Posts tagged Alabama
As Alabama coal miners strike nears end, a look at why it started, and how it failed
March 2, 2023 // After 700 days, hundreds of striking coal miners in Brookwood, Alabama will be returning to work soon — but without the better contract that they’ve been fighting to get. The United Mine Workers of America, the union at the center of the purported longest strike in Alabama’s history, asked Warrior Met Coal to allow the miners to return to work at the company’s four locations starting Thursday. The decision was announced in a Feb. 16 press release. “The status quo is not good for our members and their families,” said UMWA president Cecil Roberts in the statement. “I sincerely hope that Warrior Met leadership will accept this offer, get our members back to work, engage in good faith bargaining and finally sit down face-to-face with us to resolve this dispute for the betterment of all concerned.”
Labor union wants more SC auto workers, manufacturers split on response
January 18, 2023 // The UAW has about 55,000 members working in the southern states — about 15 percent of union active members nationwide — building Daimler trucks in North Carolina, SUVs in Tennessee, and automotive and airplane parts in Alabama. About 2,500 members live in South Carolina, but most are retirees or surviving spouses. The number of working UAW members in South Carolina statewide is 364. Palmetto state’s lack of members is consistent with the state’s overall ranking of having the lowest percentage of unionized workers nationwide — just 2 percent, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Workers try to unionize largest Amazon Air Hub in the world
December 7, 2022 // Ritze says an organizing committee of about 10 people is busy recruiting more people to learn about the union. "We're just really expanding that larger group around us right now ‒ across the different shifts and everything," he said. There are currently no national unions taking the local effort under their wing. The NLRB will conduct an election if at least 30% of workers sign cards or a petition saying they want a union. Then, if the majority of people vote in favor of a union, collective bargaining can begin. Alternatively, a workplace may voluntarily recognize a union.
Right-to-Work battle looms in Michigan: Businesses fear repeal by Democrats
December 5, 2022 // Michigan business groups are wary of Democrats’ calls to repeal Right-to-Work laws when they take charge in Lansing early next year, saying the state instead should focus on economic policies that attract jobs. Business Leaders for Michigan, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and chamber leaders from the state’s two largest cities — Detroit and Grand Rapids — all urge caution. But Democrats — who are backed heavily by unions including the Michigan Education Association and United Auto Workers — say the move prioritizes workers and labor rights.
A new union is born in the South
December 1, 2022 // USSW workers and staff are bullish on their new union, believing that its fusion of labor and human rights organizing will help them secure livable wages, stronger safety protections, control over their work schedules, and new respect for the African Americans and Latinos who make up the majority of their members. They are encouraged by the growing public approval for labor unions and the increase in worker protest during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among essential or frontline workers. They are also building off of nine years of organizing through Raise Up — the Southern expression of the Fight for $15 and a Union and an affiliate of the sprawling Service Employees International Union. Raise Up veterans like Gas and Smalls, and the Durham, North Carolina-based Ieisha Franceis and Jamila Allen, will be critical to the USSW's success. Beginning in September 2020 and continuing over the next year, Franceis and Allen led three walkouts that forced their employer, Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, to agree to their demands for raises, paid leave for employees in quarantine, and new sanitation procedures. Franceis was initially hesitant about striking, but she trusted the much younger and more soft-spoken Allen, who had been meeting with Raise Up organizers for a year and gently prodding her coworkers to take collective action.
Longshoremen strike CSA operations at the Port of Mobile after mediation falls apart
November 28, 2022 // The International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1410 began striking CSA Equipment Company’s breakbulk operations at the Port of Mobile Tuesday, less than a month after the two sides agreed to federal mediation. There are four main issues at the heart of negotiations between the local chapter of the union and the stevedoring company: line handling (tying up vessels), retroactive payments to the union’s pension plan, the number of workers per unit and jurisdiction over stevedoring operations at the port. Currently, non-union workers can tie up vessels that union workers are contracted to unload with CSA, something that the union wants to change. Bass says the union wants to control line-handling for any vessels that they unload, which the union says was the case in the past. Line-handling control means more man-hours for union workers, Bass says, which is important because stevedoring work isn’t consistent. SSA Marine and Cooper/T. Smith,
19 Republican governors oppose proposed Project Labor Agreement rule
October 31, 2022 // Nineteen Republican governors wrote a letter to President Joe Biden (D) on October 17, 2022, opposing a proposed federal rule to mandate the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for federal construction projects. The letter was signed by governors from Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming. The proposed rule follows an executive order that was signed by Biden in February 2022 that aimed to require PLAs for large-scale construction projects. A group of Republican governors wrote a letter in April 2022 opposing the executive order, arguing that it granted a monopoly to unions and discouraged competition. The proposed rule would amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the executive order and mandate the use of PLAs for federal construction contracts exceeding $35 million.
WestRock Paper Mill preparing for lockout
October 7, 2022 // A strike could be on the horizon for workers at one of Russell County’s largest employers. The employees say their issue is not wanting more money, but keeping what they already get
Alabama GE workers look to unionize Auburn aviation plant
August 24, 2022 // Marcus Durrell, Donna Rawlinson,
Former union official admits to embezzling workers’ funds
August 18, 2022 // Kelley later admitted to making 46 unauthorized electronic transfers from the union’s checking account totaling $14,255. He also admitted to embezzling $3,243 through nine checks and counter withdrawals. In addition, Kelley admitted that he made 23 unauthorized transactions totaling $514 from a debit card that was linked to the union’s checking account. Finally, Kelley admitted that he forged the signature of Local 7750 President Michael Freeman on at least 11 checks made out to himself.