Posts tagged intimidation
Trader Joe’s challenges union vote at Louisville store
February 8, 2023 // Trader Joe’s is challenging last month’s vote by workers at its Louisville store to form a union, alleging that pro-union workers “created an atmosphere of fear and coercion and interfered with the laboratory conditions necessary to conduct a free and fair election.” The privately owned grocery store chain filed its objections Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board, according to a copy of the filing shared by the Trader Joe’s United, the union seeking to organize the Louisville store. Trader Joe’s’ Louisville workers voted 48-36 in favor of the union during the Jan. 26 election, according to Trader Joe’s United. If the tally holds up, it will become the third Trader Joe’s in the nation to unionize.
Right-to-work under threat in Michigan
January 20, 2023 // The bill, known as Senate Bill 0005, would reverse many, if not all, worker protections enshrined by the current Right-to-Work law. The bill removes text stating that Michigan workers cannot be forced, intimidated, or compelled to join a labor union, which may lead to union-backed intimidation or coercion. Instead of paying dues, the bill proposal called for Michigan workers to pay a “service fee that may be equivalent to the amount of dues” for a labor union. The bill’s sponsor, State Senator Darrin Camilleri, tweeted, “My first bill of the term is to repeal the anti-union, so-called Right to Work bill. It’s time to restore power to working people.” Camilleri added several claims, such as Michiganders dealing “with the effects of this unjust law” and repealing Right-to-Work law will “finally grant workers greater freedom to join a union.”
Forgery Cases Give Supreme Court Opportunity to Hold Unions Accountable for Shady Tactics
January 18, 2023 // aken collectively, the forgery cases clearly suggest a coordinated strategy on the part of unions panicked into breaking the law at the prospect of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in dues money when members they’ve spent decades preying on discover that the power to decide about workplace representation has always been in their own hands. The Supreme Court made its intentions in Janus crystal clear. Public employees have an iron-clad First Amendment right to keep their jobs even if they choose to have nothing to do with a union.
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.
PARSIPPANY NJ: Taxpayers Strike Back: Calls for Repeal of Project Labor Agreements
November 7, 2022 // During the meeting, multiple speakers saying they represented the town’s Indian-American community stated they were intimidated by the large presence of union members at the previous two meetings and were hesitant to speak out then. Some residents also expressed they couldn’t get into the meeting held on October 11.
Op-ed: Worker freedom and choice are still under attack
August 23, 2022 // In one dispute that reached the NLRB , an employee was told if she did not sign an authorization card, “the union would come and get her children and it would also slash her car tires.” In a 2012 United Auto Workers union drive in Chattanooga, Tennessee, workers claimed organizers said that signing cards would only indicate their interest in the union. But this was not true: Signing the card meant they authorized the union to represent them. Unions prefer the card check approach because it allows them to bypass the protections of a secret ballot election and helps them organize more dues-paying members. If an organizer threatens a worker to sign a card, the worker may comply just to get the organizer to go away.
Apple union push faces setback as Atlanta organizers withdraw vote bid, citing alleged intimidation, rising Covid cases
May 30, 2022 // Earlier this week, Apple announced that it was increasing starting pay for retail employees to $22 per hour. In the message to co-workers, the Cumberland Mall organizing committee said that the unplanned raises were a direct result of its organizing drive.
Labor Board Seeks Unionization at Starbucks Where Union Lost Election
May 23, 2022 // The National Labor Relations Board is seeking to order Starbucks to recognize a union at a Buffalo-area store where the union lost an initial vote last year.
Employee Rights Act Would Protect Hardworking Latinos & Expand Freedom for All American Workers
May 9, 2022 // The LIBRE Initiative supports the ERA and its efforts at protecting American workers from anti-choice legislation like the PRO Act and ensuring that they have the flexibility to succeed in today’s rapidly evolving economy.
Sanders hearing: Federal contractors are guilty until proven innocent, keep workers in the dark on rights
May 4, 2022 // U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, wants to stop workers from knowing about their rights and also go back to the days of employers being guilty until proven innocent. The Senate Budget Committee Chairman will hold a hearing Thursday asking “Should Taxpayer Dollars Go to Companies that Violate Labor Laws?”