Posts tagged PHILADELPHIA
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.
In Philly, VP Harris details new labor rules for federal construction projects
August 9, 2023 // Vice President Kamala Harris, on Tuesday, visited Philadelphia to announce changes to labor rules that could give higher wages to construction workers on federal projects. At the headquarters of labor union DC 21, in Northeast Philly, Harris detailed the Labor Department's first update in decades to the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931, a law that requires the payment of prevailing local wages on public works.
An FBI informant in Johnny Doc’s inner circle didn’t violate his right to fair trial, judge says
August 3, 2023 // Though recording someone outside of a law enforcement investigation without their consent is a crime in Pennsylvania, the FBI, based on those tapes, enlisted the cooperator to begin working as an official confidential informant out of concern that statements such as those were an attempt by Dougherty to intimidate witnesses in the case against him, Blake said. And for the next several months, the informant continued to record Dougherty at union meetings up to and throughout his 2021 trial. The labor leader learned of the mole’s existence only after his conviction and as he prepared for a second trial on extortion charges related to threats he allegedly made to a union contractor who tried to fire his nephew.
Fox Chase nurses who answer patient phone calls want to join the center’s new nurses union
August 3, 2023 // The nurses at the Temple-owner cancer center unionized in June. Twenty-one nurses who answer patient calls were left out of the bargaining unit.
Actors and writers on strike rally in Philadelphia and Chicago as union action spreads
July 24, 2023 // While Los Angeles and New York are the epicenters of strike actions, there are dozens of mid-sized and small locals across the country representing performers and writers. “We have the same issues,” said Nikki Izanec, president of the Philadelphia SAG-AFTRA local, on her way to Thursday’s rally. “Lots of people pay attention to L.A. and New York, but our issues are the same as theirs.”
Biden pushes a strong role for unions in tech jobs, even as potential strikes are on the horizon
July 20, 2023 // Biden spent part of this week focused on efforts to expand unionization into new industries. On Monday, he met with younger workers trying to unionize at Starbucks, minor league baseball, bus-maker Blue Bird and Sega. Labor Department data shows that workers younger than age 35 are much less likely to belong to a union than their older peers, meaning that the future of the union movement might depend on bringing in younger generations. Unions also aided Biden’s election victory over President Donald Trump in 2020. Just 16% of voters in 2020 lived in a union household. But 56% of people in union households backed Biden for president against Trump, a Republican, according to AP VoteCast. Union votes generally matter more in Northern states with an industrial legacy such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, key states for a Democrat seeking to win the electoral college. But there are few union votes in sunbelt states such as Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina, where Biden hopes to compete in 2024 and where many of the investments in new computer chip and battery plants are being made.
iHeart Philadelphia Station Staff Move To Unionize
June 30, 2023 // The employees, including on-air hosts, disc jockeys, and producers, are seeking to organize a union to have a voice in the workplace. SAG-AFTRA’s Philadelphia executive director, Steve Leshinski, told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “We don’t comment on ongoing organizing, but obviously we are very excited about broadcasters having a voice in the workplace and looking forward to welcoming them to the SAG-AFTRA family.” SAG-AFTRA already represents certain radio workers at other stations in the Philadelphia region, including Q102 (WIOQ), Total Traffic & Weather Network, 93.3 WMMR, 92.5 XTU, SportsRadio 94WIP, KYW NewsRadio, and WHYY. The union represents a wide range of professionals in the entertainment industry, including actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, and disc jockeys, with a membership of over 160,000 nationwide.
Biden tells union members that Republicans are coming for their jobs
June 27, 2023 // He warned union members that House Republican efforts to roll back his investments in domestic manufacturing to support the clean energy transition would cost labor jobs. “They are coming for your jobs. They are coming for your future and the future belonging to your kids and grandkids,” Mr. Biden said. The president hopes that argument will counter the brand of economic populism that buoyed Mr. Trump with some rank-and-file union members during his first two presidential campaigns.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks in Philadelphia at union leaders’ meeting
June 8, 2023 // Henry and Verrett introduced Harris by highlighting her lived experience as a woman of color and her track record of supporting unions and workers. “She's joined fast food workers on the picket lines, she's joined striking home care workers, and she's been to South Carolina with hospital workers, and the list goes on and on and on,” Verrett said. “Her street cred is real.” Harris, the chair of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, highlighted the recent accomplishments of local unions and thanked workers for their efforts.
PHL Guava & Java Employees Overcome ‘Widespread Union Intimidation Campaign,’ Vote Out Union
May 23, 2023 // Workers at the Guava & Java store in the Philadelphia Airport have voted to remove the UNITE HERE Local 274 union by an overwhelming majority. The vote follows a petition submitted by Guava & Java employee Shaneisha Brown with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Brown is receiving free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. Brown filed the petition with the NLRB on March 30, 2023, with a significant number of her coworkers’ support. After the petition was filed and verified, the NLRB scheduled the election to be held on May 11. With an overwhelming majority of 32-9, the workers at Guava & Java voted to remove UNITE HERE Local 274 from their workplace.