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 some of the stories we could find from May 1st to May 8th.
New Campaigns
1183 workers in 10 bargaining units have gone public with their union campaigns, and 51 workers in 1 bargaining unit are trying to decertify their union
- The Employer filed a petition to hold a union election after a majority of the 19 workers at Tyson Foods in Hope, AR demonstrated support for unionization with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 2008. 37 workers at another location in Fulton, AR filed a petition to hold a union election with UFCW Local 2008
- 100 workers at Arcwood Environmental in Carthage, MO filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAMAW)
- 800 workers at House of Raeford Farms, Inc. in Vienna, GA filed a petition to hold a union election with UFCW Local 1996
- 96 workers at Didlake, Inc. in Virginia Beach, VA filed a petition to hold a union election with the Public Service Employee Union (PSEU) Local 572
- 64 workers at Southern Readymix in Locust Grove, GA filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 528
- 20 workers at Fairbanks Morse Defense in Houston, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB)
- Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify the United Service Workers Union (USWU) Local 74 as the union representing 51 workers at Menzies Aviation in Orlando, FL
- 5 workers at El Paso Electric in El Paso, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 960
- 37 workers at Vestis in Tyler, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local Union 745
- 5 workers at Florida Youth Action Fund in Orlando, FL filed a petition to hold a union election with The News Guild (TNG-CWA) Local 3108
- The employees of Hachette Book Group at every location across the country – including the South in Nashville, TN and Chapel Hill, NC – announced their intent to unionize with the News Guild CWA Local 32035
Election Results
39 workers across 3 bargaining units withdrew their petition for a union election, at least 27 workers across 9 bargaining units unionized, and 121 workers across 2 bargaining units voted against unionization
- 52 workers at Olin Winchester, LLC in Independence, MO voted 16 to 30 against unionization with the IAMAW
- Workers in another unit at the same company who are already organized with the IAMAW just came off a strike (more info below) – you have to wonder if that affected the outcome
- 69 workers at TCL Specialties LLC in Proctor, WV voted 32 to 34 against unionization with the United Steel Workers (USW)
- 11 workers at Legacy Supply Chain in Bowling Green, KY voted 8 to 0 in favor of unionization with the Teamsters Local 89
- 5 workers at Children’s Hospital t/a Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC voted 3 to 0 in favor of unionization with the District of Columbia Nurses Association
- 4 workers at MEMC LLC in Saint Peters, MO voted 4 to 0 in favor of unionization with the IAMAW District 9
- The petitioner withdrew their request for a decertification election – so UFCW District 1 will continue to represent the 20 workers at United Insurance Company in Beaumont, TX
- 4 workers at Professional Contract Services, Inc. in Fort Sill, OK voted 3 to 1 in favor of unionization with the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 351
- 3 workers at Advance Readymix Concrete in Louisville, KY voted 3 to 0 in favor of unionization with the Teamsters Local 89
- 6 workers at Mid-Western Car Carriers in Saint Louis, MO withdrew their petition for a union election with the Teamsters Local Union 604
- 13 workers at All American Fire Systems, Inc. in Claremore, OK withdrew their petition for a union election with the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters’ Road Sprinkler Fitters (UA) Local 669
- The IAFF didn’t put out numbers for these new bargaining units (and they didn’t have elections because this is public sector in the south), but 4 previously unreported new locals were formed across the south last week:
- Mocksville Professional Firefighters Local 5621 in North Carolina
- Venus Professional Firefighters Local 5622 in Texas
- Lumberton Professional Fire / EMS Association Local 5623 in Texas
- Bella Vista Professional Firefighters Local 5624 in Arkansas
Grievances, Unfair Labor Practices, & Court Cases
- Donald Trump continues to undermine agencies that protect working people. On May 1st, he purported to fire Moshe Marvit from his role as commissioner of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. In addition to that, the Trump administration fired what Marvit described as a “significant number” of agency staff. Marvit asserts these actions are “unlawful” and “put miners in greater risk at their jobs.” Marvit filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s attempt to remove him from office
- The Trump administration also stopped defending a new overtime rule that would have extended overtime protections to millions of workers.
