Rolling Labor Action Thread

There was a regular at the bar who I hadn't seen for months. He was in Thursday, said he'd had enough of 70-80 hour weeks and had quit his job. I said "way to go, comrade, I love seeing power swing from mgmt to labor." He's a typical white middleaged southern conservative and was extremely uncomfortable with this.

this little wave of strikes is literally the only thing giving me any kind of hope at all about making a better world

xp lol

So IATSE tweeted this out, but a lot of tweets saying the deal sucks and/or isn’t much better than the previous one and that they plan to vote no:

“We went toe to toe with some of the richest and most powerful entertainment and tech companies in the world, and we havenow reached an agreement with the AMPTP that meets our members’ needs.”https://t.co/861fwvQNii

— IATSE // #IASolidarity (@IATSE) October 17, 2021

BREAKING: @BVWU_IWW has reached a tentative agreement with Burgerville. If ratified, 100 workers at five Oregon locations will become the only fast food workforce in the U.S. to be covered by a union contract. They’ve been in contract negotiations since 2018. A historic moment! pic.twitter.com/ujUJaGenLp

— Kim Kelly (@GrimKim) November 12, 2021

the wobblies??

the workers at the local bathhouse here in Toronto won their union drive!!!

we won 🥲 https://t.co/VjscVj78gP

— graeme lamb (@_gmlamb) November 12, 2021

yup. the wobblies are still out there.

Activision action

https://www.polygon.com/22786117/activision-blizzard-walk-out-bobby-kotick-resignation-demands

https://lbo-news.com/2021/11/12/striketober-wasnt/

As marvelous as it would be to see a revival of labor militancy, people got a little ahead of things calling last month “Striketober.” According to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stats, it was a blip by historical standards.

Here’s a graph of the number of workers involved in strikes or lockouts (the BLS counts them together) since 2000. There were 57 months with higher numbers of workers off the job. At the high point of this graph, May 2018, there were over fourteen times as many workers on strike as there were last month.

https://doughenwood.files.wordpress.com/2021/11/stoppages-monthly.png?w=1280

Here’s another measurement—what the BLS, in nice Victorian fashion, calls “days of idleness” as a percent of total days worked throughout the economy. It was 0.01% in October, a level that’s been matched in 39 other months since January 2000. And as the bottom graph shows, back in the old days when strikes were frequent, lost workdays were many times 0.01%. Before 1980, the low was 0.07%, set in 1957. From 1948 to 1979, it averaged 0.16%. In 1959, just two years after the pre-neoliberal era low, it was 0.43%, the series high.

there's always hope for strikevember

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/kaiser-nurses-to-hold-sympathy-strike-in-solidarity-with-engineers/

BREAKING: The 10,000 striking John Deere workers voted to approve a third contract offer 61%-39%, ending the 5-week strike & solidifying major concessions from the company.

The big wins include:
- $8500 bonus
- Immediate 10% raise
- Another 10% raise by 2025
- Improved pension

— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) November 18, 2021

nice

I think the disproportionate attention is because — at least for the moment — there's a lot of focus on workers, or lack of workers. But it's a good opportunity to get people thinking about it. And publicity for something like the John Deere deal is worth a lot in making people think organizing could work for them.

yeah if it sticks, more media focus on strikes is a welcome trend

i saw some people who cover labor complaining about erasure in this piece, but the fact that it's getting written about as a media trend is a sign something is different (for now) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/07/business/media/labor-unions-media-coverage.html.

my guess is labor power is about to begin a secular increase for the next few decades, not just for political reasons but because the US is trending towards labor scarcity. the trump/stephen miller reductions in legal immigration (which reduced refugee/asylum-seeker inflows by 100% and green cards by 50%) is now consensus policy, and birth-rates are below replacement. the working-age population started to shrink around 2018-19 and will probably accelerate

