The week in US unions, July 14-23, 2022
STRIKES & NEGOTIATIONS
300 members of Operating Engineers Local 150 at quarries around Chicago have been on strike since June 7th, and voted overwhelmingly to reject the latest contract offer from the employers' association on Sunday. The strike continues.
Around 600 workers with UNITE HERE Local 30 struck Hilton during San Diego’s Comic-Con as promised, and quickly (less than 24 hours later) won a tentative agreement. Over in Hawaii, UNITE HERE Local 5 has ratified a deal with Hilton, too. Apparently the layoffs ordered for US Senate dining workers with UNITE HERE Local 23 were due to a “miscommunication” but there’s still no long-term solution to the funding question for these workers. Seventeen people, including Congressman Andy Levin, were arrested in an act of civil disobedience. Politico has the updates.
UAW Local 2110 strikes again, this time with a one-day walk-off at HarperCollins in NYC.
2500 workers at Boeing around St. Louis have set a strike date of August 1st, with Machinists District Lodge 837. Sounds like the leading issue is over retirement, as Boeing continues the slide from pensions (took those away in 2014) to 401ks where the employer contributes, to 401ks where the employer only matches employee contributions. Eventually I’m sure they’ll hand out piggy banks in the shape of an F-15 with a Boeing logo on it. If these workers walk, it’ll be the biggest manufacturing strike since John Deere (also, you’ll recall, about killing pensions in favor of convoluted 401k schemes set up to shift the onus of retirement security onto the individual rather than the company), and the biggest strike in the country since May’s 5,000-worker strike at Stanford Health.
About a dozen scale technicians at a Tyson’s meatpacking facility in Holcomb, KS have been on strike for two weeks with Machinists Local 1989. The local news clip says these dozen or so are the only ones of the 3,000 workers in the plant who are union. Apparently, this plant has a special place in the meatpacking giant’s price-gouging scheme.
600 pharmacists at grocery stores across Southern California have authorized a strike with seven UFCW locals. Like so many others, these workers face increasing under-staffing, meaning longer shifts and no help on the job (let alone if something goes wrong).
Call center workers for the Washington, DC public transit agency WMATA’s paratransit service, MetroAccess, have authorized a strike with ATU Local 689.
Port trucker protests at California ports continued this week, and I somehow missed in last week’s newsletter the extremely crucial detail that these are owner-operators protesting (and in some cases outright striking) against AB5; i.e. they want to keep their independent contractor status. People’s gut reaction to these protests is to say they’re backed by the would-be employers, but I haven’t seen deep reporting on it one way or the other.
Healthcare: SEIU Local 521 authorized and set a date for a three-day strike at Kern Medical in Kern County, CA, then got a new contract offer (while the employer sought takers for a $15 million contract to hire scabs) and tentatively delayed the strike to August 9th, while members consider the deal. One of the biggest issues is a staffing crisis across the medical system, similar to the one faced by healthcare workers everywhere else, including Connecticut, where 1199 New England is calling on the governor to hire more workers at state-run health facilities. In Utica, NY, CWA and UFCW have a new deal with the Mohawk Valley Health System.
80 building services workers at co-op Horizon House in Fort Lee, NJ have authorized a strike with 32BJ SEIU. Time for some labor problems in Fort Lee. Elsewhere in Jersey, 32BJ is rallying for pay parity at the revamped Newark Bears stadium.
Security guards with 32BJ SEIU at a Boston high rise are raising the alarm and accruing elected officials’ support around a July 31st contract expiration covering 2700 workers.
In the building trades, three workers have been fired after setting up a noose on a construction site with a Black worker’s name on it; NABTU apparently set up a reward line to find out who did it, which apparently helped identify the perpetrators. IBEW Local 363 in Montgomery, NY protested a contractor bringing in out-of-state workers as opposed to hiring locally. In Madison, WI the Carpenters picketed a contractor for exploiting undocumented workers.
