The Weekly Download

“Join the Power at Work Blog, the Burnes Center for Social Change, and the Massachusetts State House Employee Union for a conversation with acclaimed labor reporter Hamilton Nolan about his new book The Hammer: Power, Inequality, and the Struggle for the Soul of Labor. This conversation was recorded live on March 27.”

“The United Auto Workers announced February 23 that it will provide material support to Mexican auto workers organizing in the independent union movement. As a member of the UAW Executive Board, I’m proud that our union understands how the futures of auto workers in the United States and Mexico are tied together. Our Mexico solidarity project is about empowering our membership to win strong contracts and protecting our jobs in the United States—and it’s also about ensuring justice for workers across the border. The auto industry is not nationally bound, and neither should the labor movement be. For every record contract there will come the threat of moving production to Mexico, where a partnership between the companies and the corrupt company unions keep wages low—a whipsaw that oppresses workers on both sides of the border. The irony of free trade is that even with expanded production, Mexico still imports most of the vehicles sold to its own people. Meanwhile 75 percent of Mexican-made vehicles are shipped to the U.S., and they do not cost any less because they’re produced with cheaper labor.”

“Factory workers at Mercedes Benz's assembly plant in Alabama are moving forward with efforts to join the United Auto Workers (UAW), and they plan to file a petition as soon as this week, a union leader said on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, Reuters cited three people familiar with the matter saying employees at the SUV plant in Vance, Alabama, plan to file paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking a formal election to join the UAW. The date of an actual vote is not yet certain.”

“The City of San Bernardino has recognized Teamsters Local 1932 as the sole bargaining representative for all full-time city workers—from public works to city hall and everything in between. A majority demanded union recognition earlier in the year, which the city has accepted. The new 180 San Bernardino Teamsters join mid-manager San Bernardino city workers who have been members since Local 1932’s affiliation in 2015….The new San Bernardino Teamsters join thousands of other Local 1932 members that provide public services throughout the County of San Bernardino, including in Colton, Fontana, Hesperia, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, and Redlands. The new members will now prepare for negotiations ahead of next year’s expiration of their current contract with the city. Workers are focused on strengthening job protections that many other union workers count on as basic rights.”

“Amazon spent more than $3 million on anti-union consultants last year in its continuing effort to keep organized labor out of its delivery network, according to disclosures filed Saturday with the Labor Department. The Seattle-based retail giant has been ringing up a large tab hiring “persuaders” who try to convince workers not to form unions. It doled out more than $14 million on such consultants last year as well. Employers are required to disclose such spending when the consultants speak directly to workers about unionization. The figures cited in the forms generally would not include money Amazon spent on in-house work against unions or legal advice aimed at undermining organizing efforts.”

“When William Littig showed up for work at his REI store on Feb. 21, it didn’t take long for him to realize it would be his last day ... .The firing of a popular department manager shocked the store’s workers, according HuffPost interviews with several employees. It revealed the aggressive response of REI ― a customer-owned cooperative known for its progressive image ― to a union effort that’s organized nine stores so far. And it underscored the difficult, sometimes impossible position that companies put low-level managers in when their underlings start to discuss unions.”

“On June 24, 2023, upset delivery drivers who had just been terminated formed a picket line outside an Amazon warehouse in Palmdale, California. Under the blaring light of the desert sun, they raised picket signs in protest of Amazon’s alleged worker’s rights abuses.”

“United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain has called on unions to come together for a national strike in 2028. This is a radical idea — and elevating Medicare for All as a central demand would give workers across sectors a reason to join in.”

“Janitors and ground and maintenance crew workers represented by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1 at Saint Louis University (SLU) were joined by other union members and students at a rally on campus March 21 to demand a fair contract with better pay and job protections.”

“Unionized reporters at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle have voted to strike this Saturday, April 6, ahead of the eclipse in western New York that’s set to take over media coverage in the Rochester region. The 24 journalists at the Gannett-owned newsroom, represented by The NewsGuild of New York, are prepared walk off the job if no contract has been reached by 11:59 pm ET on Friday in protest of the company’s bad-faith bargaining, which has denied reporters a new collective bargaining contract since their previous one expired in 2019. Their parent union, the NewsGuild-CWA, represents more than 50 Gannett bargaining units collectively covering more than 1,000 employees, including the Newspaper Guild of Rochester.”

“Twenty-five workers, all members of Boilermakers Local 1622, began an unfair labor practice strike last week on March 25 to protest illegal actions by their employer, T&W Stamping. Local 1622 filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against T&W, which is owned by Durrel Partners, a commercial and real estate investment firm located in Twinsburg, Ohio.”

“A digital replica of your face? Programmed to know everything about your job that you know? Owned by your boss? Recent headlines about why and how artificial intelligence (AI) is being implemented at work are sparking anxiety among workers from the entertainment industry in Hollywood to the meatpacking industry in the Midwest.”

“Crisis-ridden aircraft manufacturer Boeing hasn’t engaged in full-scale contract bargaining with its workers, represented by the Machinists, in over a decade. Workers want to reverse concessions of previous years — and win more input into quality control.”

“CWA Local 9510 members at SEGA of America voted to ratify their first collectively bargained contract on Tuesday. The contract covers 150 full-time and temporary employees across a range of job titles, including designers, translators, editors, producers, quality assurance testers, marketing managers, and more.”

“Valley Ford Truck employees have reached a 3-year contract with the company, ending a strike that began in mid-December, according to the union. Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local 1363 reached the contract agreement with the Valley View dealership March 28, Robert Towslee, the union’s business representative, told Signal Cleveland Monday….The agreement covers about 24 union members, most of them either automotive, light truck or heavy truck technicians. They went on strike Dec. 18. Some of the issues they were fighting for involved workers’ 401(k) retirement plans and being guaranteed a certain number of weekly work hours.” 

“Liz Shuler was standing inside a university lab one day a few years ago when she saw the future of everything — in a cutting board. At the time Shuler was secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, one of America’s most storied labor organizations, and she’d come to Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University with a delegation that included members of Unite Here, the union representing hundreds of thousands of workers in the hospitality industry. Their mission: to get a glimpse at how technology might impact the workplace in the years ahead. It didn’t take long before that impact became clear, at least in the kitchen. One of the professors at CMU, a school known for its prowess in technology and design, was demonstrating a cutting-edge cutting board that was able to measure how fast someone sliced vegetables, as well as the quality of their motion.”

“Since taking over as President in October 2012, Taylor oversaw the Union’s organizing of 140,000 people from over 1,000 new workplaces, with more than half coming out of Right-to-Work states. Taylor also leaves behind a legacy defined by the rallying call that “One Job Should Be Enough”—taking his experience building UNITE HERE’s Culinary Union in Nevada to expanded geographies, while pioneering victories at the bargaining table and the ballot box.”