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In the News
Norfolk City Council denies collective bargaining request from Police Benevolent Association
November 29, 2023 // Councilmembers Courtney Doyle, Mamie Johnson, Danica Royster, Martin Thomas and Mayor Kenny Alexander voted to adopt the measure declining collective bargaining. Councilmembers Andria McClellan, J.P. Paige and Tommy Smigiel voted against the ordinance. The ordinance included that City Council decline collective bargaining “at this time” and also included the creation of at least four “employee committees,” which will meet with the city manager. Input from the employee committees will be factored into City Council’s budget discussions, according to city documents.
UAW Wage Gains Filter Over to Non-Union Workers
November 29, 2023 // Volkswagen of America and Nissan are joining the cluster of non-union automakers offering their employees double-digit pay raises in the wake of contract settlements negotiated by the UAW in the wake of the union’s so-called “Stand-up Strike.” Both companies are no strangers to tangling with the UAW, fighting off organizing efforts within the past decade. VW, with the help of Tennessee’s Republican political establishment, blocked a UAW organizing drive by fewer than 100 votes in a 2019 vote supervised by the National Labor Relations Board. Nissan defeated a 2017 organizing effort in Canton, MS, by a 2-to-1 margin in a drive undermined by corruption charges which were then haunting the union. Earlier this year, Nissan says it defeated an International Association of Machinists effort to organize tool-and-die makers employed at the company’s manufacturing plant in Smyrna, TN, in a vote supervised by the NLRB.
Buffalo Starbucks Baristas Blast National Labor Relations Board’s Move to Trap Workers in Union at Court of Appeals
November 29, 2023 // “Given the biases of the current Board, it is disheartening ― but not surprising ― to see the NLRB claim Cortes’ petition is the product of Starbucks’ alleged unfair labor practices,” the brief states. “Its own records show that nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, Cortes collected her petition because of the Union’s anti-employee behavior.” The employees’ brief also contends that the relief NLRB lawyers are seeking from the Second Circuit – a 10(j) injunction under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) that will force Starbucks managers into working with SBWU union bosses to craft a monopoly bargaining contract – is extreme. Such injunctions can only be ordered when the harm done to workers in their absence would be “irreparable.” Foundation attorneys argue that the fact that Cortes and other employees have attempted to decertify does not make any injuries suffered by the union “irreparable.” “The NLRB’s argument it needs an injunction to suppress decertification efforts already underway―which have already garnered majority support―is a tacit admission it is seeking to alter the status quo, not preserve it,” states the brief.
Video: This is just bailing out the pension plans: Diana Furchtgott-Roth
November 28, 2023 // How come the Teamster bosses put enough money in the union bosses" pension plan, but the plan for their worker members went bankrupt? Former Labor Department chief economist Diana Furchtgott-Roth discusses the report that teamsters pension allegedly took $127M from U.S. taxpayers for nearly 3,500 dead people on ‘The Evening Edit.’
Calhoun Republic Services Workers Vote to Unionize
November 28, 2023 // "I voted to become a Teamster because I want a voice to better my career,” said six-year Republic employee Michael Shipley, a roll-off driver and organizing committee member. “I am ready to fight for a fair contract to improve our workplace and give us the respect we deserve.” Union organizers claim the company employed several "union-busting" tactics during the process.
Buena Park Medieval Times Employees Request Vote to Banish AGVA Union Bosses from Castle
November 28, 2023 // “It’s becoming increasingly clear that the AGVA union’s reign over Medieval Times performers resembles a ruthless tyrant more interested in promoting union bosses’ power than what is best for rank-and-file employees,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “If AGVA union bosses really do have the support they claim they do among Medieval Times employees, they should simply let them exercise their right to vote as opposed to engaging in legal maneuvers to stop it from happening.”
Southwest, American Airlines passengers face looming winter woes
November 28, 2023 // "We're behind the industry in every area you can think of in our contract. So we're asking for quite a bit. Obviously, wages, retirement, disability. One of the big pillars that other airlines didn't have a huge issue with, but we do, is our scheduling system," Santoro said.
What to know about the ‘Make Amazon Pay’ strike campaign
November 27, 2023 // An organizer with GMB Union, a U.K.-based labor union, described the effort as “the largest day of industrial disruption in Amazon’s thirty-year history.” The effort garnered support from more than 400 lawmakers from 38 countries for a protest in 2020, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and former U.K. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Supporters also planned protests at Amazon facilities in Massachusetts, Georgia and Illinois. Outside the U.S., organizers planned protest action in Japan, India and throughout Europe, including Germany, France, Spain and the U.K. Hundreds of workers were striking Friday at warehouses in Coventry, U.K., and in multiple German cities, Reuters reported.
Schools in Portland, Oregon, reach tentative deal with teachers union after nearly month-long strike
November 27, 2023 // Students last attended school on Halloween. The deal would provide educators with a 13.8% cumulative cost-of-living increase over the next three years and about half of all educators would earn an extra 10.6% from yearly step increases, PPS said. The agreement would also add classroom time for elementary and middle grades starting next year and increase teacher planning time by 90 minutes each week for elementary and middle-aged classrooms.