K-12: Educators in Arkansas are descending on the capital to demand teacher pay be a top priority of the upcoming legislative session; strong 2018-19 vibes here, as the Little Rock was one of the many sites of the #RedforEd movement. Several New York K-12 school districts have new support staff contracts though wages, as you’ll see, remain quite low for these workers.
Municipal unions: In Tampa, the cops (PBA), firefighters (IAFF Local 754), and transit workers (ATU Local 1464) all have tentative agreements with a pretty impressive wage pattern: 18.5% raises over three years, with 9.5% in the first year. They might actually keep up with inflation! The new town of Cahokia Heights, IL has a new contract with the FOP.
IUE-CWA is speaking out against their big employer, GE’s, move to rebrand and split up the company.
POLITICS & LEGISLATION
An interesting fight is currently underway in Southern California between SEIU UHW and the hospital association: SEIU is pushing for (and, in some prominent jurisdictions, like the City of Los Angeles, has already won) a $25 an hour minimum wage for private sector healthcare workers. The employers are now immediately pushing to repeal those gains, and in places where it’s been kicked to a November referendum, spending big on campaigns about how the new wage is “exclusionary” to public sector healthcare workers, who they would literally rather see die in a pandemic than give a raise, but make more sympathetic spokespeople than hospital CEOs. Some of the most cynical shit imaginable.
Representative Cindy Axne of Iowa has introduced another good pro-union bill that ends tax breaks for union-busting, which is the sort of thing that reminds you of what level of hell we’ve been operating on. I’m sure this will be a top priority for our pro-labor Democrats who are very concerned that our “most pro-labor president of all time” now has the second-lowest approval rating in Iowa of any president since 1953 (Biden’s at 27%; W had him beat by two percentage points in 2008).
Congress has defunded the committee that was going to dramatically restructure the VA hospital system, which many VA workers were vehemently opposed to. The committee says their crusade is not yet over, but it kind of seems like it is? If you know about the VA, you can clue me in.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court has ruled that Governor Chris Sununu did not violate the law by lying to union members of SEIU Local 1984, the state workers union there, during negotiations. The vote was 3 to 2, with the 3 judges who were appointed by the governor deciding to exonerate the governor. I love funny coincidences like that.
INTERNAL UNION POLITICS
The UAW Constitutional Convention is now in session. The best resource I’ve seen to keep apprised of events is UAWD’s daily bulletins, which you can find here. And I guess in honor of the convention?, the two imprisoned former presidents of the union were let out early, so everyone is clear on the cost of defrauding millions of workers.
Last week I implied not much of interest happened at the AFT convention this month, but there was a quiet merger of the AAUP into the union (which was heretofore only partial; some locals were merged, some weren’t). The AAUP also has elected mostly new leadership, as I understand it, though I can’t find any reporting on it. The AFT also apparently voted to “urge the board” of TIAA, which manages much of its massive pension investments, to divest from fossil fuels. I hope they heed the urge.
Jonathan Rosenblum has a look at The Nation into AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler’s decision to attend this weird new labor management-y conference in Idaho. At the very least, it seems like there are better uses for the labor federation’s president at this particular juncture but then again, what’s another talking head conference going to hurt anyone. I hope the danishes were good.
NEW ORGANIZING
New election filings at the NLRB: 293 workers who make veggie burgers and the like under Kellogg’s Morningstar brand in Zanesville, OH are organizing with the BCTGM (who just struck Kellogg’s last year, as you’ll remember). 175 workers who make power transformers for VTC in Pocatello, ID are organizing in an effort that I’m told is being tag-teamed by the two unions listed on the filing, Operating Engineers Local 302 and UA Local 648. 135 workers for the Dia Art Foundation in NYC (and I assume Beacon, NY) are organizing with that titan of NYC cultural workers, UAW Local 2110. 94 workers for Alcatraz City Cruises in San Francisco are organizing with the Inlandboatmen’s Union (ILWU). 59 subcontracted maintenance workers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago are unionizing with Operating Engineers Local 399. In the slowest week of new filings for a long time for Starbucks Workers United, just three stores, covering 56 workers, filed for elections, in Houston, Westlake, OH, and Mount Pleasant, MI. 53 drivers for Core-Mark, which makes sandwiches you (well, I) buy in gas stations, are organizing with Machinists Local 1363 in Wilkes-Barre, PA. 50 therapists and others at MultiCare Auburn Medical Center in Auburn, WA are organizing with UFCW Local 3000.
