Posts tagged National Labor Relations Board

    How the Amazon Labor Union helped shape modern workers’ rights

    October 19, 2023 // For every 1% of Amazon's workforce that unionizes, analysts expect it to lead to an incremental $150 million in annual operating expenses.

    Abortion workers, crushed by restrictions and buoyed by labor movement, are unionizing

    October 16, 2023 // It’s hard to know exactly how many reproductive healthcare workers are affected, but there are indicators that organizing is picking up steam as restrictions proliferate. Of the dozen Planned Parenthood affiliates that have unionized in total, a third voted to do so since Roe fell. These serve patients in Washington, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and California, all of which have seen an influx of patients traveling from states with restrictions.

    Dartmouth Men’s Basketball Makes Employment Case at NLRB

    October 6, 2023 // Houston also noted that Dartmouth can recruit a basketball player, provide him need-based financial aid, and then, for one of many reasons, dismiss the player from the team after he enrolls. If the student remains enrolled at Dartmouth as a student, he’ll continue to receive financial aid. That point was designed to show the aid is based on being a student, not a player. Houston also stressed that athletes at Dartmouth are repeatedly told they must prioritize their education and class attendance, including when there are scheduling conflicts with the team. He further said that the athletic department “has no say over admissions,” decisions for which are made by the admissions office, nor does the athletic department have any say over financial aid, and that aid itself has nothing to do with athletic talent.

    Judge: Starbucks violated federal labor law by withholding pay hikes from unionized workers

    October 2, 2023 // Starbucks violated federal labor law when it increased wages and offered new perks and benefits only to non-union employees, a National Labor Relations Board judge found Thursday. The decision is the latest in a series of NLRB rulings finding that Starbucks has violated labor law in its efforts to stop unions from forming in its coffee shops.

    Staples accused of firing Brunswick worker for backing union drive

    September 11, 2023 // The Staples union drive is the latest in a string of organization efforts springing up across Maine. Since 2021, there have been successful union drives among workers at the Orono Town Office, Biddeford Starbucks, the Portland Museum of Art, Maine Medical Center in Portland and the Bangor Daily News. Despite those wins, efforts have petered out or failed at the Chipotle in Augusta, Little Dog Coffee Shop in Brunswick, Shalom House in Portland, the Starbucks on Middle Street in Portland and Bates College in Lewiston.

    Philly Good Karma Café Employees Will Soon Vote on Whether to Boot Out Workers United Union Officials

    August 23, 2023 // The Good Karma employees’ election comes as coffee employees across the country are seeking votes to remove unwanted unions from their workplaces, most notably at Starbucks. Workers United is the same union that is waging an aggressive and high-profile unionization campaign on Starbucks, bolstered by the money and resources of the gigantic Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The New York Post reported in July that Workers United spent nearly $2.5 million on hiring “salts” and other union activists. “Salts” are covert union agents who obtain jobs at nonunion firms to agitate in favor of union control, and often quit soon after the union is installed. “After the Workers United union was installed, there was a lot of employee turnover and we soon found ourselves very short-staffed,” Camponeschi commented. “Workers United union officials have been bad for the stability of Good Karma and have not stood up for the interests of me and my coworkers, and I’m sure that a majority of my coworkers will vote to move forward without their presence.”

    Cornell to Stop Serving Starbucks Coffee After Company Shut Down Unionized Cafes

    August 21, 2023 // In May, Starbucks Corp. announced it would close its last two unionized corporate-run cafés in Cornell’s hometown of Ithaca, New York. It had previously shuttered the other location that organized. In response, Cornell’s student government passed a resolution, and activists staged a sit-in demanding that the university cease serving Starbucks coffee at its own cafés in response to the alleged union-busting. “Cornell Dining does not intend to serve Starbucks Coffee in its café venues after the current agreement with the company expires in 2025,” the school’s vice president for university relations, Joel Malina, said in an email. The university will instead consult with the student government on an “inclusive process” to transition to a new vendor.

    Starbucks’ ‘overbroad’ workplace civility rule oversteps NLRA, Board rules

    August 17, 2023 // On the heels of its Stericycle ruling, which increased scrutiny of employer handbooks, NLRB said Starbucks must rescind its “How We Communicate” workplace policy.

    Allina doctors file to form what would be largest private-sector clinician union in the U.S.

    August 14, 2023 // Doctors at one of Minnesota’s major health care providers have filed to unionize, a move that could create the largest group of private-sector clinicians in the entire country. Doctors Council SEIU Local 10MD, which would represent doctors in Allina Health’s system, formally filed an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board on Thursday. That means members will still have to actually hold an election to determine whether or not to unionize.

    After unionizing last summer, some Utah Starbucks workers now want out

    August 4, 2023 // Before a petition can be filed, federal labor law says a year must pass after a successful union vote and 30% of a location’s workers need to support decertification. The National Right to Work Foundation, which is providing free legal representation to the workers who support the petition, said a contingent of the store’s workers don’t want the union to have “monopoly representation powers” when negotiating with the company. “They called us,” said foundation president Mark Mix. “They walked through this process and we [are helping] them get an election. That's the goal, not to put our thumb on the scale one way or the other, but just get the election so that their voices can be heard in the workplace.”