Last Week in Labor: March 17-24, 2024
We're back at it, folks. Here's some headlines you might have missed.
Happy Spring, folks. Wanted to take a moment at the top of this email to thank everyone for their follows and support. On a personal note, the last few months have been fairly busy—I’ve been engaged in some intense internal organizing in support of Palestine and learning the ropes of a new leadership position at my local Newsguild shop following our last round of bargaining. Now that I’ve settled back into work, we’re bringing back the weekly round-up
In addition to the usual headlines, updates, and quick looks at the data, I’m also including important analysis and commentary written by my fellow colleagues in the labor movement and a short brief at the end of things to look out for in labor the coming months. NOTE: If you’ve got something you’d like to see in the digest, send me a note and I’ll make sure to add it next week.
Keep an eye for other types of posts on this newsletter, as well—I’m trying to expand this newsletter with more content that I can’t find a home for elsewhere. I’ve got an armful of great labor books I’ve been picking through, for example, and some wonderful recent episodes of this country’s best labor podcasts to share. Stay tuned, and as always, thanks for sticking around.
Notable News in Labor
IATSE NegCom Update: Some TAs reached, Negotiations Continue with the AMPTP
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) continued their 2024 negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) this week, with the main focus on individual negotiations between the AMPTP and the 13 West Coast Studio Locals.
According to their most recent update on 22 March, 3 Locals have reached tentative agreements with the AMPTP - Locals 600, 729, and 800. Negotiations with the remaining 10 locals will continue in the coming weeks. We should expect to see regular updates from the union, as bargaining is expected to continue well into April.
From International Vice President Mike Miller,
“I commend the Negotiating Committees of Locals 600, 729 and 800 for their work. The fact that tentative agreements were reached shows that the multi-faceted preparation work done by all our West Coast Studio Locals going into these talks is paying dividends.”
All eyes are on these negotiations after multiple entertainment strikes paralyzed Hollywood last year - members of SAG-AFTRA and WGA were prominent among the supporters standing in solidarity with IATSE craftspeople at their negotiations kick-off rally in Los Angeles earlier this month.
TWU Local 555 Ratifies "Excellent and Well-Deserved” contract with Southwest Airlines
TWU Local 555, which represents approximately 19,500 Ramp, Operations, Provisioning, and Freight Agents of Southwest Airlines, ratified a new 5-year contract on 21 March. According to a release by the local:
Ramp, Operations, Provisioning, and Freight Agents will get raises ranging from 14.4% to 46%. The average increase is more than 18%.
“This is a good day for our hardworking members at Southwest,” Transport Workers Union Executive Vice President Alex Garcia said. “This contract between The TWU and Southwest provides best in-the industry wages, bonus payments and other significant economic gains. It’s an excellent well-deserved agreement.”
The contract was ratified 78% to 22%.
To get a better sense of some of the contract highlights, you can view their press release here.
Georgia GOP-Passed Bill Removes Employer Right to Recognize Unions Right Away
In a not-so-fun update, the GOP-lead assault on workers’ rights continues:
Senate Bill 362 passed the legislature on Wednesday. Kemp has indicated support for the bill and even pushed for the measure’s passage at the beginning of the legislative session, errantly claiming that the bill would empower workers as it would encourage new businesses in the state to allow secret ballot votes for unionizing workers.
However, the measure takes away a method of unionization called a “card check,” in which workers in support of unionizing sign a card and hand deliver it to the employer. Doing so can indicate to the owner that it’s in their best interest to avoid a lengthy voting process and push them to recognize a union right away.
Bernie Sanders Introduces Legislation to Finally Guarantee Paid Vacation to U.S. Workers
On the heels of Sanders’ 32-hour work week legislation comes another bill that would guarantee workers the right to earn paid annual vacation leave.
“It is time to end the international embarrassment of the United States being the only major country on Earth not to guarantee paid vacation days to workers,” said Sen. Sanders.
To read the full press release, check out this link.
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago will voluntarily recognize worker union
About 100 workers organized MCA Workers United, represented by AFSCME Council 31. According to local reporting,
In a joint announcement Friday, the museum and new union said they had begun a process for employees to submit signed union cards to a third party for verification. Once verified, the museum will recognize the union, and they will prepare to begin negotiating a contract.
Long Beach Post, Business Journal lay of 9 of 14 staffers amid union campaign
On Friday, 22 March, the Long Beach Post and Long Beach Business Journal laid off two-thirds of their staff just days after employees signaled they were unionizing. According to local reporting, the news came as pro-union employees were on the second day of a two-day walkout.
Jason Ruiz, a city hall and government reporter at both publications who did not lose his job, said the cuts “will make it impossible to provide any quality journalism going forward.”
St. Louis-area cannabis workers win the right to review ballots in union election
From local reporting,
Employees at BeLeaf Medical’s Sinse Cannabis site in St. Louis moved a step closer to unionizing last week, when their employer’s efforts to block union election votes from being counted were rebuffed by a federal labor official.
Since September, BeLeaf leaders have argued before the National Labor Relations Board that the employees weren’t eligible to unionize because they were agricultural workers – who are not protected under federal labor law.
UMaine Graduate Workers Union to host rally amidst contract negotiation with administrative bargaining team
(Editor’s note: we’ve got LOTS of great graduate worker news recently. Good things coming from that sector)
The University of Maine Graduate Worker Union (UMGWU) is hosting a rally on March 26 at 1:30 p.m. to raise awareness of the grievances concerning rent and food expenses and advocate for fair wages, childcare accessibility, parental leave and rights for international workers.
