This week I spoke with Natalie Shure at The New Republic about the PRO Act and why it matters for people outside the labor movement who care about things like Medicare for All. A strong labor movement’s the only hope we’ve got, folks.
NEW ORGANIZING
New filings at the NLRB: 129 workers at the Children’s Institute, a non-profit organization that serves children with special needs in Pittsburgh are organizing with AFT. 100 workers at Pride Industries/Solution One Industries, a staffing agency “for people with disabilities, veterans, former foster youth, and trafficking survivors” in Fort Dix, NJ, are organizing with either IUJAT’s United Service Workers Union Local 339 or Operating Engineers Local 68, 68A, 68B. 90 LPNs and support staff at Schervier Pavilion retirement home in Hawthorne, NY are organizing with 1199 SEIU.
Small shops: 10 RNs and 13 LPNs at Ingleside at Rock Creek nursing home in Washington, DC are organizing with 1199 SEIU. 18 food service workers at corporate dining supplier Brock and Company in Farmington, CT are organizing with UFCW Local 371. 18 electricians at Terra Electric in Broomall, PA are organizing with IBEW Local 98. 17 clerks and librarians at Naval Air Station Lemoore in California are organizing with Machinists District Lodge 725. The CGT is organizing 8 lab techs and 8 production workers at Suiza Dairy in Aguadilla, PR, where Teamsters Local 901 represents some of the workers already, but unclear if there’s overlap. 15 teachers and support staff at non-profit and charter school operator Association House of Chicago are organizing with the Chicago Teachers Union. The Ironworkers are organizing 11 ironworkers at Campbell Certified in Oceanside, CA. Ten cement masons with contractor CECO in northwest Washington state are joining Cement Masons Local 528. Six medical support staff at Dignity Health in Redding, CA are joining SEIU UHW. The five workers in the bakery department at the Safeway in Seaside, OR are joining BCTGM Local 114. Four truck drivers at Northstar Industries freight in Wantagh, NY are joining Teamsters Local 854. Three cardiac ultrasound technicians at Crozer Chester Medical Center in Chester, PA are joining Laborers Local 1310, Professional and Public Services Employees. Two maintenance workers at an office building in Downers Grove, IL are joining Operating Engineers Local 399, as are two others at the District Court building in Fort Wayne, IN. The Quonset Association of Simulator Instructors is organizing two -- you guessed it -- flight simulator instructors at Nova Technologies in North Kingstown, RI at the Quonset Air National Guard Base.
I don’t usually cover these, but workers in a big unit of 693 technical, service, and maintenance workers have filed for decertification of their union, SEIU HCII, at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, MO. Could be a true de-cert, or could be the prelude to a raid by another union, but it means that at least 30% (so, over 200) workers signed cards to leave SEIU HCII.
NLRB election wins…: 206 hospital techs at the UVM Medical Center in Burlington, VT voted 123-32 to join Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, AFT Local 5221. 93 CNAs and support staff at Meridian Nursing and Rehabilitation in Shrewsbury, NJ voted 44-7 to join 1199 SEIU. 65 stagehands who work at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum and Moda Center in Portland, OR voted 53-0 to join IATSE Local 28. 53 blood donation workers at four New York Blood Center facilities in Delaware and Pennsylvania voted 30-12 to join 1199 SEIU. 30 port workers in Tacoma, WA at the Seaport Sound Terminal voted 17-10 to join the Steelworkers. 28 weed workers at Greenleaf dispensary in Portsmouth, RI voted to join UFCW Local 328. 25 security guards at the Boeing plant in Ridley Park, PA voted 13-6-0 to join SPFPA over UGSO Local 508. 20 pharmacy techs with UFCW Local 21 at Kaiser in Spokane, WA beat a decertification attempt, 12-7. 11 insulators at M&M Insulation in Lockport, NY voted 6-0 to join Insulators Local 4. Nine paratransit mechanics for Merced, CA’s “The Bus,” operated by First Transit, voted 2-0 to join Teamsters Local 386. Six RN’s in Myrtle Point, OR at the Myrtle Point Care Center voted 5-0 to join Teamsters Local 206. Four insulators at Insul-Co in Niagara Falls, NY voted 3-0 to join Insulators Local 4. Three school bus dispatchers at Hopewell Transportation in Carol Stream, IL voted 2-1 to join Teamsters Local 777.
...and losses: For the second week in a row, CWA ski patrollers lost a close vote, 36-42, this time among 88 ski patrollers at Vail Resorts in Broomfield, CO.
In a closely-watched election of 328 bakery, cafe, and warehouse workers for Colectivo Coffee employees in Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago, workers delivered a stunning 99-99 deadlock; however, there are 18 challenges, most of which appear to be challenges from the company, so this will go to an NLRB hearing and could very well still be a win, forming the largest retail coffee union in the country, with IBEW Locals 494 & 1220.