Under-50 shops: 41 workers who make and deliver cookies for Tiff’s Treats at two locations in Austin, TX are joining Workers United (or also possible they’re forming an independent union with the “Workers United” name, as we’ve seen elsewhere). 37 workers at the CBD Kratom chain in NYC are joining UFCW Local 2013. 37 transit workers for CT Transit (subcontracted to HNS) in Hamden, CT are unionizing with ATU Local 281; nine others (clericals, I think) are joining ATU Local 425. Big new retail brand Lululemon is on the organizing map, as 33 workers in the Georgetown, DC location have filed for an independent union. 27 nursing home workers at Complete Care at Glendale in Naugatuck, CT are unionizing with 1199 New England. 23 editorial employees at Everett, WA’s Daily Herald are organizing with, who else, the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild. 20 more workers at Activision Blizzard in Albany, NY are organizing, as are 13 workers at another video game company, Tender Claws out of Los Angeles; both are unionizing with CODE-CWA. 16 techs and installers for ADT Security in Gainesville, FL are unionizing with IBEW Local 1205. 14 workers at Brad Manning Ford dealership in DeKalb, IL are joining the Machinists. 13 mountain bike patrollers for Mountain Capital Partners in Durango, CO are joining CWA Local 7781 (the national ski patrollers local). 12 workers for what seems like a federal contractor that I just cannot discern what they do, called Inspection Experts in Nashville, are joining Operating Engineers Local 369. 11 mechanics with Intermodal Transportation and Rail Service in Kansas City, MO are joining Teamsters Local 41. 11 social services workers at Jefferson-Franklin Community Action in De Soto, MO are joining Teamsters Local 610. 10 workers at 711 Materials concrete plant in Waterford, CA are joining Operating Engineers Local 3. Seven workers for building products supplier ABC Supply in Bowling Green, KY are unionizing with Teamsters Local 89. Six workers at Portland, OR social services organization Central City Concern are joining AFSCME Council 75. Six more workers for stone products company Oldcastle, this time in Phoenix and Litchfield Park, AZ are joining Laborers Local 1184. Six techs for AV contractor PSAV in Monterey, CA are joining IATSE Local 611. Five drivers for AmeriGas in Ravenna, OH are joining Teamsters Local 348. Three maintenance workers for Philadelphia real estate company Goldman Properties are joining SMART Local 19. Three clericals for Republic sanitation are joining Teamsters Local 324.
NLRB election wins…: 429 Planned Parenthood workers in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and North & South Dakota voted 238-26 (that’s over 90%) to join SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa. 152 Starbucks workers voted to go with Workers United at six of seven stores that held vote counts this week, with Salt Lake City, Huntington Beach, CA, Rockford, IL, Boston, Cleveland, and Cleveland Heights, OH all voting to unionize, and just Winter Park, FL voting not to. Oh, and by the way, Starbucks Workers United has now officially unionized 200 Starbucks stores! In 10 months. Unheard of. 140 workers at the Orchard Park, NY Veterinary Medical Associates voted 64-51 to join CWA, and 129 workers at the esteemed America’s Test Kitchen in Boston voted 105-17 to join CWA. 102 truck drivers for 10 Roads Express, which contracts exclusively with the USPS in Harrisburg, PA, voted to join APWU, 45-31. 41 workers for a Department of Energy contractor working at a uranium enrichment facility in Piketon, OH voted 16-7 to unionize with Steelworkers Local 1-689. 34 workers at Luther Woods Nursing Home in Hatboro, PA voted 8-5 to join NUHHCE District 1199C (AFSCME). 24 workers who make auto parts for Hercules International in Huntington, WV voted 12-10 to join the Steelworkers. Seven RNs at the Green Manor Dialysis Center in Ghent, NY voted 6-0 to join Teamsters Local 294. 17 retail workers at three Portland, OR locations of Salty’s Dog & Cat Shop voted 13-0 to join ILWU Local 5. 16 manufacturing workers for Sherwin-Wiliams in Marengo, IL have voted 9-5 to join Laborers Local 681. 11 building maintenance workers at Omni Hotel in Boston’s Seaport voted 8-0 to join SEIU Local 3. Six workers at the Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association in Rockford, MN voted 4-2 to join IBEW Local 160. All three building maintenance workers subcontracted to Aramark through the Tinton Falls, NJ school district voted to join UA Local 9.
