The Weekly Download

“Ben & Jerry's on Tuesday set a powerful precedent by agreeing to voluntarily recognize the results of a union card check at its flagship store in Vermont. Workers at the popular ice cream chain's Church Street store in Burlington gathered on Tuesday to announce the results of their union vote… ‘We are taught from the beginning of our employment that equality and justice are integral rights of ours as people. But what happens when Vermont's Finest are continuously left out of these conversations?’ the scoopers wrote in a letter at the time. Ben & Jerry's responded to the announcement saying it supported workers' organizing efforts. The company followed up Tuesday's card check by voluntarily recognizing the result.”

“Barnes & Noble workers in Massachusetts just won the first-ever union at the book-selling giant. The vote was unanimous, extending a wave of union victories among retail workers around the country. We spoke to workers in Hadley, MA, and at the flagship store in New York City to understand why workers are unionizing.”

“As Hollywood writers remain on picket lines for a fourth straight week and the actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, held a strike authorization vote in sympathy with them, commercial choreographers are creating a union of their own. After forming in 2022, the Choreographers Guild started accepting members this spring. The labor organization plans to tackle a host of issues: It aims to establish a standard pay minimum, secure health care and pensions, strengthen choreographers’ copyright rights and more.”

“In a major success story that has raised wages and improved working conditions for essential campus workers across the country, over 1,900 campus dining workers at 20 colleges and universities organized with UNITE HERE, the hospitality workers union, between August 2022 and May 2023. Dining services workers cook and serve on-campus meals to students, faculty, and staff members at nearly all institutions of higher education. They often form warm and long-lasting relationships with students, creating a ‘home away from home’ environment in the form of warm meals. In winning the union, securing their first union contracts, or bargaining new union contracts these UNITE HERE members have won wages and benefits that match the care they afford to students.”

“At the DHL Express superhub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, 1,100 workers who load and unload freight on aircraft voted to join Teamsters Local 100 in April in one of the biggest private-sector union wins this year. Package giant DHL, a competitor of UPS and FedEx, is one of the world’s largest and most profitable logistics companies, and the Cincinnati-area hub is the company’s largest.”

“Amid this surge, one union is showing up a surprising amount: the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, or the “UE.” Graduate worker union drives affiliated with the UE have popped up at Indiana University Bloomington, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, Dartmouth College, Northwestern University, Princeton University, University of Minnesota, Stanford University, and elsewhere.”

“Trader Joe’s may have run afoul of the law at a store in Minnesota where workers unionized last year. The grocery chain’s management illegally removed union literature from the break room and forbade workers from posting fliers about organizing last November, according to a new complaint filed at the National Labor Relations Board.”

“Under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”), workers can bargain with and file labor law complaints against their employer. In the modern economy, though, identifying a worker’s actual employer (or employers) can be a deceptively complex task. “Lead” firms often franchise their businesses or contract out work to third-party staffing agencies that directly employ workers…More and more, companies including Amazon seek to abdicate their responsibilities as employers by “domestically outsourcing” their workforces through temporary staffing agencies, contractors, and franchise models. Under these new arrangements, companies look to offload the costs and liabilities inherent to being an employer onto other entities and onto workers themselves. At the same time, however, the companies implement surveillance technologies and practices that allow them to retain control over workers.”

“The largest nonprofit organization supporting people with eating disorders is firing human staff and volunteers for its telephone helpline, NPR reported. The helpline will be shut down and the organization will transition to an AI chatbot named Tessa, a spokesperson for the National Eating Disorder Association confirmed in a statement to Insider…Staff who are part of the Helpline Associates United at NEDA said in a Twitter statement that they were told that they would be fired and replaced with a chatbot on June 1. The staff members won federal recognition for their union on March 17, according to the statement, and wrote that two weeks after the election to form a union, they were told they would lose their jobs.”

“A great deal has already been accomplished this legislative session. Democrats, who have majorities in both the Michigan House and Michigan Senate for the first time in 40 years, have joined with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to drive large policy changes. This sea change in leadership was accomplished last November, in large part thanks to the work of organized labor. But much more needs to be done.”

“This week, state legislators in Minnesota passed a package of pro-labor measures that instantly makes the state the envy of workers everywhere. The new laws include paid sick days for everyone, banning noncompete agreements, a crackdown on wage theft, and a wage board to set pay in the nursing home industry. All a big deal. But let’s talk briefly about one in particular: a ban on captive audience meetings.”

“Today, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo sent a memo to all Regional Directors, Officers-in-Charge, and Resident Officers, setting forth her view that the proffer, maintenance, and enforcement non-compete provisions in employment contracts and severance agreements violate the National Labor Relations Act except in limited circumstances.”

