Posts tagged Labor Law
The barista uprising: Coffee shop workers ignite a union renewal
July 1, 2022 // To understand how cafés became hot spots for organizing, consider the kind of workers coffee shops attract. The people making your latte tend to be young, educated and progressive in their politics. And they're part of a generation of workers who have faced massive upheaval in their young lives — economic disruption, social unrest, a global pandemic and a labor market that has emboldened workers to ask for more. Kellie Lutz, Stone Creek Coffee, Wisconsin, Steph Achter, barista-led labor movement, Kellie Lutz's union campaign at Stone Creek Coffee was unsuccessful, but she continues her labor activism in her new job in health care. "I'm going to be a union gal forever," she says, Destiny DeVooght,
NLRB’s Top Prosecutor Seeks Big Changes, Faces Uphill Battle
June 28, 2022 // Abruzzo has signaled it’s one of the many decisions she intends to undo from the Trump era, when cases were spearheaded by her predecessor Peter Robb, who was widely seen by organized labor and Democrats as favoring employers. Biden later fired Robb. “The hypocrisy is off the charts when you think about the employee rights,” Nix said. “When she gets done with the job, she ought to apply for the lobbyist job at the AFL-CIO, because she’s going even farther than union officials have even imagined.” John Logan, San Francisco State University, pro-union experts,
Congress thwarted Biden on unions. Or did it?
June 24, 2022 // “One of the biggest problems with this DOL is its obvious union favoritism,” the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), said at a hearing this month. “This department has bowed low enough before union bosses to taste dirt. How many times has the Biden administration’s DOL kowtowed before union bosses instead of standing up for workers?” From installing former union official Marty Walsh as Labor secretary, to outfitting the National Labor Relations Board with union alums, to issuing a spate of union-friendly executive orders, the White House has taken significant steps toward expanding union membership despite the challenges presented by a narrowly divided Congress. Steve Rosenthal, Rep. Donald Norcross, Shane Larson, Communication Workers of America, Kate Bronfenbrenner, Doug Parker, Alice Stock, Lauren McFerran, Bobby Scott, Nick Niedzwiadek
Maryland Apple store workers face hurdles after their vote to unionize
June 22, 2022 // Ruth Milkman, Michael Duff, Josh Lipton,
How Microsoft’s union agreement could shape the rest of the tech industry
June 21, 2022 // It remains to be seen how Microsoft’s neutrality agreement will impact broader tech labor organizing efforts—including among its own staff. A former Microsoft employee and tech worker organizer who asked not to be named tells Fast Company that a major shortcoming of the agreement was that it only applies to Activision, which could create a “division” between Microsoft employees. pro-labor tech workers
Workers at Trader Joe’s, Amazon, and Starbucks Are Unionizing, But Want Their Independence From Organized Labor
June 15, 2022 // “There’s no mandate that the company has to bargain,” she says. “This is where having resources and a legal team that is funded is essential for winning.” Campos-Medina says it’s not hard to envision independent unions partnering with a national union once they get to the collective bargaining stage for resources and assistance. Yosef said that while Trader Joe’s United is independent, members of the labor community in Hadley offered legal advice and administrative support to help guide organizing workers in the process leading up to the election filing. Courtney Vinopal, Hadley, Maeg Yosef, Patricia Campos-Medina, Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations,
Workers protest Starbucks’ plan to close a unionizing store
June 10, 2022 // Starbucks told workers last Friday it plans to permanently close their store — one of three in Ithaca — on June 10. Starbucks cited facilities issues and staffing problems that have plagued the store. But Workers United, the union that represents Starbucks workers nationwide, says the coffee giant is retaliating against the store for its labor activism. Risa Lieberwitz, The Worker Institute at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations,
AT&T ALASKA TEAMSTERS MAKE UNCONDITIONAL OFFER TO RETURN TO WORK
June 8, 2022 // AT&T Alascom workers made an unconditional offer to return to work today after walking off the job on an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike late yesterday. The work stoppage was held to protest AT&T's violations of federal labor laws that protect workers' rights. PRNewswire, oil pipeline, Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, national security and defense systems, facilities and installations, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Jerry Conlon, Eileen Whitmer,
Amazon Labor Union president tells Senate that workers’ rights aren’t a ‘Democrat or Republican’ issue
May 9, 2022 // “You’re singling out a single company because of your political agenda to socialize this country,” Senator Graham said. “Every time I turn around, you’re having a hearing about [how] anybody who makes money is bad.”
House tees up vote on union protections for staffers
May 9, 2022 // The resolution introduced by Rep. Andy Levin would address that by finishing a process the House began more than a quarter-century ago. When lawmakers passed the Congressional Accountability Act in 1995, they essentially removed a legislative branch exception to numerous federal statutes, including labor laws. But the House never took the final step of approving regulations issued by the Office of Compliance, now the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights.