Practices, & Court Cases

The Department of Veterans Affairs is violating a court order – and the rights of their workers – while saying “no we’re not.” A federal judge recently required the department to reinstate the union’s collective bargaining agreement, granting the union’s request for a preliminary injunction while the case plays out. The VA says that they have restored the contract, however, they say that restoration of the contract doesn’t mean they have to follow it! The VA continues to deny benefits and workplace protections outlined in the contract, including parental leave benefits. The union cited an instance of a worker seeking to use 4 weeks of unpaid leave after she gave birth in accordance with the contract, and her supervisor denied the request, saying “the union hasn’t been reinstated… you will need to report to work as scheduled.” This affects more than 300,000 VA workers who are represented by a union
Northside AFT in San Antonio, TX won a policy change at the school board that they say will ensure timely processing of grievance
The Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco workers, and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) – which represents workers at Apollo owned Maker’s Pride facilities in Kentucky where the NLRB has ruled against the company for its anti-union practices – thanked the AFL-CIO for their letter to the director of the private equity company outlining their concerns.
The City of Houston must pay $10M to $12M after an arbitrator sided with the union – saying that the city had failed to properly implement provisions of the contract

Strikes & Bargaining

17,000 school bus drivers working for First Student and organized with the Teamsters nationwide just secured a tentative agreement with the company after voting by 88% to authorize a strike if they don’t get a fair contract offer. The Teamsters say that the “new agreement establishes a national foundation for economics that will be applied across all local agreements, including stronger retirement benefits, improved access to health care benefits, and robust contractual protections for all members.” Members will be voting on the agreement in the coming weeks.
WNBA players unanimously voted to ratify their new tentative agreement with the league, with 90% participation. Under the new agreement, the lowest paid player will be paid higher than the highest paid was under the previous agreement.
The International Association of Machinists (IAM) District 776 – which represents 5,000 Lockheed Martin workers who build the F-35 – began contract negotiations with the company. The current agreement expires on June 14. The union says that “growing employer 401(k) contributions, controlling health care costs, and improving the current wage progression are among the top issues to be addressed for the membership.”
1,350 members of IAM Local 778 at Olin Winchester – a small arms ammunition factory for the US military and US military allies – in Kansas City, MO went on strike. The union says “the company failed to produce an offer that IAM Union members deemed fair on key issues, including wages, mandatory overtime and work-life balance”
The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA)reached a tentative agreement with United Airlines after members voted down a previous deal some months ago. The deal would increase wages by an average of 30% plus increased compensation for non-flight time. It appears there is still some controversy though, as the AFA-CWA Secretary Treasurer made a tiktok video that appeared as if it was made in response to criticism

Political & Legislative

More employers are illegally using child labor than 10 years ago – and Republicans want to make that easier. Specifically, since 2015, the number of child labor violations has increased five fold, and the number of minors illegally employed in hazardous occupations has more than doubled. Those cases include some where 15 and 16 year olds have been killed on the job. And yet, it’s in this environment that 17 states have rolled back and loosened child labor regulations. A popular regulation to roll back has been the requirement for youth work permits, even though states that require youth work permits have more than 30% fewer minors involved in violations of child labor law.
Public sector workers in Virginia just got a bill passed that would reverse a ban on public sector collective bargaining that has been in place since 1948. Steps were made to erode that prohibition some years ago when the legislature allowed municipalities to engage in collective bargaining if they decided to, but this bill would mandate that all public sector employers in Virginia – state and municipal – except for colleges engage in collective bargaining with their workers if the workers decide to organize. The bill now sits on the Governors desk. Some unions are upset that colleges are left out, and mentioned that the Governor has the authority to make changes to the legislation and send it back to the Virginia General Assembly for further consideration.
Remember the union member who swung a Texas Senate district 31 points away from the Republicans, winning by 14 points in a district that Trump won by 17? The Texas Lieutenant Governor is refusing to give him committee assignments
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) endorsed the Food and Nutrition Delivery Safety Act. The bill – if enacted – would establish guardrails for retailers participating in the online SNAP delivery program, as well as ensuring certain protections for workers
550 members of IAM Local 2771 who work at M1 Support Services supporting the Euro-NATO Jet Pilot Program at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, TX just ratified a new union contract that contains a 22% wage increase over 4 years
Working people and unions across the country came out in record numbers to oppose the Trump administration in the latest No Kings protests. The international president of the IAM spoke at the Savannah, GA rally

Internal Union Affairs

Unions in the US Virgin Islands just launched the Virgin Islands Labor Federation. The federation represents 8 unions and more than 4,000 workers