unions

For too long, the United Food and Commercial Workers union has been missing in action for its essential workers.

At the end of the 19th century, Chicago completely transformed the way Americans eat, and the Union Stockyards on the South Side were the center of that revolution. Experience the sights, sounds, and awful smells of the Union Stockyards and the complex of meat factories next to it, known as Packingtown.

Details how the Unions fought back against exploitation they faced in the meat industry.

For all of corporate America’s apparent preparations for insurgency in, and invasion of, its labor markets, it has yet to be met with the kinds of collective action that would confirm its fears or change the political balance in Congress in favor of reforming labor law. Leaving neoliberalism behind would entail just this sort of organization among the millions of unorganized. Until labor unions and their disruptive power grow, any talk of a post-neoliberal order will remain theoretical.

Alongside workers, thousands of college students are expected to protest campus ties with the coffee-brand.

On November 16, nearly 9,000 Starbucks employees are expected to walk out of over 200 stores around the United States in what they are calling the "Red Cup Rebellion." Each year, Starbucks releases a free reusable red cup ahead of the holiday season — and according to Reuters, the release day is one of the coffee brand's biggest traffic days.

The strike comes after 363 Starbucks stores in 41 states have voted to unionize over the last two years. Starbucks has yet to come to the bargaining table with the unionized shops (unless it is in person, which is a central issue). Some of which were closed in the time since. Last week, workers filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board over the Starbucks’ refusal to bargain around promotional days.

According to a press release, "Workers will demand Starbucks turn off mobile ordering on future promotion days, which company executives are scheduling with increasing frequency." Striking workers plan to walk to non-union stores to speak with them about joining their efforts inviting them to join in the growing movement. "In advance of Red Cup day workers at union stores delivered Red Cup survival kits to their counterparts at stores that have not yet voted on the union," the press release says.

Alongside worker walkouts is a student solidarity movement across dozens of campuses in the United States. At Georgetown, a group of students signed a petition demanding their college cut ties with Starbucks. "We call for the university's administration to end Aramark's licensing agreement with Starbucks and invite a new coffee brand to replace Starbucks in the Leavey Center," the letter explains. “In this transition process, we demand no changes occur in the payment, staffing, benefits, or number of hours for the dining services employees working at the above-mentioned café." They also demand the university completely divest from Starbucks.

In an email to Teen Vogue, Starbucks provided a company statement saying they are aware of the day of action. “We remain committed to working with all partners, side-by-side, to elevate the everyday, and we hope that Workers United’s priorities will shift to include the shared success of our partners and working to negotiate union contracts for those they represent,” the statement reads.

In an email interview, Ella Clark, a first-year student at Georgetown University who led the union drive at her Starbucks store back home in California, tells Teen Vogue that it's important for campuses to divest because "money talks." Clark says, "It sends a message to the greater public that we should be OK with this.” Clark goes on to say that message is not always acceptable to students and staff.

David Ramirez, a fourth-year student at UCLA and former Starbucks worker who is one of the leaders in the Students Against Starbucks movement, says campus solidarity on Red Cup Day is a turning point. "It holds a lot of significance to college students because we see the intersectionality between workers' rights and our futures. Students can't achieve social mobility in the careers we go into until people in our communities get fair wages and working conditions. All of our struggles are intersectional," Ramirez says. "A lot of students are also baristas."

The walkout comes on the heels of several successful strikes around the United States, including the UAW, SAG-AFTRA, and WGA. Ramirez says that young people now have an increased awareness of labor issues and solidarity movements will become more prevalent. "On our campus, we've been mobilizing students to show up to local picket lines and support workers,” he says. “We know that these strikes and others will benefit us ultimately because we may one day go into these fields."

link: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/starbucks-union-workers-walkout-for-red-cup-rebellion

Unions are good medicine, spurring vaccinations in their wider communities while overcoming pandemic politics

An interview to a tech worker involved in organizing struggles, talking about the state of the tech worker movement.

Last month, nearly 600 private sector doctors and other health care providers in Minnesota and Wisconsin voted to unionize — likely the biggest union of private sector doctors in the US. We talked to some of them about why.

L | ast month, doctors across sixty-one clinics in Minnesota and Wisconsin owned by the nonprofit Allina Health System elected to form a union. With around four hundred doctors in the bargaining unit — along with roughly 150 nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants — Allina doctors are likely the largest group of unionized private sector physicians in the United States, according to the New York Times.

The group voted 325-200 to unionize with Doctors Council, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, with twenty-four contested ballots. These employees are joining another unit of over a hundred doctors at Mercy Hospital in Minnesota, a two-campus facility owned by Allina Health System, who voted to unionize with Doctors Council in March; Allina is contesting that election with the National Labor Relations Board.