- The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) has filed a ULP against the Kennedy Center, alleging it is using the temporary closure to permanently lay off union workers that it represents in violation of the law and their contract. The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) put out a statement in support of IATSE
Strikes & Bargaining
- Teachers make 27% less than similarly educated professionals – that’s according to a new study from the National Education Association, the largest teacher’s union in the country. In real wages, teachers make 5% less than they did a decade ago. Education support professionals fared even worse – making 9% less than they did 10 years ago. Something that will not be surprising to listeners of this program though is that teachers in states with collective bargaining are able to almost reach parity with similarly educated professionals, making on average 24% more than their counterparts in states that bar public sector collective bargaining. Education support professionals in states with collective bargaining make 13% more than their counterparts in non collective bargaining states.
- 600 New Orleans Nurses just ended a strike that began on May 1st. The 5 day action came in protest of University Medical Center New Orleans (UMC) two year long record of bad faith and intentionally slow walking negotiations. Workers at UMC voted overwhelmingly in December of 2023 to unionize and have been bargaining with the hospital since March of 2024
- 1,300 skilled workers at the Olin Winchester ammunition plant in Kansas City, MO voted to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement and end a 4 week strike. The workers – organized with IAMAW Local 778 – won “front-loaded wage increases over the course of the four-year agreement and some relief from forced overtime” without saying exactly what that looks like. The strike began on April 4 after workers voted to reject the company’s offer – the bargaining committee recommended against a yes vote at the time. Workers continued the strike on April 27th, voting down another company offer before accepting the latest one. During the strike, IAM International President Brian Bryant wrote an op-ed for the local paper explaining the reasons for the strike. You can read that here
- The United Soccer League (USL) and its players association reached a tentative agreement on a new deal. This comes after the players had authorized a strike and engaged in work protests, including delaying the start of all USL games during one weekend. The deal includes significantly increased minimum salaries – from $26,000 to $34,000 annually. The deal will last for five years if it is ratified
- 300 members of Teamsters Local 822 in Smithfield, Virginia, ratified a union new contract with Smithfield Foods. The workers produce ham and bacon products sold nationwide under Smithfield-owned brands that include Armour, Gwaltney, and Eckrich. Under the contract, workers will receive a 12 percent wage increase, along with back pay. The deal also blocks proposed health care cost increases and guarantees pay during certain non-disciplinary absences.
- DHL Teamsters voted by a 92 percent margin to ratify a new four-year collective bargaining agreement. The new contract was secured following a strike threat that would have involved thousands of DHL Teamsters across 26 locals around the country. The new four-year agreement includes a 20 percent wage increase, higher health and welfare contributions, and job protections. The DHL Teamsters National Master Agreement was set to expire on March 31. The Teamsters national negotiating committee reached a tentative agreement less than 24 hours before the contract was set to expire
Political & LegislATIVE
- After the Supreme Court essentially struck down the Voting Rights Act, southern states began scrambling to decimate black political power. In particular, we’re seeing action from Florida (already approved new maps), Tennessee (already approved new maps), Alabama (approved new maps although a court struck them down), and Louisiana (the state is postponing primaries to allow the drawing of new maps). Action in Mississippi would be more difficult, though the President is pushing for it (they’ve already had their primary elections). Georgia said they won’t redistrict for these midterms, but might ahead of 2028. South Carolina is a maybe. Labor federations from most of these states have put out statements condemning the Republican power grabs: Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, and Tennessee. The Alabama AFL-CIO President Bren Riley put it well: “any trade unionist can tell you that what is decided in Washington DC and in our state legislatures has a direct impact on what we can win at the bargaining table. When voting maps are redrawn to suppress the voices of our black and brother brothers and sisters, all workers suffer because these efforts only give power hungry billionaires more leverage to dismantle our labor rights.”