Last TWO Weeks in Southern Labor: 4/10 – 4/24

Jacob Morrison

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. These are all of the stories we could find from April 17th to April 24th.

New Campaigns

168 workers in 6 bargaining units have gone public with their union campaigns, and 133 workers in 5 bargaining units are now in decertification campaigns.

  • 168 workers in 6 bargaining units have gone public with their union campaigns, and 133 workers in 5 bargaining units are now in decertification campaigns
  • 42 workers at Pacific Rail Services in Wilmer, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 745 
  • 19 workers at Starbucks in Muscle Shoals, AL filed a petition to hold a union election with Starbucks Workers United 
  • Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify the Wells Fargo Workers United (WFWU-CWA) as the union representing 2 workers at Wells Fargo Bank in Bradenton, FL 
  • 23 workers at Oak Ridge Utility District in Oak Ridge, TN filed a petition to hold a union election with the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) Local 102 
  • Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify the United Steel Workers (USW) as the union representing 20 workers at Georgetown Nursing Center in Georgetown, SC 
  • Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) as the union representing 77 workers at the Sherwin-Williams Manufacturing Company in Birmingham, AL 
  • 49 workers at Legends Global in Florence, SC filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 333
  • Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1 as the union representing 20 workers at United Insurance Company of America in Beaumont, TX 
  • 9 security guards at ADC LTD in Doral, FL filed a petition to hold a union election with the Federal Contract Guards of America (FCGOA)
  • Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify the Teamsters Local 783 as the union representing 14 workers at Waste Management in Louisville, KY 
  • 26 workers at Huntsman Ethyleneamines LLC in Freeport, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 564 

Election Results

256 workers in 6 bargaining units unionized, 292 workers in 3 bargaining units withdrew their petition for a union election, 355 workers across 3 bargaining units voted against unionization, 23 workers in 1 bargaining unit defeated a decertification attempt.

  • 130 workers the National Park Service Southeast Regional Office in Atlanta, GA voted in favor of unionization with the International Association of Machinists (IAM) (Since they’re federal employees, I would’ve expected them to organize with the National Federation of Federal Employees – an IAM affiliate that represents federal workers including other National Parks workers, but this press release really looks like the workers organized with the IAM. Not sure what that’s about)
  • 6 workers at Volunteer Energy Cooperative in Decatur, TN voted 4 to 2 in favor of unionization with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 175
  • 71 workers at Majestic Care of Beckley in Beckley, WV voted 27 to 2 in favor of unionization with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) District 1199 
  • 22 workers at Starbucks Corporation in Johnson City, TN voted 11 to 10 in favor of unionization with Starbucks Workers United, as did 23 more at a location in San Antonio, TX voting 10 to 7
  • 128 workers at Canfor Southern Pine in DeRidder, LA voted 52 to 68 against unionization with the Southern Regional Council of Carpenters Local 3101
    • This was a big bummer – we talked to a worker who was fired for his union support about this campaign a month or two ago. Canfor paid $4,000 or more to fight the union
  • 224 workers at ADUSA Transportation, LLC in Dunn, NC voted 83 to 107 against unionization with the Teamsters Local 391
  • 23 workers at Veolia Water North America – South, LLC in Tampa, FL voted 9 to 8 against decertifying the IUOE Local 30  
  • 201 workers at Garda World Security Services in Moncks Corner, SC withdrew their petition with the Security, Police, and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA)
  • 30 workers at Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center in Washington, DC withdrew their petition with the District of Columbia Nurses Association 
  • 61 workers at Willowcreek Wellness and Rehabilitation, LLC in Florissant, MO withdrew their petition with the SEIU Healthcare Missouri/Kansas
  • 3 workers at Howard’s Mechanical Inc. in Amarillo, TX voted 0 to 3 against unionization with the International Alliance of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART) Local 49 
  • 4 workers at Cushman & Wakefield U.S., Inc. in Arlington, VA voted 3 to 1 in favor of unionization with the IUOE Local 99

