WGA authorizes strike, UPS negotiations started this week, and other headlines you may have missed
US labor news: April 16-22, 2023
Welcome back to Words About Work, a weekly digest of US labor news. Apologies to my subscribers who expected to see this post up this morning - I’m in the midst of packing and preparing for a trip to Northern California early this next week to work on a labor story for The Real News Network Podcast. (It’s gonna be dope, I hope you’ll check it out once we get it up on the site).
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Alright, plenty of cool things happened last week, so let’s crack into it.
Here are some of the headlines you may have missed last week.
Writers Guild of America authorized a strike, with strike deadline set May 1st.
Last Monday, the results of the WGA strike authorization vote were made public. Nearly 80% of WGA members voted on the strike authorization, with nearly 98% voting in favor of a strike. The authorization comes in the midst of heated negotiations between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). If a tentative agreement isn’t reached by the May 1st deadline, then more than 11,000 writers will walk out on strike for the first time since 2007.
To get a great breakdown of what’s been happening, check out this article from LA Progressive. Should workers walk out May 1st, you can expect me to bring you updates from the picket lines, straight to my Twitter account and here on Substack.
Organizers with the UCFW talk organizing the cannabis industry in Reddit AMA
To celebrate 4/20 last week, organizers held a Reddit AMA to talk organizing the cannabis industry in the US. The conversation was great! You can check out the entire AMA here.
U.S. labor unions called for a halt to railroad stock buybacks and overhaul of safety regs
If you’ve followed any of my work over the last year and a half, I’ve been on the railroad labor beat for most of it. In the aftermath of the East Palestine, Ohio derailment disaster, the pressure on the rail carriers continues to increase. US labor unions have called for a halt to rail operator stock buybacks until the industry’s safety regulations have been completely overhauled and Precision Scheduled Railroading—which rail workers have repeatedly told me are the source of many of the railroad industry’s problems—is thrown to the wayside. Read an update from Reuters here.
UPS Teamsters kick off national contract negotiations with rallies across the country
The national negotiating team landed in Washington, DC last week to begin negotiations for a national contract with UPS. Over 330,000 workers are represented by this contract, which expires July 31st. If negotiators cannot reach an agreement before the deadline, the resulting strike could be one of the largest national strikes we’ll see this year. According to reporting by Business Insider, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien isn’t pulling any punches at the negotiating table.
In order to avoid a promised strike, O'Brien has said he wants better pay for part-time workers, an end to a lower-paid classification of weekend drivers, and a list of other demands. He also won't accept a contract that is "cost-neutral" for UPS — meaning it keeps the expense to the company the same, he said.
To get regular updates about the Teamsters UPS fight, and to hear the details about how we got here, take a look at The Upsurge Podcast, hosted by good friend and regular TRNN contributor Teddy Ostrow and produced by Ruby Walsh. It’s fantastic, worth a listen.
Members of Oakland, CA teachers’ union voting to authorize a strike
The Oakland teachers’ union has been in the midst of negotiations with the Oakland Unified School District, and have put a strike authorization before their membership.
According to reporting by NBC,
Members of the Oakland Education Association “are currently voting on whether to authorize a strike,” the union said. “While OEA has not confirmed if or when a strike might happen, we have reason to believe that - if it does occur - it could start as early as Monday, May 1.”
US hotel workers face unwelcome guests: union busters hired by bosses
Former TRNN contributor and esteemed colleague Michael Sainato wrote this fantastic piece outlining the struggles that hotel workers at luxury resorts in California’s wine country are facing as they try to organize for better working conditions in the midst of the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Worth a read.
SEIU appeals Prop. 22 challenge to California Supreme Court
The Service Employees International Union and rideshare drivers have appealed their challenge to Proposition 22 in California, which classified rideshare drivers as independent contractors. The 2020 law was previously upheld in a lower court. According to reporting by the LA Times,
“Uber, Lyft and Doordash have used Prop. 22 to carve out gig workers from our state’s workers compensation system and deprive those same workers of paid sick leave, meaningful health care coverage, overtime pay and more,” said David Huerta, President of SEIU California and SEIU United Service Workers West in an emailed statement on Friday.
West Coast Longshore Workers reach tentative agreement on “certain items,” negotiations still ongoing
According to recent reporting,
On Thursday, the International Longshore Workers Union (ILWU) announced that it had reached a tentative agreement with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) “on certain key issues,” with both sides agreeing “not to discuss the terms” while negotiations continue.
“[T]alks are continuing on an ongoing basis until an agreement is reached” regarding health benefits, as well as the broader collective bargaining agreement covering 22,000 longshore workers at 29 U.S. West Coast ports, the statement continued. The two sides committed to sharing major negotiation milestones in the future, but won’t provide more detailed public statements.
You can find the full details of the negotiations linked above.
Striking U-Mich grad workers detailed after approaching school president at dinner
Last week, striking graduate workers were detained outside a restaurant after they attempted to approach University of Michigan president Santa Ono while he was out to dinner. Earlier that day, striking graduate workers reported that they were notified that their pay would be docked.
To read recent reporting about this latest escalation against U-Mich workers, check out this link.
AFL-CIO steps up support campaign for Labor Secretary nom Julie Su
As a committee vote to advance Su’s nomination to the floor looms, the AFL-CIO has stepped up their campaign of support. To read a full breakdown of the conversations happening in DC, check out this reporting.
Last Week in Union Elections
45 petitions have been filed for union elections in the last week. Here are a few notable updates:
Medieval Times Workers are voting on a union next week
Sound and Lighting techs at Medieval Times in Buena Park, CA received their notice of election last week, with an election scheduled for April 26th. 14 techs requested to form a union with IATSE Local 504 in late March.
5 more Starbucks stores have filed this week—
35 maintenance employees at The University of New Haven in Connecticut have filed for representation with UNITE HERE Local 217
100 library employees at Dartmouth College have filed for representation with AFSCME Council 93
Booksellers at Barnes and Noble have filed for representation in Massachusetts. (As a former B&N bookseller, all I can add to this is fuck. yes.)
Employees at Ben & Jerry’s in Burlington, VT have requested voluntary recognition of their newly formed Scoopers United union. You can get updates on their organizing at their Twitter account.
That’s it for me this week, folks.
Next week’s digest will be coming a little off schedule, as I’m headed off to San Diego next Friday to join a panel on labor and media for The Progressive Labor Summit. If you don’t see it until Monday morning, then hey—you’ll get something inspiring to read before you head out for your individual May Day celebrations. :D
If you’ve got a tip that you’d like me to include about something labor-related that’s happening in your neck of the woods, shoot me a message. Best way to reach me is via my work email, mel@therealnews.com, or on my Twitter account.
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As always, thanks for your support, and much love and solidarity to you all,
Mel
This is great, thank you Mel!
Lovely. Thank you!!