The Weekly Download

“In this very special blogcast, Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris is joined by Bernie Sanders, the senior United States senator from Vermont. Watch now to hear Senator Sanders' opinion on the current status of the labor movement and worker power, along with his views on the Biden administration and a possible Harris administration. Also learn about Sanders’ strategies to improve worker rights and diminish the pay gap in the United States.”

“If you’ve spent time in the Minneapolis labor movement, it’s likely that you’ve run into Steve Share. Equipped with an old-school writing pad and pen, Share covered hundreds of strikes, pickets, and marches in Minneapolis. Now, after a 20-year career, he will be retiring in the new year. Share is the award-winning editor, writer, photographer, and designer of the Minneapolis Labor Review, a publication devoted to covering Minneapolis’ labor unions and workers’ issues in print since 1907, mailed to thousands of union homes across Minnesota. Share will publish his 249th and last edition of the paper at the end of this year.”

“LOS ANGELES:  Two months after the tragic and preventable death of Baltimore sanitation worker Ronald Silver II from exposure to extreme heat, the state of Maryland became the sixth state in the U.S. to enact heat safety protections for workers. Maryland’s statewide heat stress standard, which took effect Monday, September 30, was made significantly stronger during the rulemaking process thanks to timely, effective advocacy from National COSH advisors.”

“Mariam Karkache has worked as a barista for over six years at different establishments in Minneapolis. Her current job as a barista lead at Café Cerés at the Linden Hills location became her first unionized position on August 3, when 30 workers across four locations voted 88% in favor of joining UNITE HERE Local 17.”

“Today, over 100 Amazon workers at the company’s DCK6 warehouse in San Francisco, Calif., formed a union with the Teamsters. The workers demanded union recognition from Amazon with a ‘March on the Boss’ held early this morning. The DCK6 workers represent the first-ever group of Amazon warehouse workers to demand union recognition outside of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election process.”

On Sept. 23, workers at Bookmans Flagstaff Entertainment Exchange in Flagstaff, Ariz., joined UFCW Local 99. This organizing win marks the second successful organizing drive by workers at the Arizona-based book chain. On August 27, about 49 workers at Bookmans in Tucson made history by becoming the first bookstore in Arizona to unionize by joining UFCW Local 99.

“Recent analyses of the American labor movement have centered around two opposing facts. On the one hand, last year union density, or the percentage of the labor force that are union members, reached its lowest point in the more than 90 years the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has collected this data.* Though historical comparisons before this point are difficult, it seems the last time recorded membership density was this low was 1910. Thus, purely in terms of union membership rates, pronouncements of a New Gilded Age for labor appear truer now than when they were first written more than a decade ago.”

“Unite Here, a union that represents some of the lowest paid workers in the airline industry, managed last month to get a rare release from mediation, enabling a favorable contract deal for for about 10,000 catering workers.”

“Over 1,000 members and supporters of IUE-CWA Local 83761 held a rally outside their GE Haier worksite in Louisville, Ky., last week. With their contract expiring at the end of the year and contract negotiations scheduled to begin next month, members are concerned about the unfair tiered pay system and the high worker turnover. IUE-CWA Local 83761 President Dino Driskell spoke to that concern, saying, “Turnover is incredibly high right now. We have over 2,100 members with less than 2 years seniority. They’re looking for reasons to stay, but as it stands, there’s no incentive since they can never advance to a higher tier. This is going to be a major point for improvement during these negotiations.””

“After months of negotiations, members of UFCW Local 152 who work as budtenders and inventory staff at the MPX/iAnthus cannabis dispensary in Atlantic City, N.J., ratified their first union contract on August 23. These workers joined UFCW Local 152 in January.”

“Members of Utility Workers (UWUA) Local 335 have ratified a strong new contract with Missouri American Water Corporation. Members ratified the contract on Sept. 11 by a four-to-one vote, more than a month ahead of the current contract’s expiration, said Local 335 President Allan Bathon. “The members were pretty happy with it,” Bathon said.”