“A union is asking 15,000 workers at hotels in Los Angeles and Orange counties to authorize a strike during the height of tourist season. Unite Here Local 11 said contracts are expiring June 30 at 62 Southern California hotels, including luxury stays such as the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles, the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica and the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills. Union officials say they are asking for the strike authorization vote on June 8 to jump-start sluggish negotiations and convince hotel operators to seriously consider pay increases for their workers.”

“Labor unions are fighting back against a controversial higher education bill in the Ohio Senate that would ban public university employees from striking. This isn’t the first fight, either. Nearly 700,000 people in Ohio are part of unions or related associations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor. With that, Ohioans are continuing to unionize faster than the national average. If a corporation isn’t playing ball, a union’s greatest tool to getting a fair contract is a strike, or the threat of one.”

“A strike this week by resident physicians at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, a public hospital serving one of the world’s most ethnically diverse communities, lasted just three days. Only 130 doctors participated. Still, it was enough to make history.”

“Tens of thousands of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) education workers stood shoulder to shoulder with thousands of parents, students, and allies. It felt as if the entire city had come together to loudly make one particular demand: LAUSD must use the district’s $5.2 billion it held in reserves to invest in staff, students, and communities rather than continue to sit on the reserves at a time when those staff, students, and communities suffered without the funding.”

“The Writers Guild of America West received the most robust support from their sister unions in Los Angeles at the “Unions Strike Back” Rally on Friday evening. In solidarity with WGAW President Meredith Stiehm stood Hollywood Teamsters Local 399 secretary-treasurer and chief negotiator, Lindsay Dougherty; SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland; UTLA President, Cecily Myart-Cruz; Kurt Petersen, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11; and California Federation of Labor AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Lorena Gonzalez, among others…Stiehm spoke of the solidarity between the sister unions whose members have joined her and fellow striking writers on the picket lines held daily at the various studios across Los Angeles… ‘Something is happening out there. Something new. Labor is rising. We have your support because other unions and other workers see their struggle in our struggle. We are also feeling marginalized, gigged out, and pressed for as much work as possible for as little pay as possible, and it’s not right. It’s not humane. It’s not moral. The bosses, management, and corporations must share the wealth that we helped create. They must share it properly and fairly, and until they do, we will hold the line,’ she said.”

"Thousands of corporate employees, across industries, who remain adamant that they do not want to return to the office are now confronting a tension: How do their demands compare with those of the millions of workers whose jobs have never permitted them the ease of remote work? And can a corporate employee’s advocacy be of use to workers, including those trying to unionize, outside the corporate sphere?"

“A search for Wes Anderson on YouTube turns up trailers that the famed director with a distinctive style appears to have made for adaptations of ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ featuring Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson and other stars. Artificial intelligence allowed people with no real actors and far smaller resources than major Hollywood studios to generate the fake movie trailers, feeding debate on the issue that will be on the bargaining table when the SAG-AFTRA actors union begins labor talks with studios on June 7.”

“UNITE HERE's Culinary Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 reached a new agreement with Palms Casino Resort on a first time three-year contract to protect workers with health care benefits, provide fair wages and job security, and to respect the seniority rights for more than 900 employees.”

“Choice and power are connected, but very different, concepts when they are used to describe workers’ circumstances. These two terms are often confused or treated as synonyms, which they are not. The resulting confusion contributes to a public discourse that undermines workers and weakens their position in the labor market and the workplace. So, the goal of this post is to try to clear up the confusion, explain the differences and connections, and explore their implications.”

“A record-breaking number of workers unionized last year, coinciding with increased federal enforcement of laws protecting labor organizing. While many workers decided to organize under established labor organizations like the AFL-CIO and the SEIU, others organized independently…As labor organizing grows across the country, it is important to understand the distinctions and nuances between different types of organizing. While most unions choose to organize with a larger labor union to take advantage of professional assistance and resources for organizing and negotiations, other unions want to operate as unaffiliated entities to have more control over their operations.Both kinds of unions aim to win better wages and working conditions for the people they represent but have different approaches to accomplishing these goals. The approach of established unions is that their large-scale collective power, significant financial resources, and professional organizing capabilities allow them to secure bigger wins for workers in a more efficient manner. Independent union leaders are closer to the ground, allowing them to more effectively serve the workers they represent and have greater democracy and transparency.”

“After a whirlwind few months, the Minnesota Legislature has completed its most productive session in decades. Amidst a plethora of significant victories for everyday people, the comprehensive new labor legislation stands out as a major step forward for working people…It also bans noncompetes — provisions found buried in the fine print of employment contracts that prevent workers from seeking new employment opportunities when they have reason to leave their current workplace. This ban is a critical first step to ensuring that workers are empowered to exercise their power in the workplace. However, the law is not enough. Corporate employers and their lawyers have long made clear that legislation alone won’t stop them from attempting to force workers to stay in jobs they no longer want. The Minnesota Bar Association and the Legislature can take some concrete steps to make sure the ban on noncompetes is given its full and meaningful effect.”