The Weekly Download

“In this blogcast, Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris is joined by Jenny Brown, an assistant editor at Labor Notes and Mylo Lang, a machinist apprentice at Boeing and a member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Watch now to to get an inside perspective on the strike and contract negotiations from a Boeing worker currently on strike. Also learn about the history of Boeing and unionization, and what the union members are demanding in their next contract.”

“...The strike against three of the industry’s most iconic global brands has expanded to include nearly 2,000 workers. Most are entering their sixth week on the picket line. The employees at five Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott hotels near Union Square want wage increases and pensions that keep up with the cost of living. Additional demands include maintaining health benefits and the reversal of COVID-era staffing cuts that exacerbate workloads when there are surges of guests, according to the hospitality union Unite Here. The walkout comes during a wave of strikes across the country by Unite Here members. In Honolulu, more than 1,800 Hilton staffers at Hawaii’s largest resort walked off the job more than a month ago. In Boston, a picket line by 600 workers has continued for over three weeks.”

“Vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (Ohio) crossed a virtual picket line by publishing an opinion piece in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday, according to the union whose workers are on strike at the newspaper…Early Thursday, the Post-Gazette ran a piece under Vance’s byline entitled ‘Kamala Harris’ prejudice against Catholics,’ in which he criticized the Democratic nominee for skipping the Al Smith dinner last week to campaign. The dinner traditionally features a roast of both candidates and benefits Catholic charities; Trump attended and said a bunch of nasty stuff. Vance’s piece does not appear to have run in any other publications. Beneath his byline, it reads: ‘Special to the Post-Gazette.’”

“Members of the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE-CWA) Local 9119 working for the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) are voting on whether to strike in response to unfair labor practice charges (ULP) filed against the university. Members hold positions at the Parnassus and Mission Bay campuses, as well as other UCSF worksites across the city, including San Francisco General Hospital.”

“TAMPA, FL – Airport concession workers employed by Delaware North who are members of UNITE HERE Local 362 have voted unanimously to authorize a strike at the Tampa International Airport (TPA). Delaware North employs around 157 concession workers at the airport who are covered by a national agreement between Delaware North and UNITE HERE, which will expire on October 31st. Workers say they are fighting for free health insurance and significant wage increases so they don’t have to choose between paying the rent and putting food on the table.”

“When 64 percent of Boeing machinists voted to continue their strike this week, many of them had in mind a goal rarely seen this century: the return of a traditional defined-benefit pension. That retirement option was already rare in the private sector when Boeing ended its pension plan for the machinists a decade ago. These days at U.S. companies, worker-driven savings accounts like 401(k)s have mostly replaced pension plans that provide fixed monthly payments to retirees….Congress created 401(k)s in 1978, allowing companies to contribute a set amount to employees’ individual accounts each month and let the workers invest the money as they choose. Since then, those and other defined-contribution plans have become much more common than defined-benefit plans in the private sector, although state and local government jobs are more likely to offer traditional pensions.”

“Nearly 50 days into a strike that has crippled the company's operations, the union representing its machinists and Boeing had a ‘productive face-to-face’ meeting Tuesday, according to the International Association of Machinists District 751. The union shared an update on social media late Tuesday night, but did not offer any details on where negotiations stand. Last week, machinists voted down a new contract offer from Boeing by 64%.”

“In this blogcast, Burnes Center for Social Change Senior Fellow Seth Harris is joined by Jacob Morrison, the host of the Valley Labor Report, and Maximillian Alvarez, the host of the Working People Podcast. Watch now to see the first ever Power At Work "Most intriguing people in labor" blogcast, in which Morrison, Alvarez, and host Harris explain their picks for the people or organizations that they think you should be looking out for and following.”

“Colleges and universities employ nearly 4 million people across the United States. Unionization in the higher education sector is gaining speed, fueled by a growing awareness of labor rights and a desire for fairer working conditions, including among undergraduate workers. Since 2012, the number of union-represented faculty has risen 7.2%, and graduate worker representation has risen a whopping 133%. The call for unionization is resonating across colleges and universities nationwide, empowering employees as it goes.”

“The United Steelworkers union is counting on clean energy projects to spur membership growth, offsetting losses at oil refining and petrochemical plants, a union official said, even if Donald Trump wins the presidential election on Nov. 5. The USW, which represents about 30,000 crude oil refinery and petrochemical chemical plant workers in North America, said major growth may be coming as projects backed by the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act are built and provisions supporting union-jobs deployed.”

“As November 5 draws closer, labor unions are blanketing swing states with tens of thousands of canvassers, deploying far more resources than in past elections in a bid to get the labor-friendly ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz elected. Some of the outreach is directly targeting union workers, active and retired, who along with their household members make up an estimated one in five voters in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, according to the AFL-CIO.”

“When environmental groups asked the Illinois Pollution Control Board to impose a California-style mandate for electric cars and trucks, the primary legal pushback didn’t come from traditional foes such as ExxonMobil. It came from within the inner sanctum of the Illinois Democratic Party. In a counterstrike, Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers filed a motion in August to dismiss the electric vehicle petition. Environmentalists should make their case in the legislature instead, the union said. The pollution board, meanwhile, scheduled public hearings for December. Mandating electric vehicles too soon, according to Local 150 political guru Marc Poulos, would cripple revenue from the state’s motor fuel tax. That, in turn, would kill lots of road-building projects and jobs. These include a $6.4 billion plan, of which Local 150 is a principal proponent and beneficiary, to rebuild the Eisenhower Expressway west of downtown. With 24,000 active and retired members, the Operating Engineers have become a power broker as the Democratic Party — despite its historic dominance in Springfield — struggles to reconcile conflicting priorities on climate change.”

“Workers at the Sweetspot Medical and Recreational Dispensary in Exeter, R.I., recently joined UFCW Local 328. The workers are employed as patient counselors, floor leads, and inventory specialists. These workers joined our union to build and secure good jobs for their futures and communities, and to work towards better fulfilling their company motto, “Worry Free.””

“On Oct. 7, workers at two Planned Parenthood health care facilities in Traverse City and Ann Arbor, Mich., joined UFCW Local 876. These organizing wins mark the third unit of Planned Parenthood workers to join UFCW Local 876 this year. Planned Parenthood workers in Livonia joined the local in July.”

“Washington, D.C. – In a powerful show of solidarity with UAW members, 79 Members of Congress have sent letters to Stellantis and its CEO, Carlos Tavares, expressing deep concerns about the company’s recent actions and urging a renewed commitment to American workers.”

“A federal court in Omaha upheld the reinstatement of a BMWED member on Union Pacific Oct. 25, the correct decision and an obvious cause for celebration. What makes it especially noteworthy, however, is what the court said about the railroad’s craven attempt to vacate the award in the first place and its affirmation that labor disputes mostly remain the purview of Arbitration Adjustment Boards as stated in the Railway Labor Act.”

“The foundational 1935 labor law protecting workers is unconstitutional, according to major corporations and right-wing zealots who believe they have enough votes on the Supreme Court to overturn it. In the latest sign that anti-union forces will doggedly press the matter, a federal judge for the Northern District of Texas enjoined the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from processing any allegations of employer violations of workers’ rights. The National Review hailed the decision as ​’A Welcome Blow to the NLRB.’ This is after Elon Musk’s SpaceX won a similar injunction against the NLRB before the Western District of Texas in July. Both cases will work their way up to the Fifth Circuit Court, which has served as an expressway to steer anti-regulatory legal appeals to the Supreme Court ever since Donald Trump packed it with right-wing ideologues. The arguments that the employers utilize, and even the immediate outcomes of these cases, are almost irrelevant to the ultimate goal: the right wing aims to repeal the twentieth Century.”

“As cannabis workers move to unionize, some employers are fighting to block their efforts. One legal challenge to a union drive at a cannabis operation in St. Louis, Missouri, has made its way up to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Organizers and legal experts who spoke to Truthout said the board’s eventual decision in this case could have far-reaching consequences, affecting future efforts to organize and protect workers in this fast-growing industry. While similar cases at the regional level have been decided in favor of the workers, further delay on the national case could upend precedent if former President Donald Trump is reelected and makes good on his promise to fire the NLRB’s general counsel and reorganize the board. At issue in the Missouri case is a group of post-harvest workers employed by BeLeaf Medical at one of its cannabis cultivation and processing facilities. BeLeaf Medical operates three such facilities under the name Sinse Cannabis. Its largest Sinse Cannabis location employs more than 30 workers who cultivate, process, package and ship marijuana products to dispensaries.”

“In a malicious ploy, a hospital in Honolulu locked out its nurses after a one-day strike—and not just for a couple days, as hospitals often do, but indefinitely. The message was, you can come back only when you accept our demands. But the nurses stuck it out. They kept building their support with daily demonstrations. And in the end, amid public outrage after elders got arrested in a solidarity protest, management agreed to nurse-to-patient ratio language, a first for the state. The 630 nurses at Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children struck on September 13 over unfair labor practices—specifically, ongoing retaliation against nurses who report unsafe staffing conditions, as documented by their union, the Hawaii Nurses Association.”

“Last week, nurses who are members of Local 875 (AFSCME Michigan) and work for McLaren Flint Hospital voted by a large margin to approve a four-year tentative agreement that includes strong patient safety and welfare provisions — something the nurses pushed hard for.”

“BALTIMORE – Workers at the Baltimore Museum of Art have overwhelmingly ratified their first union contract, with a 98% yes vote. After two years of negotiations with management, the Baltimore Museum of Art Union (BMAU) reached a tentative agreement in late August. The Oct. 3 ratification vote on the three-year contract, which lasts until June 30, 2027, represents a final step towards greater benefits and protections for BMA workers, who announced in 2021 that they were forming a union.”

“In the latest update in a dispute over a campaign to unionize workers at a powerful Kern County agricultural company, a California appellate court has ruled that negotiations can continue between the state’s largest farmworker union and Wonderful Co. The two parties had been forced to pause bargaining following a lower court’s ruling.”

“CWA members at AT&T West and Southeast ratified strong new contract agreements last week. Thanks to a historic month-long strike by members in the Southeast and strong mobilization efforts supported by CWA members and retirees across the country, the new contracts include substantial wage increases and significant improvements to overtime and scheduling practices.”

“Trisha Calvarese was a speech writer at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Washington, D.C. when she received a phone call from her mom telling Trisha that she had terminal cancer and did not have long to live. Her mom had been taking care of her dad who also had end-stage cancer. With both parents terminally ill, Trisha needed to drop everything to be with them in her hometown of Highlands Ranch, Colorado. She was a member of AFGE Local 3403, so her fellow union members pulled together and donated their leave so she could spend the last few months with her parents and provide end-of-life care.”

“AFGE Local 4060 representing 4,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees are working with the agency to make sure employees stay safe in the face of misinformation and threats against FEMA employees helping with the hurricane relief efforts. In a letter to bargaining unit employees, Local 4060 assured members that the union and FEMA leadership are united in their efforts to protect employees.”