The Weekly Download

“The practice of requiring repayment for training programs aimed at recent nursing school graduates has become increasingly common in recent years, with some hospitals requiring nurses to pay back as much as $15,000 if they quit or are fired before their contract is up, according to more than a dozen nursing contracts reviewed by NBC News and interviews with nurses, educators, hospital administrators and labor organizers.” 

“Union members with Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) reacted with surprise, excitement, and a sense of vindication to the news that Schultz will be appearing under oath in front of a U.S. Senate committee on March 29.”

“Organized labor was on the verge of scoring landmark political victories Tuesday as the Michigan Senate voted to repeal the 2012 right-to-work law that made union membership optional at unionized workplaces and re-establish a prevailing wage standard for state projects.”

“The Michigan state legislature is poised to make history this week by repealing an anti-union “right-to-work” (RTW) statute enacted in 2012. This repeal is an important step toward empowering workers to address historic levels of income inequality and unequal power in our economy, and would mark the first time a state has repealed a RTW law in nearly 60 years.”

“A three-day strike that would shut down Los Angeles public schools is scheduled to start Tuesday, union leaders announced Wednesday during a massive downtown rally by the district’s two largest employee groups. L.A. schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho on Wednesday urged union leadership to negotiate “around the clock” to avert the strike, which he said would further harm more than 420,000 students trying to recover academically and emotionally from the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced them into remote learning for more than year. Union leaders responded that they are looking out for the long-term interest of students as well as workers through their demands for higher pay and improved working and learning conditions.”

“The headlines on stories about this week’s California Court of Appeals decision upholding most of Proposition 22, which classified app-based drivers as “independent contractors” under California law, declared the decision a huge victory for Uber, Lyft, and the other online platform companies. But there is one part of the decision that could turn into a potentially important opportunity for the Service Employees International Union and other unions seeking to organize these workers into unions.”

“A California appeals court reversed most of a ruling invalidating Proposition 22, the state’s 2020 voter-approved gig economy law allowing giant ride-hailing and delivery companies to classify their workers as independent contractors rather than employees”

“We may be seeing problematic signs for workers and worker power in the economy. It’s too soon to be definitive and the signals, at this point, are decidedly mixed. But if these early signs continue and build into a trend, workers may experience rising unemployment, slower (or no) wage increases, and less ability to change jobs to raise their pay and improve their working conditions.”

“After the union rejected a proposal last month, an agreement between Temple and its striking graduate students this time was approved by a vast majority of members, officially ending the six-week strike that has disrupted operations at the 33,600-student university. Results of the vote were released late Monday afternoon by the Temple University Graduate Students Association, which represents 750 graduate student teaching and research assistants. With more than three-quarters of members voting, 98% said yes to the new four-year contract, hammered out during meetings last week.”

“The new union’s mission statement underlines the workers’ commitment to upholding Bandcamp’s stated values while emphasizing that the company needs to do the same.”

“Preston says callers grappling with terminal illnesses and angry at a cumbersome signup process often vent their frustration on the worker on the other end of the line. Sometimes their comments are outright racist. “You sound like you are Southern,” callers tell her. “I don’t want a Black person. I want an American voice. I don’t want no Indian.” No wonder 10,000 workers toiling at call centers across nine states, mainly Black women, want to unionize with the Communications Workers (CWA).”

“I work as a tug driver at Amazon’s global air hub in Northern Kentucky (KCVG). My co-workers and I are taking on one of the largest corporations in the world to get what we deserve. Our main demands are for a $30-an-hour starting wage, 180 hours a year of paid time off, and union representation at disciplinary meetings to end favoritism and retaliation. This $1.5 billion facility is a flagship for Amazon—it’s the company’s biggest air hub. Jeff Bezos personally broke ground on it in 2019.”

“Decades after Cesar Chavez made the union a power in California fields, it has lost much of its clout. Membership dropped precipitously, from 60,000 to 5,500. It hopes a new law will turn the tide.”

“Since the 1980s, U.S. public universities have become vessels of neoliberal dogma, with administrators obsessed with finding ways to turn a profit rather than providing support for teaching and research staff. One of the major tactics for accruing more profit, wealth and influence for university administrations has been the process of cultivating a workforce of precarious labor, made up of graduate workers, adjuncts and non-tenure-track faculty. This workforce can be paid less while being compelled to do many of the same duties as full-time faculty, with little or no job protections. In a majority of states, those who are part of this precarious workforce are considered “at-will employees,” meaning their contracts can be terminated for nearly any reason.”

“A majority of workers at eBay-owned TCGPlayer won their union election on Friday, March 10 and will be represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1123. TCGPlayer is one of the largest online marketplaces for verification services, card games, comics, and collectible trading cards. It was acquired by eBay in November 2022. The workers, known as TCGUnion-CWA, are the first group of eBay workers to win union representation in the U.S.”

“The American Airlines pilots union plans to vote in April on whether to allow members to call a strike. The notice comes two days after American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said the carrier is prepared to raise pilot pay to match compensation at rival Delta Air Lines. Even if the pilots union called a strike it would not be immediate.”

“For nearly 40 years, Berlin Nightclub has set itself apart through its progressive, come-as-you-are atmosphere, late-night dance floor extravaganzas and bold, diverse drag performances. Now, workers at the club are seeking to set Berlin apart in a new way — by becoming the first nightclub in Chicago’s gay enclave with a unionized staff.”

“The Animation Guild has set its sights on unionizing the Walt Disney Animation Studios’ production workers — a move that organizers say the family-friendly company is resisting. Coming off of an aggressive run of production-specific organizing drives at shows (Rick and Morty, Family Guy) and studios (Nickelodeon, ShadowMachine), IATSE Local 839 revealed Wednesday that the union is attempting to form a bargaining unit composed of around 78 production coordinators, production supervisors and production managers at the Encanto and Wish studio.” 

"Freelance labor journalist Kim Kelly’s debut book, “Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor,” is not your traditional book detailing labor history. The book’s concentration on marginalized workers and historically exploitative industries is a refreshing change from history books that forget anyone who isn’t a cishet white man."

“As a heavy equipment operator for the city of Dayton, Ohio, Kelly Yeaney says women who choose this line of work often feel they must prove themselves to their male counterparts. “When you’re working around 25 men, it really matters how well you back up that truck,” says Yeaney, a member of AFSCME Local 101 (Council 8). “You definitely have to carry your weight.” But although Yeaney works in a male-dominated field, one thing she doesn’t have to worry about is equal pay for equal work. As a member of AFSCME, she is covered by a union contract that treats every worker the same.” 

“March 14th is Equal Pay Day, a day to remind us that, in 2021, women working full time, year-round in all sectors were paid only 84 cents for every dollar paid to a man. And that’s just talking about women overall. If we break it down by race and industry, the gender wage gap only gets wider and grimmer for many women of color. For decades, our country has tried and failed to eradicate this wage gap. But somehow, we’ve been overlooking one of the simplest (and most obvious) solutions: Pay transparency.”  

“After decades of union decline, the labor movement is seeing an increase in union membership. Workers across the board are using their voices to rebalance power at work. The recent success with retail and service workers has made headlines, and the interest in these sectors continues to grow. But to keep this movement trending upward, we as union activists must adapt to the ever-changing workforce – and to do that, there has to be change.”

“For decades, the Republican Party has seemed to care more about labor unions than the Democratic Party has….But events in Michigan this week raise the question of whether Democrats are starting to change their approach and devote more attention to strengthening organized labor.”

“This Women’s History Month, we’re profiling leaders who are making women’s history across the labor movement today.”