“Amazon.com Inc. is facing its first formal labor complaint involving accusations the e-commerce giant is a joint employer of its delivery drivers and broke federal law by terminating their contract. A National Labor Relations Board regional director hit Amazon and its delivery service provider Battle Tested Strategies with the complaint Sept. 30 based on a merit determination last month that found the company should be held jointly responsible for drivers at the Palmdale, Calif., DAX8 warehouse, the agency announced Wednesday. The case could be the first to begin unraveling Amazon’s nationwide network of thousands of contractors, and more broadly make it harder for US businesses to distance themselves from legal liability by outsourcing front-line work. Another NLRB regional director made a similar merit determination Sept. 4 about Amazon’s employment relationship with drivers in Atlanta.”

“Tech giant Apple (AAPL) has been accused of fostering an illegal work environment and violating multiple efforts organized by employees to advocate for better wages and workplace conditions, according to the U.S. National Labor Relations Board. According to the complaint filed on Monday by the labor board, Apple forced employees across the country to sign “illegal” non-disclosure, and non-compete agreements, according to Reuters.”

“It’s been nearly eight months since NLRB regional director Laura Sacks found that Dartmouth College men’s basketball players are employees within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. And it’s been seven months since the players unionized with the Services Employees International Union Local 560. But to date there has no bargaining between Dartmouth and the union, and the agency’s board hasn’t indicated if it will accept Dartmouth’s request for review (appeal), let alone set a schedule.”

Washington, D.C. — In response to news that the Department of Justice Antitrust Division has filed a statement of interest supporting healthcare workers in a class-action antitrust lawsuit against the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) — which alleges that UPMC weaponizes its monopsony power to suppress wages, illegally fight unionization, and trap employees with “do not hire” blacklists — the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.

“Roughly 33,000 Machinists union members are now in the fourth week of a historic strike at Boeing with no obvious end in sight. While technically an unfair labor practice strike, union members have made it clear what will resolve it: pay raises that catch them up for inflation, quicker wage progression, more paid time off, and above all restoring the pension that Boeing took away in 2016.”

“Boeing's largest union urged new CEO Kelly Ortberg on Tuesday to get more involved in contract negotiations to end a strike by around 33,000 U.S. West Coast workers, after the U.S. planemaker cut off their healthcare benefits. In August, the former Rockwell Collins boss took over the reins of Boeing, which has been rocked by multiple crises this year, including the strike that has hit production of Boeing's strongest-selling 737 MAX jets.”

“Greenwich, Conn. – Hotel workers in Greenwich, Conn., and Providence, R.I., have ratified new union contracts that include wage increases and more affordable health care. The contracts at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich and Omni Providence Hotel are the first in ongoing national disputes between the hotel workers’ union UNITE HERE and Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Omni.”

“STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. — UAW President Shawn Fain will headline a Detroit-area rally and march on Thursday demanding that Stellantis fulfill its promise to invest in good American jobs. Stellantis is trying to backtrack on its contractual commitments to build the Dodge Durango in Detroit and to reopen the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois.”

“Just because McLaren Flint Hospital in Michigan calls itself a nonprofit doesn’t mean its executives don’t prioritize boosting their coffers. They prioritize it so much they’re willing to put the safety of their patients at risk, according to the nurses who work there. Last year, the hospital reported $24 million in net income, according to ProPublica. The compensation for the hospital’s president and CEO, Christopher Candela, was in the seven figures and many employees received similarly exorbitant pay packages.”

“The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross’ Hurricane Helene Relief fund on Wednesday. The union, which made headlines this week for its port strike across the U.S. East and Gulf coasts, said in an emailed news release that it is encouraging its locals to join the fundraising campaign.”

“A year after the United Auto Workers’ Stand-Up Strike, the union caucus that helped make it possible is setting out to transform locals still stuck in the mud. Their first step is to fight a new onslaught of layoffs, broken promises, and retaliation from CEOs. The reform caucus Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD) held its first convention last weekend outside Detroit, with 150 UAW members, mostly auto workers but also from higher ed, legal services, and heavy equipment manufacturing.”