Allina employees complain of being understaffed and overworked and lacking input into decision-making, which they say is undermining patient care. Last week, Jacobin contributor Sara Wexler spoke with three health care providers from the recently unionized Allina clinics as well as a doctor from Mercy Hospital about their unionization efforts.

read more: https://jacobin.com/2023/11/minnesota-wisconsin-allina-health-doctors-council-health-care-unionization/

Originally in Inequality.org

Just this year, we’ve seen UPS Teamsters secure a historic $30 billion new contract that abolishes tiers and substantially raises wages. We’ve seen the UAW successfully strike for contracts that boost pay, protect benefits, and crystallize the prospect of a green auto industry.

Now, building cleaners across the country are next up to negotiate equitable deals and notch new victories for a labor movement confronting an uncertain future. On the line? Their ability to keep living and working in their home cities with ease and dignity. All told, contracts covering more than 134,000 SEIU cleaners nationwide are up for renegotiation over the next year with different SEIU locals, over half of whom belong to 32BJ SEIU locals on the east coast.

The negotiation wave is already underway — building solidarity in the process. In October, 2,000 commercial cleaners in Philadelphia won a new contract that raised wages by 18.6 percent over the course of four years, along with inflation-pegged bonuses and retirement benefits. Building cleaners from Massachusetts and Rhode Island to D.C. and Pittsburgh are organizing hard for fair agreements before their current contracts expire. And in New York, negotiations began last week for a new contract covering the 20,000 union cleaners who steward some of the most iconic buildings in the city’s skyline.

Ena Softley — a senior worker at a skyscraper in Manhattan’s Times Square, a proud member of 32BJ SEIU, and a resident of Flatbush, Brooklyn — has been cleaning buildings for 37 years. She loves her work: It’s hard, but she’s of service to people, and she feels secured by decades of union organizing. Inequality.org‘s managing editor, Bella DeVaan, caught up with Softley about her work and what’s at stake. Their conversation has been edited and condensed.

read more & links: https://ips-dc.org/building-cleaners-rally-for-fair-wages-and-life-saving-benefits/

GM Contract Will Pass By Lower Margin Than in 2019

According to the UAW’s ratification tracker, with over 31,972 votes cast, the union’s tentative agreement is passing by a margin of only 54% to 46%.

The vote margin is likely to narrow even more after votes from GM’s Lansing Delta, where 62% of the 2,100 workers at GM’s Lansing Delta plant voted no, are counted. It does appear that the contract will pass narrowly.

However, the contract will pass by a narrower margin than in 2019, when GM workers approved a tentative agreement by a margin of 57%-43%.

Many workers say they were upset that the UAW sent the current contract before even putting it up for a vote in the membership. In 2019, UAW leadership allowed members to read and debate the agreement before deciding whether to return to work. (For more on member grievances, check out our newsletter from yesterday)

For a full breakdown, check out the UAW ratification tracker.

read more & links: https://paydayreport.com/gm-contract-will-pass-by-lower-margin-than-in-2019-indian-trade-unions-refuse-to-send-guest-workers-to-israel-nurses-union-calls-for-ceasefire/

Last month, UAW President Shawn Fain was rebuked when 5,000 Mack Truck workers voted down a tentative agreement crafted by Fain. Now, it appears increasingly likely that GM workers are poised to vote down a tentative agreement once again.

With 17,000 GM workers out of 46,000 GM workers have voted so far, 51% of all GM production workers nationwide have voted against the deal, according to a tracker run by Automotive News. Increasingly, the “no vote” movement is gaining momentum within the UAW.

Last week, a majority of 4,460 at GM’s Flint plant voted against the contract. Today, it was announced that 62% of the 2,100 workers at GM’s Lansing Delta plant voted no. It was also announced today that 68% of the 3,900 workers at GM’s Spring Hill, Tennessee plant voted no.

While the UAW has publicly touted that their proposed GM contract includes a 25% wage increase, the contract cuts many popular bonuses.

Workers will no longer receive an annual $1,500 performance and quality bonuses. More significantly, when GM workers struck in 2019, they received an $11,000 signing bonus and full-back pay for their time on strike. Now, workers will receive only a $5,000 signing bonus plus back pay when they return to work.

Many UAW members are also upset that GM workers who moved away from Lordstown, Ohio, to take jobs elsewhere will not be guaranteed their jobs if they decide to return to Lordstown. Only GM workers who did not leave Lordstown will be guaranteed the right to return to GM’s electric car battery plant.