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/fredgraph.png?g=J3eH

we named the cc https://t.co/3bcwZPZjmN

— Michael Rose (@dcmichaelrose) December 13, 2021

sorry, posted reply instead of tweet

Wow. An NLRB employee has been charged with bribery and fraud. Charging doc alleges she was selling non-public info on potential union elections and ULP's to an outside labor consultant who would then sell the info to law firms https://t.co/6ybLIeD3Q8 pic.twitter.com/hh7k8Nxkp1

— Dave Jamieson (@jamieson) December 13, 2021

look at the world's tiniest legal notice on the bottom

That last bullet point is fucking despicable.#SupportWorkers #FredMeyerStrike pic.twitter.com/ydAG1aJCOC

— Shawn Levy (@shawnlevy) December 17, 2021

oh, you have to click the photo to see it taped on there

I saw someone say that line was a legal requirement in the state where that store is located.

re: crossing a picket line

it is, it lists the state statute making them say it
xp oh i'm referring to the thing taped under there, yeah

The UFCW is the only union* I've belonged to, at a Kroger. Never saw a union rep or heard from them again after the first sign-up meeting, somewhat disappointing as a 16-year old who had just read A People's History for the first time.

*excluding the IWW for ten years which was basically like a yearly PBS donation

about the only good news i see in my feed these days is labor action stuff

https://scontent-den4-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/268148823_251494930420109_4847124755181834689_n.jpg?_nc_cat=1&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=QyC3uHr4pn0AX9h9yfu&_nc_ht=scontent-den4-1.xx&oh=00_AT_ZIt9Qz3-s-9jeis_ybVN2CwoVqAimeFjucTdY1RVHZA&oe=61C6FD7E

no deal until they bring back Product 19

number of american workers covered by a union fell in 2021, percent of workers covered also fell relative to 2020 but flat compared to 2019, according to BLS

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm

good write-up https://www.epi.org/publication/latest-data-release-on-unionization-is-a-wake-up-call-to-lawmakers/

thanks for that flopson

You can follow the ongoing Starbucks actions at this Twitter account: https://twitter.com/SBWorkersUnited

Not only did REI make a union busting website, they already have a union busting podcast episode that starts with a fucking land acknowledgement!!

Liberalism is a disease, folks! https://t.co/5sp9T2O8pL pic.twitter.com/1ProLoaZQN

— Honda Wang 王宏达 (@HondaWang) February 7, 2022

How can this be, I was assured all corporations are now woke.

"chief diversity and social impact officer"

I'm a little unclear where Honda Wang's sympathies lie

Memphis Starbucks has fired 7 of its employees involved in unionization

https://news.yahoo.com/starbucks-fires-union-leaders-memphis-204249934.html

minneapolis federation of teachers on strike now, here's a recap of the last week:

https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/minneapolis-teacher-strike-week-one-update/89-95a9dd41-2bbe-4724-9ef5-2be2b0738dc5

really good deep dive into the people behind the vote

https://www.thecity.nyc/staten-island/2022/3/24/22995196/amazon-workers-staten-island-union-vote

Current Vote Totals:
2050 Yes
1574 No

476 votes in ALU’s favor after resuming the count today on the last box.

— Amazon Labor Union (@amazonlabor) April 1, 2022

Memphis Starbucks has fired 7 of its employees involved in unionization

Former CEO and also former vaporware presidential candidate Howard Schultz has returned as CEO in order to crush the unionising push and its going great

If @SBWorkersUnited can win new benefits with just 9 unionized stores, imagine the gains Starbucks workers can win with hundreds of unionized stores. https://t.co/VFQF9fRb2F

— Josh Miller-Lewis (@jmillerlewis) March 31, 2022

Starbucks' appeal of a decision ordering a union election, which was due last Friday, was mislabeled and filed with the wrong part of the labor board, Starbucks' law firm Littler said in a new NLRB filing today that ends "Thank you in advance for your...professional cooperation"

— Josh Eidelson (@josheidelson) March 30, 2022

^ this is the second SBU union the law firm has failed to stop in recent weeks due to misfiling an appeal. Labor and employment law specialists Littler Mendelsohn PLC… welcome to the resistance

From earlier this month, guess the union busting podcast didn’t work.

