The Weekly Download

“In this blogcast, Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris is joined by Amy Chin-Lai, the president of the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU), and Hannah Stephens, a Vice President for Organizing with the NPEU. Watch now to learn about the NPEU and their successes organizing in the nonprofit sector. Also learn about the differences between organizing in the for-profit world versus the nonprofit world, criticisms of nonprofit organizing, and the future of organizing with not-for-profit organizations.”

“Union workers make up 1 in 5 voters in swing states, according to the AFL-CIO. And the 2024 presidential race is so close that their votes could make a real difference in the outcome. While the unions themselves historically support Democrats, many of their rank-and-file members do not. NPR's Andrea Hsu explains.”

“FLINT — With Michigan at the heart of U.S. manufacturing and the fight for good union jobs, the UAW will host a rally and canvass kick-off with U.S. Senate candidate Elissa Slotkin in Flint, Michigan on Saturday, September 28. The event will promote the UAW’s endorsement of Slotkin and highlight the large field program Michigan UAW members are running to elect her as their next senator.”

“Willard Tipsord was a father, foster parent, husband, grandfather, and for over 30 years, a member of Carpenters Local 63 in McLean County, Illinois. As a young newlywed, he went to work at Bloomington’s United Asbestos & Rubber Company (UNARCO) plant to provide for his family. On May 1, 1989, at age 57, he died of mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer.”

“In a monumental decision, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled that Color Of Change violated federal labor law by unlawfully laying off 54 employees without bargaining. Workers first unionized with the Washington-Baltimore News Guild in October 2020. Color Of Change, one of the nation’s largest racial justice nonprofits, illegally laid off workers in mid 2023, but the NLRB found that the organization, represented by Seyfarth Shaw, did not meet its obligation to notify and bargain with the union before taking action. It’s illegal for organizations to lay off workers after they unionize prior to winning a first contract, a period called status quo.”

“Jyothi Renny says she learned about her $30,000 debt when she received a phone call in January from her old employer, a health care staffing firm called MedPro International. MedPro had accused Renny of violating her employment contract by quitting too soon. What Renny didn’t know until the phone call was that the case had already gone to arbitration. Renny had lost….Renny is one of many foreign nurses who come to the U.S. and soon feel stuck in their jobs, thanks to what critics call “stay-or-pay” contracts. The agreements require workers to put in a minimum number of hours before leaving, or else they’ll have to pay back thousands of dollars the staffing firm says they owe for licensing, travel, housing and other expenses.”

“Before we went out on indefinite strike, we held a one-day warning strike, but we could not get where we wanted. Then, we did our indefinite strike for nineteen days, and we did not come off the picket line until we had an agreement that we were satisfied with. The big blockbuster Henri Matisse show was being installed during the strike. They got scab art handlers to install the show. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have gone up, and we were planning to picket the opening gala. We reached an agreement two days before the gala, so that didn’t happen. They used random people; we have no idea where they came from. Or who they were. When my department came back, our materials and shop spaces were an absolute mess. There was stuff, tools, everywhere. They did not care at all. And that is who they got to install a priceless blockbuster show because they cared more about getting the show up than giving us what we deserve.”

“Workers have manned a picket line outside Boeing’s airplane factory in Renton, Washington, around the clock since tens of thousands walked off the job earlier this month. Almost two weeks into the strike, the largest now under way in the US, nobody knows when it will end….When Boeing tabled a new ‘best and final’ offer on Monday, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAW) declined to put it to a vote ahead of a Friday deadline imposed by the company, complaining it had been ‘thrown at us without any discussion.’”

“Workers have manned a picket line outside Boeing’s airplane factory in Renton, Washington, around the clock since tens of thousands walked off the job earlier this month. Almost two weeks into the strike, the largest now under way in the US, nobody knows when it will end….When Boeing tabled a new ‘best and final’ offer on Monday, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAW) declined to put it to a vote ahead of a Friday deadline imposed by the company, complaining it had been ‘thrown at us without any discussion.’”