…and losses: 128 workers who do food sanitation at the Pilgrims Pride poultry plant in Waco, TX voted 3-23 (that’s 20% turnout) not to join UFCW Local 540, though the main unit of hundreds of workers at the plant voted to join the local a year ago. 47 workers who service forklifts for Crown Equipment in Traverse City and Kentwood, MI voted 9-37 against joining Machinists District Lodge 60. 30 dairy truck drivers for DFA Dairy in Burlington, NJ voted 10-13 not to join Teamsters Local 463. 11 skilled trades workers for Jones Lang LaSalle voted 2-7 against joining the Area Trades Council of New England. Seven freight workers at Lineage Logistics in Chicago voted 2-5 against Teamsters Local 705.
Decertifications and raids: The National Right to Work Foundation is once again behind a prominent decertification effort, this time at Maine Medical in Portland, ME, where NNU won the biggest union election of 2021; as usual, the playbook is for the employer to stall on a first contract long enough to let the one-year waiting period expire and then find some rube to file for a decertification on a platform of “See? The union can’t win anything.” Elsewhere in hospital unions, the UNAC/UHCP-vs.-NUHW feud continues with 347 workers at Kaiser in Southern California voting to leave NUHW for UNAC in a 165-86 vote. NUHW has flyers going back to at least 2020 warning against a decertification in favor of UNAC, so it’s not a new phenomenon. And, strong caveat that I could be wrong, but it looks to me like 67 utility workers at the Indiana Michigan Power Company based in Bridgman, MI voted 43-13 to stick with IBEW Local 1392. In what sounds like a pretty vicious campaign, the Mayo Clinic in St. James, MN successfully decertified AFSCME Council 65 in a 2-15 vote.
Security guards: 150 subcontracted guards at the Otero County Prison in Chaparral, NM are joining the SPFPA. 100 guards at the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens, NY are caught up in a raid/contested election between USWU Local 74 (an IUJAT joint) and LEOS-PBA; it looks like the latter is raiding the former, but I’m not 100% sure on that. 15 FAA security guards in Carolina, PR are joining one of two Puerto Rican security guard unions. 13 security guards at the US courthouse in Tacoma, WA are also caught up in a raid between two security guard unions.
This week, the Congressional Workers Union made it official with staffers at 8 House offices filing to unionize (those would be Reps Khanna, Lieu, Bush, Garcia, Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, and Stansbury’s offices). In New York State, senate staffers followed suit, letting everyone know they intend to unionize using that familiar “Workers United” moniker (but, again, I assume they’re formally independent).
Elsewhere in semi-unconventional groups pushing for unionization (although there’s been many years of these efforts at this point), college football players are making their move, per More Perfect Union.
Inspired by the IATSE near-strike of 2021, workers who make TV commercials (who aren’t covered under IATSE, yet) are organizing.
And inspired by having been un-recognized by the Trump Federal Labor Relations Board, the National Association of Immigration Judges (IFPTE) are pushing to restore their union recognition.