Posts tagged Secret Ballot
Workers Sweep to Victory: Laborers Union Bosses Flee to Avoid Worker Decertification Vote to Remove Union
June 21, 2023 // Jerry Guzzie and his coworkers at the industrial cleaning company EnviroServe in Decatur, Illinois have succeeded in their effort to free themselves from unwanted Laborers Union officials’ so-called “representation.” On May 30, Guzzie filed a decertification petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking a vote to remove Southern and Central Illinois Laborers’ Local 159, an affiliate of Laborers’ International, AFL-CIO. The decertification petition was filed with the NLRB Region 25 office with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and asked for a vote to be held on June 20. However, before the decertification election could take place, union officials disclaimed interest in the bargaining unit to avoid facing removal by the workers. Guzzie filed the decertification petition for all service and maintenance employees at the facility.
California Governor Confirms Unionization of Agricultural Employees Through “Card Check” Process: Your Top 3 Takeaways
May 22, 2023 // Governor Newsom recently signed a bill into law clarifying that a single alternative to the traditional secret ballot method – an alternative known as the “card check” election – may be used for unions to organize at agricultural work settings in California. AB 113, which was signed on May 15 and takes effect immediately, amends last year’s controversial AB 2183. As we previously reported here, AB 2183 provided that employers could enter an agreement called a “Labor Peace Compact” where they would agree to act neutrally with respect to unionization. In turn, instead of participating in a card check election, these employees would vote either in-person through the traditional secret ballot election or through a secret mail-in ballot election. AB 113 eliminates the secret mail-in ballot election and the “Labor Peace Compact” altogether.
It’s a Gloomy Outlook for Jobs Under Biden. Here’s the Formula to Change That.
May 19, 2023 // For the sake of personal and societal happiness, for the sake of the financial well-being of American families, for the sake of solving America’s dire fiscal situation, and for the sake of preserving the foundation of American society, policymakers need to recognize the value and rewards of work. By protecting individuals’ rights to pursue the type of work and compensation that is best for them, expanding alternative education and job-training opportunities, and not forcing workers into unions, policymakers can expand opportunities for people to achieve meaningful and rewarding work. Work truly affects every aspect of American life. Our economy, our personal financial and physical well-being, our nation’s fiscal sustainability, and even our national security depend on it.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee Signs First-in-the-Nation Law Linking State Economic Incentives to Private-Ballot Protections
May 17, 2023 // “Thanks to the bold leadership of Governor Bill Lee, Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, House Speaker Cameron Sexton and the entire state legislature, many workers across Tennessee will now be guaranteed the right to a private vote on unionization,” said Senior Labor Policy Advisor Vincent Vernuccio. “This historic bill is a testament to the bipartisan commitment of Tennessee legislators to protect workplace freedom in the Volunteer State,” said Vernuccio. “Just like Tennesseans enjoy the right to privacy at the ballot box, Tennessee workers deserve the right to decide union representation through a secret ballot vote. The right to vote is just as important as the right to work.”
Grand Rapids TerryBerry Workers Vote to Remove Unwanted Machinists Union from Workplace
May 16, 2023 // Mary Soltysiak and her coworkers at TerryBerry Company filed for a decertification vote on April 14, 2023, with free legal aid from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys. Her decertification petition contained signatures of a majority of the employees in the unit. Soltysiak has been under the protections of the Michigan Right to Work law since 2018. Under federal labor law, workers can trigger such a decertification vote with the support of 30% of workers in a unionized workplace. The NLRB should then promptly schedule a secret ballot election to determine whether a majority of workers want to end union officials’ power to impose a contract, including forced dues, on workers. The NLRB scheduled a vote for May 15, 2023. On May 15, TerryBerry employees made their position on the union clear, voting to remove the union from their workplace. Barring any objections by union officials that seek to overturn the vote, the workers will be officially free of the union in one week.
Rutgers Barnes & Noble Workers Vote To Join Retail, Wholesale And Department Store Union
May 16, 2023 // uilding upon last week’s win by workers at REI in Chicago with RWDSU, today’s win also comes amid a longstanding streak of wins by the RWDSU at independent booksellers in the New York area, including McNally Jackson, Goods for the Study, Greenlight Bookstore and Book Culture, as well as the union election petition of workers at Barnes & Noble’s flagship Union Square, New York store. Workers at the Rutgers Barnes & Noble have reportedly faced safety issues amid the rebound of the pandemic; workplace harassment; substandard pay for the industry below that of independent booksellers; unstable scheduling practices; a lack of structure when it comes to job duties and tasks, and favoritism by management. These are issues the workers are looking to address at their first contract negotiations.
Workers at Georgia School Bus Maker Blue Bird Begin Voting on Whether to Unionize
May 12, 2023 // Georgia workers at one of the nation's largest school bus manufacturers will begin voting Thursday on whether they want to be represented by a labor union — a chance for organized labor to make gains on the stony soil of the Deep South. More than 1,400 employees at Blue Bird Corp.'s two factories and warehouse in Fort Valley will be voting through Friday on whether they want to unionize under the banner of the United Steelworkers. That union represents more than 850,000 workers nationwide in a variety of industries.
New California law that facilitates farmworker unionization could already see changes
May 12, 2023 // In a Majority Support Petition, a union would be certified to represent workers after it submits proof that it has the support, typically in the form of collected signatures, of a majority of workers within a workplace to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board. Unions prefer the majority support process because the formal election process can be a drawn-out process that gives employers time to discourage unionization, sometimes through illegal means, such as threats.
Starbucks Roastery Workers Move to Oust Union after One Year
May 11, 2023 // On May 9, 2023, Starbucks employee Caesar filed the decertification petition to obtain a vote on whether to remove the union, often called Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) from their workplace. After being unionized for just over one year, the workers have had enough of the union and believe they would be better off without it. Under the National Labor Relations Act, which the NLRB is charged with enforcing, workers must wait one year after a unionization vote before they can seek another vote, such as the decertification election Caesar and his coworkers have demanded.