The Weekly Download

“Within a few years, Microsoft could have thousands of union employees working under collective bargaining agreements, making it an outlier in big tech. On one level, it seemed obvious why Microsoft, once a poster child for corporate ruthlessness, would go this route: The company wanted regulators to bless its deal with Activision. Given the Biden administration’s close ties with labor, it didn’t take a Kissingerian flair for strategy to see that a truce with unions might help. Cynics were quick to point out that the company laid off nearly 10 percent of its video game workers, most of them from Activision, once the deal was in hand. Still, many large tech companies have business before the federal government — and almost all have taken steps to discourage unionization. That includes Amazon, Apple and Google, which are in the sights of antitrust regulators.”

“This year is set to be a royal rumble between labor and capital in North America. By now, the reasons for the showdown are familiar. We saw a similar phenomenon in recent years, particularly in 2023. The pandemic not only increased the immiseration of workers — it also exposed the plight of working people everywhere. As the rich grew richer, everyone else struggled to feed themselves, fill their prescriptions, and indulge in the rare luxury of a night out.”

“More than half of the employees at Mercedes-Benz’s manufacturing plant near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, have signed union cards and intend to join the United Auto Workers, the union announced Tuesday. Hitting a majority of sign-ups marks a milestone for the UAW as it seeks to represent workers at foreign-owned auto plants in the South. The union has struggled to organize such facilities for years but has seen a surge of interest from workers following its historic strike against Ford, General Motors and Jeep parent company Stellantis last year. Jeremy Kimbrell, a 25-year employee at the plant and lead organizer for the union effort, said in a video posted Monday that workers ‘are ready to win our union and a better life with the UAW.’”

“Instructors at New York University have voted to join Contract Faculty United - UAW, forming what organizers called the “largest” full-time, non-tenure track faculty union at a private university. The win secures another victory for organized labor on college campuses, which have also seen a surge of undergraduate and graduate students unionizing. The union said it won by a vote of 553-72 and will represent nearly 1,000 workers. The university previously agreed to accept the election results and begin bargaining, it said.”

“Vanderbilt University graduate students have collected hundreds of union authorization cards from colleagues, leaders say — a major step in winning official recognition from the school before the end of the year. Late last year, campus organizers officially associated with the United Auto Workers, which claims more than 400,000 active union members, in hopes of unionizing an estimated 2,200 graduate student workers. Students cited insufficient pay, unsafe working conditions and precarious terms of employment during a lunchtime rally hosted by Vanderbilt Graduate Workers United on Feb. 14 outside the Jean and Alexander Heard Library.”

“The United Auto Workers is committing $40 million through 2026 in new organizing funds to support non-union autoworkers and battery workers who are organizing across the country, and particularly in the South. The UAW International Executive Board voted Tuesday to commit the funds in response to an explosion in organizing activity among non-union auto and battery workers, in order to meet the moment and grow the labor movement.”

“Employees of the San Antonio Express-News and MySA.com on Wednesday notified Hearst management of their intent to unionize. The San Antonio NewsGuild will advocate for fair wages, competitive benefits and layoff protections. Organizers petitioned for voluntary recognition from Mark Medici, the publisher of the Express-News and MySA, and Hearst Newspapers. Hearst’s labor counsel notified organizers Wednesday afternoon that the company has denied the union’s request for voluntary recognition. Organizers are filing for an election with the National Labor Relations Board.”

“Over 200 library workers at the Howard County Library System have overwhelmingly voted to form their union through AFSCME Maryland Council 3. Workers voted 151-19 in favor of their union in an election conducted last week. The new bargaining unit will consist of full-time and part-time staff from all seven branches through all eligible job titles in the Howard County Library System. Members of Howard County Library Workers United (HCLWU) announced their intention to unionize in October 2023. They formed their union to win a voice in the workplace, advocate for fair wages and job protection, and address issues such as staffing, promotion, schedules and workplace safety.”

“Elon Musk’s lawsuit-plagued SpaceX rocket company is departing Delaware for a new legal home base in Texas just as the Lone Star State rolls out a new, separate court system for businesses that will allow Republican Texas Governor — and longtime Musk ally — Greg Abbott to handpick judges.”

“A year after Norfolk Southern derailed a toxic vinyl chloride train in East Palestine, Ohio, many freight railroad carriers remain addicted to the short term, lucrative cost-cutting measures at the behest of their shareholders. Such cuts gut essential workforce and safety measures that in tandem protect shipper interests and insure safe passage of trains through often unaware communities. The current trend of aggressive corporate restructuring at several Class I freight carriers is predatory.”

"Fifteen janitors represented by Service Employees (SEIU) Local 1 are losing their jobs at a downtown St. Louis office tower after a non-union firm took over the contract for the work. The janitors, who worked at 10 S. Broadway, formerly known as the Equitable Building, were told by security guards Feb. 7 they could no longer work there. The building’s property manager, Colliers International, decided to replace their employer, Platinum Cleaning & Facility Services, with non-union Buildingstars, based in Maryland Heights. Local 1 said Colliers had given no indication that the 15 union janitors would continue as Buildingstars employees.”