VICTORY: by a vote of 86%, workers have voted to unionize with @RWDSU, officially making REI SoHo the first unionized @REI store in the nation! We go further together! #REIunion pic.twitter.com/tywvPzZAf9

— REI Union SoHo (@reiunionsoho) March 3, 2022

lmaooooo

“We want to thank Jeff Bezos for going up to space, because while he was up there, we were organizing a union,” a jubilant Chris Smalls said in remarks outside the NLRB offices in Brooklyn: https://t.co/PxBsVBAgGL

— Richard Kim (@RichardKimNYC) April 1, 2022

The latest unionized Starbucks is here in Knoxville, first one in the South. It was an 8-7 vote and there was a 16th ballot that Starbucks is challenging (because it was cast by an assistant manager who they say shouldn't have been able to vote), but the fact that they're the ones challenging it means they know it was a vote in favor. So I think either they lose 9-7 or 8-7, but it's going through either way.

this shit is my "inspirational fb meme" - just makes me feel immediately better xp

The first hometown one to unionize was last week - I got off the train three stops (40 min walk) early to stick my face inside a a Starbucks door for the third time ever and call out congrats to the workers

that's awesome. pretty sure it's never going to happen here (utah) for so many reasons, one of which is that conservatism runs so deep in the blood that almost all workers hate their own interests. i mean if it ever does happen i'd be shocked and elated.

Howard Schultz' new pitch for why workers shouldn't unionize: by the end of the year, Starbucks will be the most successful NFT platform in the world.

I've got an actor friend losing his shit on FB right now over how bad he feels the SAG deal is.

What’re his complaints?

The pay raise isn't high enough, particularly when they are also promising shorter, more efficient work hours (ultimately less pay overall).

But his big deal is that he feels the AI restrictions/protocols don't go far enough, particularly on a three-year contract because the tech will so much stronger when they're back at the negotiating table there's no way a good deal is happening them or any time afterwards.

I'm inclined to believe him there, because his current day job is a consulting thing with Disney, where he goes around the country checking up on projects at their different studio and tech spaces, so he knows a bit about what they are already doing re: computerization and AI.

nice

New: How Formula One accidentally helped Las Vegas workers land the 'best contract ever'

Culinary Union, threatening a mass strike timed to the much-hyped F1 race, inked deals w/casino giants mere days before the event.

They say it gave them "leverage."https://t.co/5IgYmqYOIL

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) November 22, 2023

Washington Post striking tomorrow

https://www.washingtonian.com/2023/12/05/washington-post-staffers-will-go-on-strike-thursday/

Get ready

https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/iatse-teamsters-hollywood-labor-peace-next-year-1235823080/amp/

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/01/18/media/los-angeles-times-staffers-to-protest-layoffs/index.html

Was bummed to read this, I thought he was a good one

‘A slap in the face’: progressive anger as Teamsters union chief meets Trump

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/18/teamsters-union-chief-trump-meeting

This will be big if it comes through: Unionizing a VW plant in Chattanooga that has twice voted not to unionize. (Under crazy heavy pressure campaigns, of course, including our own governor warning of apocalypse etc.)

The United Auto Workers union says it has signed up the majority of employees at Volkswagen AG’s Tennessee plant, teeing up a high-stakes test of the union’s ability to expand its ranks following its record Detroit contract wins.

In November, the UAW announced an audacious effort to organize 13 automakers’ non-union plants, including Toyota Motor Corp., Tesla Inc., and Nissan Motor Co. facilities. The union, which represents around 265,000 automaker or auto parts employees, is aiming to organize around 150,000 more workers at those 13 firms. VW’s Chattanooga factory is the first of those locations where the union says it’s secured over 50% support. It previously announced signing up more than 30% of employees at Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Hyundai Motor Co. facilities in Alabama.