“Marathon Petroleum and the Teamsters union, which represents refinery workers in Detroit, Michigan, are at a standstill as negotiations for a new labor agreement stagnate and the strike at the plant enters its third week. More than 200 Teamsters at Marathon's Detroit refinery called for an economic strike on Sept. 4 after nine months of pay- and safety-related negotiations and mediation with Marathon failed to reach agreement. The prior contract expired in January.”

“Hawaii now has two major labor disputes at two of its biggest industries. While nurses remain locked out at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, workers at Hawaii’s biggest resort started what could be [a] long strike. At 5 a.m. Tuesday, about 1,800 UNITE HERE Local 5 workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village walked off the job. They’re seeking wage and staff increases but, unlike limited strikes this year, the union says this time, it’s for good. Their strike won’t end until they actually have an agreement with Hilton, according to the union’s financial secretary-treasurer, Cade Watanabe.”

“Earlier this week, bargaining teams reached tentative agreements with AT&T Southeast and AT&T West. The agreement in the Southeast ends the 30-day unfair labor practice strike—the longest telecommunications strike in CWA District 3’s history—with union members across nine states pressuring the company to negotiate in good faith. The agreement at AT&T West comes after members rejected a previous tentative agreement on September 6.”

“Hollywood’s performers union has called a strike against one of the video game industry’s most recognizable marquee titles. On Tuesday SAG-AFTRA announced that it was telling members to cease work for the multiplayer online game League of Legends after its producer, Formosa Interactive, “tried to subvert” the union’s ongoing video game strike on an unnamed separate title. The union is responding by calling a work stoppage against League of Legends, a game that was not previously struck and is one of Formosa Interactive’s most well-known projects”

“San Francisco, Calif. – Over 1,500 San Francisco hotel workers walked off the job today in the latest strike to hit the U.S. hotel industry. Like hundreds of San Diego hotel workers, who have been on strike for 22 days, the San Francisco hotel workers will strike until they win a new contract. A total of over 2,200 hotel workers are now on strike at Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott hotels in San Diego and San Francisco. A three-day strike by over 1,250 Boston hotel workers ended yesterday, and more strikes could begin soon.”

“Journalists employed by Southern California News Group, including the Orange County Register and L.A. Daily News, have overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike, their union announced Monday. The SCNG union said that its members granted their leadership the authority to call an open-ended walkout by a vote of 94%. More than 90% of 125 unionized journalists — including reporters and photographers, as well as digital, social media and production staffers — spanning 11 SCNG newsrooms participated in the strike authorization vote, according to the union.”

“The Local 1622 (Austintown, Ohio) strike that began against T&W Stamping in March has ended with Boilermakers returning to work Sept. 3. After more than five months on the picket line, the workers received guaranteed yearly raises, along with weekly incentives, but no retroactive compensation. “The members of L-1622 are grateful for the support of their community, Boilermakers from across the U.S. and Canada, other unions and so many people who reached out in solidarity and with supplies, gift cards and financial donations,” said Don Hamric, Executive Director-ISO. “This was a stressful time for them, and even as they stood together on the picket line, it meant a lot to know so many people were standing with them.”

“The Culinary Union and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Acting Labor Secretary Julie A. Su celebrated the Las Vegas Strip becoming 100% unionized on Thursday, September 19, 2024 at the Venetian Resort Las Vegas. Attendees of the event celebrated the historic first union contract that was reached between the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, which was the final casino resort on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip to be covered by a Culinary and Bartenders Unions collective bargaining agreement.”

“Workers at Walt Disney Co. and Hearst Communications Inc.’s A+E Factual Studios are trying to unionize, aiming to establish a high-profile foothold in the largely unrepresented nonfiction TV business. The Writers Guild of America East is seeking to represent a group of around 150 writers and producers, most of whom have signed up with the labor group, the union said. The employees, who create shows such as Dance Moms: The Reunion, Cold Case Files, and Buddy Valastro’s Cake Dynasty, asked the company on Monday to voluntarily recognize and negotiate with their union. If A+E refuses, the guild plans to petition the US National Labor Relations Board to hold a unionization election.”

