Posts tagged Austin
National Right to Work Foundation Urges TX Supreme Court to Nix Scheme Directing Taxpayer Funds to Union Boss Activities
March 6, 2023 // Landmark Janus Decision Shows How Union Bosses Use “Official Time” to Prop Up Union Politics The Foundation points out in its amicus brief the Janus Court’s holding that union monopoly bargaining activities “constitute speech and petitioning on matters of political…concern,” and that by funneling taxpayer money into such speech “the City is effectively paying individuals to lobby the City for a private advocacy organization and its members.” “The notion that this political advocacy predominantly serves a public purpose, as opposed to predominantly benefiting the private organization, is untenable,” the brief reads.
National Right to Work Foundation Urges TX Supreme Court to Nix Scheme Directing Taxpayer Funds to Union Boss Activities
March 3, 2023 // The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation has just submitted an amicus brief in Roger Borgelt v. City of Austin, a case before the Texas Supreme Court. The case challenges a scheme in which the City of Austin directs taxpayer dollars to Austin Firefighters Association (IAFF) union officials to conduct union business on so-called “official time.” The petitioners, including the State of Texas, maintain that this arrangement violates the Texas Constitution’s Gift Clauses, which forbid payouts of taxpayer funds that do not serve a legitimate public purpose. The case is currently on appeal from the Texas Third Court of Appeals.
YouTube Music Workers Strike in Austin Over ‘Anti-Union’ Return-to-Office Mandate
February 24, 2023 // Gossell and Marschner are upset that Google, whom they see as their employer, has deferred to Cognizant. “I’ve gone through Google training. I go through their security training. I go through their ethics training…. [But] if we want to negotiate over pay, they say, ‘Pay is based on the contract we have with Google, so we can’t bargain over that.'” Marschner says. The employees, affiliated with the Alphabet Workers Union, which has never held a strike, are awaiting National Labor Relations Board decisions on their election petition and the two Unfair Labor Practice complaints. “It’s going to be a long labor movement, because we’re not stopping until we have a union,” Gossell says. Referring to recent union activity at Amazon, Disney and Tesla, he adds: “I’m not saying we’re the tip of the spear, but we’re part of something bigger that’s going on in America. All you have to do is pick up a history book to see how this ends.”
Google contractors in Austin strike for better union practices
February 22, 2023 // The release went on to detail that if workers are forced to return to the office, they are "faced with 'voluntarily termination' for being unable to physically show up at the office." During the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the employees were hired remotely and do not live close enough to the Austin office to commute on a regular basis. "At $19/hr, workers are not paid enough to afford gas, childcare and other costs related to in-person work. The current RTO mandate is an attempt to derail union organizing and for the striking YouTube Music workers, the ULP strike is the only thing protecting their jobs," the release stated.
La Colombe baristas at Gold Coast coffee shop vote to unionize in unanimous election
January 25, 2023 // Baristas at La Colombe’s 955 W. Randolph St. location in the West Loop were scheduled to vote on unionization Tuesday, but the election was postponed due to COVID-19, Blado confirmed. The count will be rescheduled as soon as possible, she said. Elections for two more locations, at 858 Armitage Ave. and at 5158 N. Clark St. are scheduled to take place next week. Baristas at the company’s Wicker Park location have not moved to unionize. La Colombe baristas said Monday they were inspired by union efforts at other coffee shops. Workers at about 10 area Starbucks have voted to unionize since last January. Colectivo Coffee and Intelligentsia Coffee workers in Chicago are unionized with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; Intelligentsia baristas ratified their first collective bargaining agreement at the end of last year.
YouTube Music contractors vote to unionize
October 26, 2022 // The AWU-CWA says it "won't stop organizing until all Alphabet workers (full-time, temporary, vendor and contract workers) have dignity on the job, the pay and benefits we deserve, and a seat at the table."
Sodexo workers from 2 airlines at Austin airport plan to unionize
October 12, 2022 // “We’re excited to see Sodexo workers at the Austin airport stand up for themselves and we support their call for a fair process to decide on a union,” UNITE HERE Local 23 organizer Aileen Bazan said in the release. “Hospitality workers in Texas know there’s no better time than now to demand respect for the work we do.” UNITE HERE said it represents other food service workers at AUS from HMS Host, Delaware North and LSG Sky Chefs. The group’s union workers receive regular wage increases, affordable healthcare and other benefits with their union contract, the group said.
Via 313 Pizzeria workers vote to unionize
August 9, 2022 // Workers like Xochitl Stauffer said they have more bargaining leverage now that the labor market is tight. “Service work is the backbone of the country right now,” Stauffer said, “and because of COVID so many people have passed away and the labor market is really tight right now, so we have the leverage to ask for better pay, to ask for sick pay and be better respected as workers.” In January, workers alleged that restaurant management was endangering their health by not telling them about COVID-19 cases.
AFT Convention Seemed More Transparent Than NEA’s. But Looks Can Be Deceiving
July 22, 2022 // The American Federation of Teachers held its biennial convention in Boston last week. Unlike the NEA Representative Assembly, delegates met entirely in person and the union was more than happy to post its proposed resolutions and other documents online. More transparency doesn’t necessarily mean more honesty, though. A lot of what the AFT Convention produces requires elaboration, footnotes, context and filling in the gaps. battleground state poll AFT commissioned from Hart Research Associates. The main takeaway was that likely voters trusted Republicans slightly more on education issues than they did Democrats. Republicans
Meet Two Starbucks Employees at the Forefront of a High-Profile Unionization Effort
July 8, 2022 // Finally, how can readers support the Starbucks Workers United campaign? Dani: There’s a customer pledge on the website that people can sign and where they can learn what to do and how they can best support as stores start to strike or take action within their communities. Morgan Leavy, Dani, Austin DSA,