Posts tagged Communications Workers of America
Google contractors vote to unionize in historic landslide election
April 27, 2023 // The unionization vote passed 41-0. The National Labor Relations Board representative counting the ballots said 49 workers were eligible to vote. The employees work for the subcontractor Cognizant on content operations for Google’s YouTube Music, resolving bugs and completing other tasks to ensure the streaming service runs smoothly. Google continues to argue that Cognizant is the workers’ sole employer and says the Mountain View-based tech giant should not be forced to negotiate with the workers. Held via mail-in ballot, the election creates a bargaining unit with the Alphabet Workers Union — an organization affiliated with the Communications Workers of America that, until now, has represented only one office of unionized Google workers, a contracted Fiber retail shop in Missouri. Those workers opted to drop Google from their petition.
Starbucks workers contend company is busting unions. ‘This will be a priority for me,’ congressman says.
February 21, 2023 // Since then, the congressman’s staff has been in touch with the company, whose representatives have told them that Starbucks is allowing workers to exercise their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. Khanna told the employees on Friday that he has corresponded with new Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan and expects to meet with him after he takes over April 1. “I’m hopeful that between the approach to him and the approach to some of the board members, who I know, that they may see the light — allowing for reasonable unionization and reasonable terms,” Khanna said. He mentioned that Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -2.29% last year came to a neutrality agreement with the Communications Workers of America; Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is a Starbucks board member.
Why Workers at Growing Number of Nonprofits Are Unionizing
February 2, 2023 // Nonprofit employees may be more predisposed to unionizing than other workers. They tend to be younger, well educated, and altruistic — a perfect blend of characteristics that tip people toward interest in unions, says David Zonderman, a history professor at North Carolina State University who teaches labor and nonprofit history. Nonprofits come out of a tradition of charity and sacrifice, and most pay their employees less than private companies and government. As a result, many unionizing workers are looking for livable wages and opportunities to advance, all the more important as housing costs and inflation have shot up. Others see unions as a way to press for greater racial equity.
2/3rd of Post-Gazette Union Crossed Picket Line or Quit
January 30, 2023 // However, as the strike stretches into its fourth month with no end-in-sight, the union has struggled to prevent reporters from crossing the picket line. According to an analysis done by Payday Report of bylines and interviews with Post-Gazette reporters, nearly ⅔ of the union has crossed the picket line (with almost half of all reporters doing so). Many reporters, particularly younger reporters, have found jobs at other publications as the strike’s likelihood of success looks small and moved away from Pittsburgh./ Currently, the union can only maintain pickets for 2 hours a day as approximately two dozen reporters remain on strike from about 85 reporters who were members of the union at the beginning of the strike. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette union chair Andrew Goldstein has privately acknowledged to local labor supporters that the strike is a “disaster.”
Workers at World of Warcraft studio Proletariat withdraw union petition
January 26, 2023 // Workers at Boston-based World of Warcraft support studio Proletariat (also known as Blizzard Boston) are pulling their petition with the National Labor Relations Board, and will not vote on a union. They announced their petition in late December, but withdrew the application on Tuesday. A representative of Communications Workers of America blamed management’s “confrontational tactics” for the withdrawn petition, claiming the company held “a series of meetings that demoralized and disempowered the group, making a free and fair election impossible.” Proletariat Workers Alliance was looking to secure the company’s current paid time-off plan, as well as flexible remote options, healthcare benefits, and ensuring transparency and diversity are top priorities.
Proletariat Unionization Will Hold Anonymous Vote Via the NLRB, New Statement Released About Worker Talks
January 19, 2023 // Shortly after the CWA filed the petition, some employees also said they felt pressured to sign union cards, were inadequately informed about what they were signing and what it meant when they signed. Given this, we strongly feel a vote is the fairest option. We want to ensure that all employees can make their voices heard, as this is their decision.”
Union: NM calling state employees back to in-person work without much of a plan
January 17, 2023 //
Unions want it to be ‘game over’ for the secret ballot
January 17, 2023 // The Employee Rights Act is a worker-centric bill that will make sure people considering unionization are able to do so without the intimidation and coercion associated with card check organizing. If the CWA is offering good value for potential members, it should not be afraid of a private vote.
ZeniMax Workers United Votes to Unionize, With Microsoft Formally Recognizing Its First Union
January 5, 2023 // While Microsoft has voluntarily recognized its very first union, Blizzard has tended to oppose efforts, with reasoning that ranges from direct communication with workers is a better option and claiming that QA workers alone should not be able to take a union vote, but the entire studio should get the chance to cast a ballot. The ZeniMax QA workers announced their intention to have a union vote last month, and this news follows the announcement by Blizzard’s recently-acquisition, Spellbreak development studio Proletariat, of a desire to unionize the entire studio.
Opinion: SEACC United clears the air on unionization
January 4, 2023 //