Posts tagged Manhattan
Sesame Street Workers Say, “U Is for Union”
May 20, 2025 // While many of the puppeteers, actors, and crew members on the show have long been represented by entertainment unions, the new union covers the employees who bring Elmo and friends to life: artists, early-childhood experts, fundraisers, and more. Organizers see their campaign for dignity and respect at work as a natural continuation of Sesame’s mission to teach children to grow “smarter, stronger, and kinder.” “Workers at Sesame are deeply committed to doing things that are kind and fair,”
IRONIC: Union Employees Strike Against the UAW, Accuse It of Union-Busting
December 10, 2024 // The legacy media appear not to have covered the strike in downtown Manhattan. The pro-union outlet Payday Report covered the strike and condemned “so many labor journalists” for ignoring the story. As The Washington Times reported in September, UAW Staff United accused the UAW of stalling contract negotiations and illegally terminating the contract of a labor organizer. UAW Staff United launched in March after the election of UAW President Shawn Fain, who ran as a reform candidate following a series of corruption scandals.
Strand employees go on strike during busy holiday season for bookstore
December 9, 2024 // UAW Local 2179, which represents the bookstore workers, says they are demanding a fair contract and a living wage. Many of the workers out on the picket line said that even though the holiday season is one of the store's busiest times, many of its employees are struggling to live in New York on what they make.
Con Edison, utility workers reach tentative deal averting strike
June 24, 2024 // The new deal includes higher wages for utility workers, an enhanced medical plan with minimal increases and faster wage increases.
Albany Starbucks Employees Seek Vote to Kick Out SBWU Union
March 1, 2024 // Dowey and her colleagues join Starbucks partners and other coffee company employees across the country in banding together to vote out SBWU union officials. In the past year, Starbucks employees in Manhattan, NY; two Buffalo, NY locations; Pittsburgh, PA; Bloomington, MN; Salt Lake City, UT; Greenville, SC; Oklahoma City, OK; San Antonio, TX; and Philadelphia, PA, have all sought free Foundation legal aid in filing or defending decertification petitions at the NLRB. Foundation attorneys have helped employees at independent Philadelphia coffee shops Good Karma Café and Ultimo Coffee successfully oust Workers United union officials, who are affiliated with SBWU. Many employees of Starbucks or other coffee establishments are requesting decertification votes from the NLRB roughly one year after union bosses attained power in their workplaces, which is the earliest opportunity afforded by federal law to do so.
REI SoHo workers unionized in 2022, but still don’t have a contract. This play tells their story
February 21, 2024 // Neill first put on the play, called Foot Wears House, for her coworkers and fellow union members, through a reading at RWDSU’s office. Now, it will be open to the public with a reading at Hudson Park Library on February 24, once again starring members of the REI Soho union. The reading is supported by Working Theater, which is focused on stories for and about working people, and is free to the public, with the option for donations to the REI Union Hardship Fund.
UFT Lawsuit Against MTA over Congestion Pricing Opens Discussions over Membership-wide Voting
January 30, 2024 // This is not the first time that the union has made unilateral decisions outside of membership input. In March of 2023, Mulgrew faced significant membership backlash over a controversial switch to a privately run Medicare Advantage plan for retirees, now managed by Aetna. Mulgrew played a key role in negotiating the health plan change, which members challenged by circulating a petition, demanding a membership-wide vote prior to “significant changes to active and/or retired members’ healthcare.” “We call for a membership-wide vote for any significant changes to active and/or retired members’ healthcare. These include any significant changes of our healthcare carriers, limits to our choice of healthcare carriers, or institutions of or raises to premiums, deductibles or copayments, etc.,” read the petition by UFT activist group Educators of NYC.
NLRB seeks to force Trader Joe’s to reopen New York wine store
January 25, 2024 // The NLRB said its general counsel is seeking remedies including compelling Trader Joe’s to reopen the store, which was located in New York City’s Union Square neighborhood and closed in 2022, and “make-whole relief” for its workers. The NLRB intends to encourage the union and Trader Joe’s to reach a settlement and has scheduled a hearing before an administrative law judge starting on May 7. Either party could appeal the judge’s decision to the board and ultimately to a federal appeals court. The UFCW hailed the NLRB’s decision to file the complaint as a victory for Trader Joe’s workers in their effort to gain leverage against Trader Joe’s.
Drama in the Teachers’ Lounge
January 12, 2024 // Ed Calamia, an English teacher at a Bronx school, says he doesn’t support congestion pricing, but he still doesn’t think the leadership should be filing lawsuits on behalf of its members without consulting them first. The move by Mulgrew, he says, is not the first time UFT top brass has acted unilaterally. “Some people think the rank-and-file membership should be involved with decisions, and some people think once they’ve been elected, it’s a dictatorship,”
Teacher’s Union Sues to Stop New York Congestion Pricing Plan
January 7, 2024 // The United Federation of Teachers argues that the near-5,000 page environmental report on New York's congestion pricing plan isn't thorough enough.