[…]
As union members prepare to negotiate the terms of their contract with the administration at the bargaining session, they are optimistic that a unified assembly outside the finalized location will demonstrate solidified support and guide university officials in adopting amenable decisions.
Boston University grad workers vote to strike on Monday, 25 March
The Boston University graduate workers union voted Wednesday to go on strike Monday afternoon if they do not reach a contract agreement with the university.
The union, which represents roughly 3,000 graduate student workers at BU, voted last week to authorize the strike after a longstanding battle with the university over fair pay and stronger benefits, including health care coverage and child care assistance.
Georgetown Resident Assistants Announce unionization effort, request university recognition
The Georgetown Resident Assistant Coalition (GRAC) announced their intention to unionize under OPEIU Local 153 via a press release on March 22. Their reasons for unionizing include demands for equitable and just compensation, as well as a formal grievance process in response to the mistreatment of some RAs by management. Organizers began working toward unionization efforts in February, and the majority of RAs have signed a petition in favor of forming a union. Under Georgetown’s Just Employment Policy, “all working members” of the Georgetown community have the right to organize.
Unionized editorial workers at Law360 halt work for 24 hours after colleagues were laid off in violation of labor law
Unionized editorial workers, represented by The NewsGuild of New York at LexisNexis-owned Law360, walked off the job this week in a 24-hour work stoppage to protest layoffs that violate labor law.
Just a month ago, LexisNexis executives congratulated themselves on the company achieving its highest revenue growth in decades. The same day, management announced they would lay off 26 members of the Law360 Union.
Analysis and Commentary
The Valley Labor Report: “Brandon Mancilla on Why Peace is a Labor Issue”
LaborNotes/Carl Rosen: “UE Demand for Ceasefire Was Built on Decades of Membership Education and Debate”
It’s been nearly six months since the start of Israel’s brutal retaliation against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank. More than half of the US labor movement has called for a ceasefire in the region. Carl Rosen has a breakdown of how the United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE) mobilized quickly and decisively in the wake of Oct 7 to call for a ceasefire.
A notable quote from this great piece:
Why were UE members ready to act? We educate our membership on the issues, discuss and debate them in a democratic fashion, and our members make union policy at conventions held every two years.
Our foreign policy resolution, “For Jobs, Peace, and a Pro-Worker Foreign Policy,” which includes a demand that the U.S. end all military aid to Israel, was reaffirmed at our 78th convention last September. Several delegates spoke passionately from the floor about the importance of labor solidarity with the Palestinian people.
You can read the full analysis here.
The Valley Labor Report/Jacob Morrison: “Shawn Fain EVISCERATES Anti-Worker Arguments in 32-Hour Workweek Hearing.”
The Seattle Times/Editorial Board: “Boeing labor contract is opportunity for overdue culture change”
“Boeing needs a top-to-bottom change of culture, and it can start by rebuilding its relationship with its touch-labor union,” wrote Leeham News and Analysis, which follows aerospace.
It took a long time for Boeing to tumble to its reputational and financial depth. It will take a long time to return to respect and admiration, let alone assurance that the plane you’re about to board has been put through the most rigorous safety assessment and maintenance.
Boeing cannot do so with a cadre of bean-counters and Wall Street suck-ups leading the charge. It is the people who design and manufacture these technological marvels who ought to be valued above all others.
Jacobin/Eric Blanc: “Workplace Fragmentation Demands New Organizing Strategies”
With its impressive strike victory last fall and now a promising drive to organize nonunion auto plants, the United Auto Workers is raising hopes for labor’s revival in the United States. Those hopes were further buoyed by the Starbucks workers’ union recently getting the company to agree to bargain a first contract. These events are bright spots against a dark background of decades of declining union density, which dipped even further in 2023.
What will it take to revive labor’s fortunes? Many have naturally looked for lessons to the heroic era of the 1930s, when American unions made their breakthrough organizing workers by the millions across industries. Yet the US economy has undergone major structural changes in the past century, fragmenting workers across a greater number of smaller workplaces and dispersing them more widely in geographic terms — and thereby posing novel challenges for labor organizers.
In an interview last month for Jacobin Radio podcast Behind the News, Doug Henwood interviewed labor scholar Eric Blanc about this structural transformation and what it means for labor strategy today. This transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Unions by the Numbers
Last week, there were 60 filings for union representation across the United States. Here are some that stood out to me.
Workers at a Wells Fargo location in Florida filed for representation with CWA; they join other locations who have unionized in recent months
At least 8 new filings from Starbucks stores around the country
Ski and snowboard instructors in Snoqualmie Pass, WA organized the Snoqualmie Snowsports Union
To get a breakdown of influential and recent rulings by the NLRB, check Matt Bruenig’s new blog, NLRB Edge. Looks like a solid new publication that gives the context you need to understand some of the finer points.
Looking Ahead
For this first newsletter reboot, I don’t have too many items to add here.
It’s my hope that folks who read this will reach out and give me updates on upcoming comings and goings in the labor movement.
If you’ve got a…
workshop,
seminar,
panel,
conference,
labor action,
strike,
protest
walkout,
negotiation,
sit-in,
or other item you’d like eyes on, shoot me a message.
I’ll add it here and get it front of folks who might be able to join you in solidarity. Seriously. Send me a message. Shoot me an email at mel.buer.reports@gmail.com or mel@therealnews.com, send me a DM on Twitter, send out your last carrier pigeon. If I get the message, I’ll add it to the digest.
That’s it for me, folks. I’ll see you next Monday.
In solidarity,
Mel Buer