Posts tagged boycotts
What would a general strike in the US actually look like?
April 10, 2025 // But organized labor can plan for a general strike in the future that may not break the terms of their contracts. The UAW has called to align all union contract terminations for the same date in 2028 as a way to promote united action and perhaps even a general strike by circumventing the prohibition on striking during a union contract. That call has already promoted wider discussion of general strikes in labor and social movements. Of course, different unions striking at the same time does not guarantee a united front around issues of common concern: The first half of 1946 saw nearly 3 million workers simultaneously on strike, including auto, steel, coal, railroad and many other industries, but unions pursued separate demands, made little effort to pool their strength, and settled with little consideration of the impact on those remaining on strike.
Construction groups decry PRO Act’s reintroduction
March 13, 2025 // “The reintroduction of the PRO Act displays continued disregard for the livelihoods of small business owners, employees and independent contractors,” said Swearingen. “While Congress has long rejected the PRO Act and its provisions, these legislators continue to pursue failed policies and attack business models and fundamental freedoms that have fueled entrepreneurship, job creation and opportunity for the American worker.”
How the Mafia Infiltrated American Labor Unions
August 12, 2024 // While law enforcement agencies continue to monitor Mafia infiltration of labor unions, labor racketeering has become less prevalent than it was decades ago. In part, that’s because union membership plummeted after the McClellan Committee exposed the extent of labor racketeering. At its zenith in the mid-1950s, union membership comprised one-third of the labor force, but now union members only represent approximately 10 percent of American workers.
17 states allege Biden opens path to unionize foreign farmworkers
July 17, 2024 // The Department of Labor denies the allegation, saying the rule merely gives foreign farmworkers the right to protect wages and working conditions through "concerted activities" and "self-advocacy." The AGs accuse the department of hiding "behind linguistic smoke and mirrors." "If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it's probably a duck," the motion for a preliminary injunction reads.
Starbucks proxy war shows Big Labor’s new tactic
February 23, 2024 // Crucially, the new SEC rule allows the SOC to push for huge changes to the Starbucks board with comparatively little skin in the game. Starbucks has a market capitalization of $105 billion. The SOC owns 161 shares of Starbucks, a stake worth approximately $16,000. Thanks to the universal proxy rule, the SOC can use Starbucks’s own proxy materials to promote its hostile takeover attempt without bearing the costs of its own solicitation. The Starbucks proxy fight is one part of SOC’s broader scheme to impose Big Labor’s agenda on every publicly traded American company. The SOC’s coalition includes some of the most militant and disruptive unions in the country: the Service Employees International Union, Communications Workers of America, and the United Farmworkers of America. These unions regularly engage in strikes, protests, boycotts, litigation, and other tactics to bend workers and employers alike to their will.
Ohio labor unions fight back against bill to ban strikes
May 30, 2023 // Bill sponsor state Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) wants to put a stop to this. "To hold the students hostage to getting the instruction that they have paid for in advance of the semester just seems to me [as] not putting the students first," Cirino said. Strikes paying families at the whim of educators and disadvantaged students just trying to learn, he added. "We have opportunities to negotiate on other bases without having to put the students' right to get the instruction they paid for any way at risk," the Republican said.
Efforts to unionize agricultural workers in WA face long-standing hurdles
May 9, 2023 // With Ostrom — and, now, Windmill Farms — workers, labor organizers and community members have held rallies outside the mushroom farm and at several locations where the mushrooms are sold. UFW has asked people to look for the mushrooms in their local grocery stores and help track their distribution. “We have also reached out directly to retailers that carry Ostrom products, asking them to also put pressure on Ostrom to recognize the union,” De Loera said in an email in February. “Consumers can help us do this work by helping to identify Ostrom products in their local stores.” Workers from Sunnyside, community members and UFW staff rallied outside an upscale Seattle grocery store in December 2022 to raise awareness among consumers. Students at the University of Washington successfully lobbied that the school stop using mushrooms from Windmill Farms. The students organized into a group called Students for Farmworkers (SFFW) at UW.
NLRB: Employment Law Update, December 21, 2022
December 26, 2022 // The NLRB's Been Busy We've long previewed the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB's) action on a number of issues, now that Board membership reflects President Biden's appointees and embodies his pro-labor priorities. In recent weeks, we've seen several updates come through from the agency, including
PRO ACT WOULD CAUSE MORE SUPPLY CHAIN, WORKFORCE CHAOS
July 6, 2022 // The problem with the President’s position on the PRO Act is that it cuts completely against his mission to ensure supply chain resilience. Specifically, the PRO Act would allow for secondary activity including picketing, strikes, and boycotts directed at neutral third parties that are not involved in a labor dispute. For example, the Teamsters could picket and block shipments to a retail warehouse because they want to organize a trucking company. Allowing secondary activity aimed at a neutral retailer would cause significant economic impact throughout the supply chain where multiple businesses including retailers, suppliers and distributors work together to get goods to consumers. ILWU, PMA