The Amazon ballot count officially started this afternoon, after over a week of “ballot clearing” -- basically verifying that the ballots are legit, and the secret envelopes unmarked -- with reportedly a huge number of challenges from the company. It’s funny, when the union files the company wants to expand the unit as wide as possible, and then when the workers vote, the company wants to exclude as many ballots as possible. And through it all, what the company really wants is to grind down the workers and the union through as many legal loopholes as possible, and basically beat them in a war of attrition, which is how we’re waiting for results a full five months after workers filed for an election. The NLRB says there were 3,215 ballots cast in the election, which is a lot more than the initial RWDSU filing for a unit of 1500, and is something like 55% turnout in the final unit of 5800-6200 workers (I’ve seen differing numbers). Union organizers like to count their votes, so high turnout is not necessarily a good thing, but this stuff is just too hard to speculate on, so let’s just wait and see what happens (though frankly it looks like a loss, which is not a surprise to any organizers I know). Results are almost certain to get set aside based on union challenges considering just how many rules Amazon violated. Meanwhile, Amazon just keeps breaking the law. Outside Rochester and Chicago, Amazon workers staged walkouts, which seem to be somewhat more frequent occurrences.
Outside the NLRB: Student researchers at the University of California are organizing with the UAW, who already represent teaching assistants (Local 2865) and post-docs (Local 5810). I haven’t seen an exact number, but if successful, this would be a gigantic new organizing drive. Lots of grad worker unions represent both instructors and researchers, with UC being somewhat the exception in this regard.
The Washington Campaign Workers Collective, IUPAT’s foray into light competition with the Campaign Workers Guild and other groups organizing political staffers, is now IUPAT Local 116, organizing nonprofit workers in AK, ID, OR, UT, and WA.
2200 educators in the Clovis Unified School District in Clovis, CA are organizing with the NEA. This would be a huge new K-12 unit especially in such a union-dense state as California, and I’m frankly surprised to learn there are still non-union public school districts that large. This would be the biggest new organizing win of the year, if they can do it, and under California public sector labor law, they just need 50%+1 on authorization cards and they’ll have their union.
STRIKES & BARGAINING
1300 Steelworkers are still on strike at ATI primarily in Western PA, but also at plants in New Bedford, MA, Lockport, NY, and maybe CT and OH (I can’t verify), citing the steel manufacturer’s unfair labor practices, with the big issues ranging from plant closures, years without a raise, healthcare increases, and more. C.M. Lewis has the story at In These Times.
Also on strike are 1100 UMWA coal miners in Brookwood, Alabama. The big sticking point seems to be compensation, with employer Warrior Met citing the general downturn in the steel industry -- these mines being primarily metallurgical coal. A tentative agreement was announced, with workers now voting on whether to accept or reject it, and results expected Friday. Working People put out a long and in-depth podcast about the strike, which is the largest miners strike in the US since 2007, and the largest in Alabama since 1993.
The big Massachusetts Nurses Association strike in Worcester, MA is in its fifth week, and Bill Shaner, c/o Luke O’Neil’s great Hell World newsletter has a great piece on how it’s going, how scabs tried to “rebrand,” and how much money the hospital is making (and spending on anything but patient care). Elsewhere in MNA world, nurses conducted informational pickets at Mercy Medical in Springfield. Something to keep an eye on.
Workers at Prysmian Group in Scottsville, TX, near the Louisiana border, with UAW Local 3057, remain on strike, with working conditions, with long shifts and little time off, and wages not keeping up with the cost of benefits. You can hear from local president Chris Hodge on the picket line here.
30 workers at video archiving company Memnon, a Sony subsidiary, at Indiana Universitywent on strike for 24 hours for higher wages and job security. They’re organized with CWA.
4,000 members of SEIU Healthcare Minnesotahave authorized a strike against regional healthcare giant Allina. If they do go out, this would be the largest strike of 2021 by far...
...unless the 6,800 lecturers at University of California with AFT go out, which they might, having passed a resolution organizing to be strike-ready. It’s not a strike authorization by any means, but they’ve been without a contract for 14 months, and are getting explicit about their next move.
Faculty at Oregon Tech with AAUP have authorized a strike, after first organizing in 2018 and still not having a first contract. The administration declared impasse in March, which initiated a cooling-off period that ends April 17th, which is the earliest a strike might happen.
IBEW Local 824 is apparently conducting a strike authorization vote against Frontier in the Tampa area. You may remember these members picketed the Super Bowl to pressure the company, but I haven’t seen any coverage of this possible strike. Send me info if you’ve got it.
The strike at Bradken Foundry in Atchison, KS by 60-130 (I’ve seen different numbers) members of Steelworkers Local 6943 ended Monday, with the union president saying they reached an agreement on “management rights.” I haven’t seen many details on this strike, but management rights doesn’t tend to be the stated reason for striking, so would be very curious to learn more, if any of you Kansans have any insight.