Strikes & Bargaining

  • Wells Fargo Workers and allies in the labor movement rallied in North Carolina to demand the company stop stalling and negotiate a fair contract. Workers have unionized with the Communication Workers of America (CWA) at 29 locations, but management has slow-walked negotiations. The union has filed over 60 unfair labor practice charges. Two weeks ago, workers at one of those locations decertified the union, and another decertification petition was filed this week 
  • Their biggest raise ever – that’s what 150 workers at CoresLab Structures in Miami, FL won, their union told The Valley Labor Report. Members of the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 1652 ratified by 98% a new three year contract that includes a $2.65/hr wage increase, along with a new holiday, increased pension contributions from the employer, and increased health and welfare benefits contributions from the employer. 
  • A 31% raise and more – that’s what over 200 Florida Teamsters who work for United Natural Foods Inc (UNFI) – the primary distributor for Whole Foods – just ratified in their first union contract after organizing last year. The five year contract also includes access to Teamster health care, a pension, job security, just cause protections and a strong grievance and arbitration clause for the warehouse workers. Since 2022, the Teamsters have organized more than 3,500 UNFI workers, growing the union’s footprint to more than 5,500 members at the company nationwide.
  • College professors continue to make less than they were before the pandemic. That’s according to the preliminary results of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP-AFT)’s annual faculty compensation survey. After seeing two years of real wage increases, while still remaining below 2019 levels, the most recent year saw a real wage decrease of about 0.4% when accounting for inflation. Faculty at private institutions fared even worse – seeing wages drop by more than 1%. College faculty wages and working conditions have been under attack for years, with graduate worker unions and other higher ed unions fighting back against the adjunctification of all faculty positions. 
  • Members of RWDSU Local 379 at United Dairy in Fairmont, WV voted unanimously to ratify a new union contract with the company. In a press release, the union said the new contract includes an immediate 10% raise, among other benefits
  • Orano and North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding outlining their cooperative relationship to support the successful construction of Project IKE, Orano’s uranium enrichment facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In a press statement, NABTU said “the MOU reflects a shared commitment to complete the project on time and in accordance with commercial and government expectations by mobilizing a highly skilled, well-trained and productive construction workforce, and by fostering a collaborative labor‑management environment focused on safety, quality, and efficiency.” The construction phase is expected to employ more than 1,000 workers. This is notably not a Project Labor Agreement, and does not seem to commit the company to only utilizing union contractors or to holding all contractors to a union standard. It will be interesting to see if one will be signed in the future 
  • Negotiations between the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1212 in Chattanooga, TN and the Chattanooga Area Regional Transit Authority (CARTA) are set to benign “soon” according to the ATU – though I can’t find a specific date. The union says that “the transit system is facing a serious fiscal crisis” but their members “will not back down.”

Political & Legislative

  • The AFL-CIO – the nation’s largest federation of unions – released a short statement in response to Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s resignation as Secretary of Labor: “When we’re in a crisis of costs going up, job insecurity due to AI and technology, and uncertainty across the economy, we need a labor secretary who understands working people and will work to make our lives better—not just be a rubber stamp for corporations’ wish lists and gut the protections we count on.” Keith Sonderling is acting Labor Secretary – he was served as a Republican appointee in the Department of Labor and the EEOC for about ten years. Prior to that he worked at an employer side labor and employment law firm. The Teamsters President Sean O’Brien was instrumental to getting Chavez-DeRemer nominated and confirmed. Her tenure was full of scandal, sexual assault allegations, and with basically nothing in terms of improving workers lives or protecting them from employer abuse. You have to wonder if O’Brien is embarrassed. 
  • After the Virginia General Assembly finally passed a bill enshrining nearly comprehensive public sector union rights (university staff were excluded), Governor Spanberger sent the bill back with major revisions. Unions say those revisions significantly pare back their rights and delay implementation (until 2030!). Jennifer Sherer, for the Economic Policy Institute, describes the changes as making workers rights “optional.”
  • The United Campus Workers (UCW) of Kentucky is attacking the University of Kentucky’s privatization plan. The plan would reassign hundreds of marketing, communications, and janitorial workers to private employers. While it wouldn’t affect current employees’ pay or benefits, new employees under the plan would see reduced compensation. This plan was apparently cooked up by the consulting firm Deloitte. 
  • Members of NNU rallied in DC to Abolish ICE
  • The postal service announced that it will pause employer contributions to workers defined benefit pension plan through the end of the fiscal year, while saying this decision will not impact any current or future retirees. The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) more or less echoed the postal service in their statement, while calling on Congress to enact legislative fixes to empower the Postal Service, with NALC President Brian Renfroe saying in part, “this move is necessitated by the Postal Service’s current financial situation and is a direct result of continued inaction by Congress to fix the legislative constraints that inhibit the Postal Service’s ability to invest in its infrastructure and modernize to meet the needs of its employees and the American people. If Congress were to allow for a new investment strategy for USPS retiree health and pension funds, a fair recalculation of the agency’s Civil Service Retirement System pension obligations, and an increase in the agency’s borrowing authority, this pause in FERS contributions would not be necessary. It is time for Congress to act on these commonsense policy changes to protect our jobs, retirements, and the essential and reliable service we provide to every American.” The APWU meanwhile informed members that “your benefits are earned and guaranteed by law, regardless of how they are funded” and that they “will continue to monitor the situation and release more information as it becomes available”
  • Last week contained two holidays that are deeply important to the labor movement – Workers Memorial Day on April 28 and International Workers Day, otherwise known as May Day, on May 1st. The AFL-CIO released its annual Death on the Job report which details the scale of human suffering inflicted on working people by their employers in the United States. The report relies on data that takes a while to come in, so they’re always a year behind. This year’s report analyzed 2024 data, and showed a decline in worker fatalities in the US, while anticipating a reversal of that positive trend in 2025 due to the destruction of worker safety agencies within the federal government by the Trump administration. Thousands of events were held across the country and across the south, including illegal strikes! So many educators in Durham, NC, for example, had called out to celebrate May Day that the district preemptively closed schools.

Internal Union Affairs

  • After the Artemis launch and successful landing, unions who represent workers who made the mission possible released statements congratulating their members. Matt Biggs, International President of IFPTE, which represents some 7,000 NASA workers, said in part: “We extend our congratulations to the thousands of IFPTE members at NASA… While some seem to believe that our best interest as a nation lies in undermining science, stripping NASA’s talented and dedicated workforce of their worker’s rights, and outsourcing NASA’s important work, we know that America’s place as a global leader in innovation will only be realized by redoubling our commitment to space exploration and the people who make it possible.”