“Delivery drivers for trucking company MBM Logistics in Orlando voted in favor of unionizing with the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters last Friday, despite the company’s decision to hire professional anti-union labor consultants to water down union support. According to the Teamsters, drivers voted 60–47 in favor of unionization with Local 385 in Orlando, representing an overall voter turnout of 93 percent.”

“RACINE, Wis. — Journalists at The Journal Times newspaper in Racine, Wisconsin, today announced plans to unionize together as the Racine NewsGuild, seeking a partnership with the newspaper’s ownership to protect quality local journalism and to demonstrate a joint commitment to improving services in the Racine area. Newsroom employees at The Journal Times have signed authorization cards and agreed – by an overwhelming majority – to seek representation by The NewsGuild, a sector of the Communications Workers of America. The Racine NewsGuild will operate as a unit within the Kenosha Newspaper Guild Local 34159, which represents employees at our sister paper, the Kenosha News, in Kenosha, Wisconsin.”

“The new CEO of Starbucks, Brian Niccol, who only came on board weeks ago, says he is open to negotiating with Workers United. The union, which represents more than 10,500 employees, has been pushing for change for nearly three years. “I deeply respect the right of partners to choose, through a fair and democratic process, to be represented by a union,” Niccol wrote on Tuesday in a letter addressed to union members and posted on its website. “If our partners choose to be represented, I am committed to making sure we engage constructively and in good faith with the union and the partners it represents.””

“A wave of local and regional Teamsters union branches in battleground states rushed to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris after the national Teamsters union declared that it would not endorse a presidential candidate for the first time in nearly three decades. Teamsters regional councils — representing hundreds of thousands of members and retirees — in Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and western Pennsylvania — endorsed Harris hours after Teamsters President Sean O’Brien revealed Wednesday that the union would withhold its endorsement, saying, ‘neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union.’ Separately, powerful local Teamsters unions in Philadelphia; New York City; Long Beach, Calif.; and Miami — as well as the union’s National Black Caucus and a group of retirees — have endorsed Harris and urged members to vote for her.”

“AFSCME working and retiree members’ decades of hard work to repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) – laws that have unfairly cut public service workers’ and their spouses’ Social Security benefits – reached a crucial milestone on Thursday. The Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82) has received the necessary 218 signatures on a discharge petition, a rare move that jumps the bill forward to a vote on the House floor, bypassing opposition by anti-worker lawmakers, moving one step closer to the bill’s passage. But we must keep the pressure on to ensure no procedural obstacles are thrown in the way of a vote.”

“CHATTANOOGA— Today, the UAW released a new video outlining the priority demands of Volkswagen workers as contract negotiations between the union and the German automaker begin for a first agreement at the Chattanooga plant. After a historic victory earlier this year, where 4,300 Volkswagen workers voted almost 3-to-1 to join the United Auto Workers (UAW), union members are now campaigning for a strong first contract. On September 19, the 20-person elected bargaining committee kicked off negotiations with Volkswagen, aiming to win a first agreement that raises standards and includes wages, benefits, and protections on par with those secured by autoworkers in unionized plants.”

“Flight attendants at American Airlines were celebrating September 12 after approving a new five-year agreement by 87 percent, with 95 percent turnout. They won a big retroactive pay package and an immediate wage increase of 20 percent. They also became the first flight attendants to nail down boarding pay in a union contract. Flight attendants typically are not paid until the aircraft doors close. All that greeting, seating, sorting out problems, and assistance with bags is off the clock.”

“Editorial workers at LexisNexis-owned Law360 have reached a tentative agreement for a new, five-year contract. The deal marks the end of a weeklong unfair labor practice strike over unilateral changes to their healthcare plan and the illegal layoffs of their colleagues earlier this year. The tentative agreement secures major gains for the 250 NewsGuild of New York-represented (TNG-CWA Local 31003) journalists at Law360, including average wage increases of 12 percent, increased family leave to 14 weeks, an average bonus of $9,000, and strong job protections on artificial intelligence.”