Furthermore, UAW President Shawn Fain initially promised they would win the right to work only four days a week for the same pay. However, the proposed contract does not even contain provisions against forced overtime.

Insiders say that UAW President Shawn Fain has mishandled the ratification process by ordering UAW members to return to work before the ratification vote process is finished.

Previously, the UAW allowed members time to study the contract before voting on it and deciding to return to work, creating a situation where members increasingly feel betrayed by their union leadership and are voting no.

“If you overpromise and under deliver, it’s always gonna come back to haunt you,” one senior UAW official told Payday Report. “Where you have social media, you can reach a lot of people in a hurry, and that’s been a huge game changer.”

While it remains unclear whether or not the tentative agreement will pass at GM, 81% of Stellantis members have so far voted for their agreement, and 66% of Ford workers have voted for their agreement.

Payday will have more updates tomorrow.

link: https://paydayreport.com/51-of-gm-have-voted-against-contract-w-over-17000-votes-cast/

This week, nearly 12,000 Brazilian autoworkers are celebrating a victory after a roughly two-week strike against three central factories in the suburbs outside of Sao Paulo.

The workers went on strike after G.M. illegally fired 1,244 workers on October 23rd. On Wednesday, the union celebrated as they won the cancelation of those layoffs and back pay for the three weeks they were on strike.

“Our victory of back pay and the canceling of layoffs is the fruit of the big fight that united workers at three factories and showed our force,” said Valmir Montaeo of the Metalworkers union of São José dos Campos.

G.M. workers in Brazil said that they had been closely watching following the UAW’s strike in the U.S.

“The strike of American workers served as an inspiration for Brazilians as well,” CSP-Conlutas union leader Luiz Carlos Mancha told Payday Report last month. “It inspired us because the process of reducing salaries and taking away rights is also happening in Brazil. The strike that is happening in the U.S. is a turning point in the situation.”

Brazilian and American workers have had a long relationship that has impacted trade unionists in both countries. In the 1970s and 1980s, Brazilian and American solidarity played a crucial role in toppling the dictatorship in Brazil.

Lula, who as a 19-year-old became involved in activism after losing his finger in an auto plant accident, got his start in politics as a local autoworkers’ union president in the interior of São Paulo. He coordinated a series of bold country-wide strikes in the 1980s that helped bring down the dictatorship.

To rally international support against the dictatorship, Lula built close ties with the American labor movement. She received funding from the UAW, which counts the former Brazilian president as an honorary member of the UAW.

In 1985, Bendix, once the largest employer in South Bend, Indiana, began moving its auto parts facility to Brazil. That’s when Joe Lawrence, a former UAW member, started making connections with Brazilian trade unionists.

As part of an independent delegation in 1988, Lawrence traveled to Brazil, where autoworkers had been engaged in roving wildcat strikes known as “Vaca Brava” (roughly translated from Portuguese as “mad cow”). Like mad cow diseases, the strikes spread quickly throughout Brazil.

Once, Lawrence was in a bar with autoworkers in Santo André, an industrial city outside of São Paulo, when they received news that a worker had been run over and killed by a forklift at an auto parts plant in town. The workers went on strike. The federal police were called out.

“Like everything we saw from their labor movement, this was really inspirational. They really put on a clinic,” says Lawrence. “It was stunning how militant, sophisticated and nimble the labor movement was in confronting capital and the state”.

Over the years, Lula has sought to maintain those ties, regularly speaking about UAW struggles.

During the UAW strike, Lula met with striking autoworkers and voiced his support for the strike while on a trip to the U.N. in New York.

In September, before launching the “joint U.S.-Brazilian partnership to promote workers’ rights,” Lula met with U.S. President Joe Biden and encouraged him to join the strike. A week later, Biden would walk the picket line with UAW workers.

An excited Lula took to Twitter to praise Biden.

“Yesterday I had a moment of great happiness, I saw the president of the United States, Joe Biden, with the megaphone during a workers’ strike; this, after we discussed a project of dignity in the world of work between Brazil and the United States, in New York,” said Lula on Twitter at the time.

For decades, Brazilian workers have come to the U.S. to show solidarity with American workers organizing at multinationals. This group includes the Brazilian Renault Nissan workers that Payday covered in Canton, Mississippi 2017, who had been traveling to Mississippi for more than a decade to help workers organize there.

In late September, a video of Miguel Torres, the president of the 1.9 million member union federation Força Sindical and close advisor to Lula, leading hundreds of Brazilian autoworkers in a chant of solidarity with striking American UAW members, went viral, garnering more than 200,000 views on Twitter.

read more: https://paydayreport.com/inspired-by-uaw-victory-12000-brazilian-gm-workers-win-17-day-strike/

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