Under US law, a company can voluntarily recognize and negotiate with a union once a majority of workers have signed union cards, or can refuse to do so unless the group first wins a government-run election. The UAW has said it will seek recognition once it has 70% of a plant signed up.

“Momentum’s picked up in a big way,” said Zach Costello, a six-year VW employee who’s a member of the Tennessee plant’s UAW organizing committee. The union’s successful strike last year against Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., and Stellantis NV, which ended with agreements that will boost many union members’ pay by a third or more, “was massively influential in waking people up” at the VW factory, Costello said. “It really turned a lot of people to our side.”

And of course ...

The Center for Union Facts, a business-backed nonprofit, on Monday announced plans to place billboards in cities including Chattanooga advertising a website that criticizes the union’s political stances, contracts, and past corruption scandals.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-06/uaw-signs-up-majority-of-workers-at-vw-plant-after-detroit-wins

On the bad front, the union at the school where I adjunct has secured a tentative agreement that is fucking wack, and is not a win at all, particularly for more rank and file members. I am furious and will be voting NO on ratification and withdrawing my card after this is over— honestly, my experience with academic unions has been so bad that I will never voluntarily join a union ever again.

Uber

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/02/13/business/uber-lyft-deliveroo-valentines-strike/index.html

On the bad front, the union at the school where I adjunct has secured a tentative agreement that is _fucking wack_, and is not a win at all, particularly for more rank and file members. I am furious and will be voting NO on ratification and withdrawing my card after this is over— honestly, my experience with academic unions has been _so bad_ that I will never voluntarily join a union ever again.

No, it’s a corrupt union leadership working in concert with the school and accepting the first TA offered. I know because two friends who have worked for the AFT told me privately that they agree with me but can’t say so publicly, and told me why.

Also, spare me the “you can do such and such.” You think I have time for that when I’m making next to nothing because the union is deferential to management’s needs to fuck over employees? Please . Get one clue.

Big deal

https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2024/message-from-sara-starbucks-and-workers-united-agree-on-path-forward/

It's interesting how many European & Korean companies have absolutely no issues with collective bargaining.. even VW was fine with their Tennessee plant going union, it's just part of the business
It makes it easier to budget when you know what your labor expenses are going to be, years in advance

Corporate America just has this utter contempt for the worker, like they should be fucking grateful to get a fifteen minute break now and then

^^^^ Speak of the devil

Under previous leadership at the UAW, the union came close to winning elections in 2014 and 2019 at the plant but came up short after a surge of anti-union organizations and Republican elected officials aggressively opposed the efforts. Similar efforts have already begun during the current campaign at the plant.

US Volkswagen workers file for union election to join United Auto Workers

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/18/volkswagen-workers-file-union-election-to-join-uaw

IATSE seems to be making deals

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/iatse-negotiations-cinematographers-reach-deal-craft-issues-1235857297/amp/

Fuck these people

To be sure, southern politicians have spoken out against the UAW. Tennessee’s governor, Bill Lee, said, “It would be a big mistake for (the VW) workers to risk their future” by unionizing. Alabama’s governor, Kate Ivey, wrote, “Alabama has become a national leader in automotive manufacturing, and all this was achieved without a unionized workforce … Unfortunately, the Alabama model for economic success is under attack.”

(UAW President) Fain fired back, saying that Ivey “dared to say that the economic model of the south is under attack. She’s damn right it is! It’s under attack because workers are fed up with getting screwed.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/17/uaw-union-drive-south-volkswagen-tennessee

these governors were bought by special interests a long time ago

Well, it's not VW that's paying them off... most of their plants worldwide are already union. It's just this aggressive posture where they don't want to see labor make any gains at all, because pretty soon they'll be coming after the poultry plants that are employing 14 year old undocumented workers and we can't have that

well sure, those are also special interests, but don’t be under any illusions that vw wants unionized plants in the US

btw there has been a lot of organizing effort in TN poultry plants.. a great movie about that here (my mom worked on it) - https://annelewis.org/morristown-in-the-air-and-sun/