Teamsters at the 7UP distributors in Detroithave gone back to work as well, winning MLK Day as a paid holiday, and creating a pathway for second-tier workers to reach tier one.
The Columbia grad student strike is “on pause,” with mediation. Some members of the union are upset with the move, made by the bargaining committee, after some internal polling showed a majority against pausing without concessions from management. The campus paper reports that student workers in the Religion Department are continuing to strike despite the bargaining committee’s decision. Downtown at NYU, 100 non-union undergraduate teaching assistants have organized a strike in the school’s engineering department, focused on wages and working conditions. This is separate from NYU UAW grads, who are organizing their own strike authorization vote, as are SEIU Local 73 grad members at Illinois State University.
In addition to authorizing a strike and holding demonstrations outside Conde Nast’s headquarters, the New Yorker union, a unit of the New York NewsGuild, is asking for public support, which actually matters for very public-facing companies like the New Yorker. Elsewhere in the NewsGuild, the fight to return the Baltimore Sun (and many other papers) to local ownership, as opposed to vulture hedge fund ownership, continues.
The EPA is finally moving to restore bargaining rights, per Biden’s instructions, with AFGE, after being accused of foot-dragging.
POLITICS & LEGISLATION
New Hampshire’s right to work legislation passed the State Senate, but has apparently died in the House of Representatives, being conspicuously absent from the legislative calendar. This is despite a GOP majority that tried to use COVID to ram the legislation through; a friend pointed out that having one representative for every 3400 people means you don’t have that disciplined of a bloc, and some of these folks end up being from union households or just not that committed to the whole anti-union thing.
The Arkansas statehouse has passed a bill, pending the governor’s signature, that outlaws collective bargaining and other union activity, among K-12, public higher education, court, and state employees. For whatever reason it didn’t just attack the whole public sector, which leaves county and municipal employees, among others, eligible to collectively bargain.
Bills in the Florida and Indiana statehouses attacking union dues deductions are on the move. In each case, the objective is to make it as hard as possible for public sector unions to collect dues, and thus both lose out on those funds and gum up their administrative works. In Florida, amendments are being submitted to exempt police and firefighters from the draconian measures, which is traditionally how the GOP has divided labor and public opposition to these sorts of things. In Indiana, they’re specifically targeting K-12 unions, as part of a general attack on public education and a specific attack on Indiana teachers unions, who organized actions at the statehouse as part of the Red for Ed movement, calling for increased funding for public education.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law the repeal of parts of a 1995 bill that made it so that the Chicago Teachers Union (and no other teachers union in the state, mind you) was forbidden from formally bargaining over anything but wages and benefits. It’s a big win for the union, and means that the social justice unionism CTU has made famous can now be a part of formal contract negotiations as opposed to only pressure campaigns, political action, and community organizing.
There are now too many unions endorsing NYC DSA candidates for me to track them all, which is just to say that whatever spell there was against New York labor backing DSA has been broken. No, labor is still not going to widely endorse primary challengers to incumbents (this is generally not done) but for open seats in NYC labor is now “in play” for the democratic socialists.
The Houston IAFF, who loyal WGTB readers will remember have been in a sort of cold war with the mayor of Houston, culminating in the firing of their union president from his city job, are teaming up with an unlikely set of partners including Houston DSA and the Harris County Republicans to win a referendum regarding the city’s “strong mayor” system. Right now, only the mayor can introduce items on the legislative agenda, which everyone but the mayor hates. Whether an IAFF-DSA-GOP coalition can find anything else to work on together is a different question, but I’m curious to see how it goes.
UNION LEADERSHIP
The Machinists direct elections for top leadership voting period ends at the end of April, and the contested race for Secretary-Treasurer looks like a serious challenge to the incumbent, who has been accused of corruption.
Elizabeth Davis, President of the Washington Teachers Union, DC’s K-12 AFT local, was killed in a car crash. She was a very active president, and a fixture of the DC labor movement, particularly of late, as DC teachers resisted unsafe reopening attempts by DCPS. She will be missed.
The three-way race for Secretary-Treasurer of the 200,000-member New Jersey Education Association has a ballot deadline of April 15th, and every member gets a mail-in vote. Petal Robertson, the leader of the Montclair Education Association that prominently resisted unsafe reopening, is picking up a number of endorsements from big locals.
Clovis is one of about 100 or so school districts here in CA that are non union. It was by-far the largest, with the remaining ones very rural, small districts with a handful of teaching staff. This old, nasty anti-teacher union research paper from the early 2000's lists the school districts with and without unions: https://web.archive.org/web/20121018132039/http://www.pacificresearch.org/docLib/20070205_contractforfailure.pdf
This is such a fantastic resource and newsletter. Thank you.