“In this new Power At Work Blog weekly segment, Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow and former top White House economic advisor Seth Harris provides his analysis of the latest news stories in the labor movement. In this episode, Seth discusses the recent wave of Starbucks union filings, union opposition to the Wizards and Capitals' plans to move to Virginia, and the American Federation of Musicians' tentative collective bargaining agreement covering basic theatrical motion picture and basic television motion picture operations.”

“In this blogcast, labor journalists Lauren Gurley and Nick Niedzwiadek join Burnes Center Senior Fellow Seth Harris for a conversation about some of the biggest stories impacting workers, worker power, collective action, and unions. Their conversation covers news about protests and strikes involving employers like Alaska Airlines and Anheuser Busch, the latest corporate assault against the National Labor Relations Board, the California Fast Food Council and the SEIU's sectoral bargaining strategy, and much more.”

“Today, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its annual data about disabled people in the U.S. workforce. The data reveal a continued upward trend in disabled employment. However, inequities remain for disabled people, particularly disabled women and disabled people of color. These inequities are the direct result of deliberate policy choices shaped by racism, sexism, ableism and other systems of oppression.”

“To overcome these hurdles, Biden is looking to unions for support. During his first campaign rally of the 2024 election cycle, in June 2023, he told a crowd of about 2,000 union members in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that he is ‘the most pro-union president in American history.’ That same month, the AFL-CIO, which includes sixty unions with 12.5 million workers, responded by giving Biden the earliest endorsement in its history.”

“A year after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a sweeping anti-union bill requiring most public sector unions to boost the rate of members paying dues or be disbanded, the full effects of the new union rules are coming into clear view — double standards and all. Law enforcement, firefighter and correctional officer unions are exempt from the new law, no matter how few members pay union dues. For other public sector unions, what is emerging is an outright crisis.”

“5,000 Teamsters could shut down Anheuser-Busch on March 1st. 99% of the workers at 12 breweries voted to authorize a strike. One worker told us, ‘I work for the king, but I get paid like a peasant.’”

“The Teamsters and Anheuser-Busch, the country’s largest brewer, announced late Wednesday that they had reached a tentative agreement on a contract that the union and the company said includes strong wage gains and significant protections for job security. Get a curated selection of 10 of our best stories in your inbox every weekend. Without a deal, the Teamsters union’s 5,000 members had been poised to strike Friday against the company’s 12 breweries across the country, which make Bud Light, Budweiser, Michelob Ultra, Stella Artois and other brands of beer.”

“Starbucks announced Tuesday that it will begin discussing potential collective bargaining agreements with the labor union representing nearly 10,000 employees from around 400 stores. The coffeehouse chain's decision comes nearly three years after Workers United, an American and Canadian labor union, initially organized baristas at a Starbucks in Buffalo, New York. ‘Starbucks and Workers United have a shared commitment to establishing a positive relationship in the interests of Starbucks partners,’ Starbucks said Tuesday in a statement. ‘During mediation discussions last week for the ongoing brand and IP litigation, it became clear that there was a constructive path forward on the broader issue of the future of organizing and collective bargaining at Starbucks.’"

“Hollywood musicians have reached a tentative agreement with the major entertainment companies after a month of bargaining. The American Federation of Musicians, which represents some 3,000 instrumentalists working in the film and TV industry, announced Friday that its bargaining committee had unanimously recommended new movie and TV contracts negotiated by the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The tentative agreement will affect the musicians who record scores for films and TV series and occasionally appear onscreen in musical scenes.”

“About 25 members of UFCW Local 400 who work at nearly 30 local FRESHFARM farmers markets in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia voted in favor of ratifying their first union contract on Feb. 12. This ratification marks the first time farmers markets workers in the country have secured a collective bargaining agreement. These workers voted to join our union family last year.”

“After months of negotiations over local issues, UAW Local 862 has reached a tentative local agreement with Ford Motor Co., averting a potential strike this week. Workers at Ford’s most profitable plant were set to walk off the job over local issues related to skilled trades, health & safety, and ergonomics. The tentative deal addresses these and other core issues of concern to KTP autoworkers.”

“My new book, Union Divided: Black Musicians’ Fight for Labor Equality, documents and analyzes the history of segregation within the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) – a union founded in 1896 under the aegis of the AFL. Here the situation was quite different from that described above, however. There was no exclusionary policy by the Federation; instead, Black musicians themselves requested segregated locals, which the union authorized in about 50 cities, the majority of them not in the South. The Black locals, which competed directly with white locals in the same jurisdictions, arose primarily in the 1910s and 20s because Black musicians saw opportunities for significant benefits from having their own independent units.”