Unions accept contract offer, ending strike at Northern Maine pulp manufacturer
November 27, 2023 // Other terms of the contract, according to the unions, are general wage increases of 4% in the first year and 3% in each of the second and third years; an end to a tiered vacation system, allowing all employees to cap out with a fifth week of vacation; an immediate "equity adjustment" of 30 cents to $1 an hour for employees in the bottom five water and steam plant classifications; and a contract ratification bonus of $750. The mill, which employs approximately 300 workers in total, is owned by St. Croix Tissue Co., based in Canada, whose parent company, The International Grand Investment Corp., is a U.S.-based company held by a Chinese investment firm.
Kansas City is quickly becoming the hub for a Half Price Books union effort
November 27, 2023 // Employees at Westport's Half Price Books voted to unionize on Nov. 17. Overland Park employees unionized in July. If workers at the Olathe store vote to unionize later this month, Half Price Books Workers United will have organized about 10% of the company. Twelve workers at Kansas City’s Half Price Books in Westport unanimously won a Nov. 17 vote to unionize, making them the 11th unionized store in the country.
NYPD officer sues city, claiming years of sexual abuse by union
November 27, 2023 // In a lawsuit filed Wednesday afternoon, Officer Meaghan Ciotti, 39, said Officer Jamie Angelastro demanded sexual favors from her, threatened her with his gun, strangled her and violently raped her. Ciotti said she has suffered from migraines, neck pain, panic attacks and crippling fear because of the alleged abuse. The suit comes a day before the deadline for the Adult Survivors Act, a state law that provides an extra year for people to file sexual assault lawsuits past the statute of limitations, in civil court.
Seattle: Local Macy’s employees go on strike during busiest shopping weekend of the year
November 27, 2023 // Strikes happened outside the Macy’s stores at Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham, Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood, and Southcenter Mall in Tukwila.
Medieval Times Workers End Their Strike
November 27, 2023 // The workers’ union said it had submitted an unconditional offer to return to work and that Medieval Times had accepted. The castle’s show cast and knights first walked off the job back in February after accusing the company of committing unfair labor practices, including trying to silence them on social media. Workers at the Buena Park castle have been trying to bargain a first contract since joining the American Guild of Variety Artists more than a year ago. The union said in a statement that the call to end the strike was “a decision we did not make lightly,” and thanked “the thousands of guests, union members, and community allies” who showed their solidarity.
Employee Advocate Blasts Proposed Labor Department Rule Rigging Visa Program in Favor of Union Organizers
November 26, 2023 // Foundation attorneys have a track record of providing free legal aid to farmworkers who want to free themselves from the control of union bosses. In 2016, Foundation staff attorneys won a decision upholding Pennsylvania-based Kaolin Mushroom Farms employees’ decisive vote to remove union bosses who had argued in favor of maintaining a seven-year restriction on the workers’ right to vote. Foundation attorneys have also filed amicus briefs in recent years defending California and North Carolina agricultural employees’ Right to Work in various cases. The Department of Labor’s notice of rulemaking on temporary farmworkers comes as the Biden Administration is making a full court press to expand union boss legal privileges across the country. The Biden National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is currently in rulemaking devising regulations that will make it more difficult for American private sector workers to exercise their right to remove unwanted unions, while giving union officials more tools to gain power in a workplace without even a vote.
Biden’s labor proxy war against DeSantis
November 22, 2023 // Su is abusing her discretionary power under the Federal Transit Act. Yet if her actions are allowed to stand, labor unions may come to regret it. Future administrations may interpret the “fair and equitable” provision to require that states enact policies like Florida’s. States such as California, New York, and Illinois may suddenly find themselves out billions of dollars unless they stop giving unions unfair advantages and start protecting public-sector workers’ rights. Those states would surely argue that the Federal Transit Act doesn’t grant the secretary of labor such sweeping authority, but if that’s true, then the Biden administration’s assault on Florida is equally wrong.
White House scrubs webpage showing how taxpayers fund union activities
November 22, 2023 // The OPM, which oversees federal employment and recruiting, removed both the webpage and reports assembled over the past two decades analyzing how much taxpayer money is spent funding union activities. Additionally, OPM appears to have stopped assembling official time reports, which have historically been published every few years during the past four presidential administrations since 1998. "If federal employees are going to be legally permitted to engage in union work while on-the-clock, the very least taxpayers are owed is an accurate accounting of the associated costs," Maxford Nelsen, the director of research and government affairs at free market think tank Freedom Foundation, told Fox News Digital.
Janus had a large impact on union membership, five years later
November 22, 2023 //
Wages are rising. Jobs are plentiful. Nobody’s happy.
November 21, 2023 //
Boarded The Teachers’ Union Takeover of NY School Districts
November 21, 2023 // NYSUT’s involvement in state and federal elections is well-documented, but the low turnout in New York’s generally nonpartisan school board elections has given it an even bigger opportunity. The union also isn’t stopping with school boards: its electoral efforts involve elevating members to local, state and federal office, positions from which union members could eventually affect every facet of education policy. The system of campaign finance rules that regulate everything from elections for governor down to town assessors does not cover school board elections.