Posts tagged unfair labor practice strike
Could AI be used to replace striking workers?
November 19, 2024 // Some of the striking workers handle software and data analysis. It wasn’t clear if, without them, the paper’s website would be able to handle what was an expected influx of election-related traffic. Aravind Srinivas, CEO of AI company Perplexity, responded on X to Sulzberger’s statements, saying that his company was “on standby to help ensure your essential coverage is available to all through the election.” The tech workers’ strike ended after a week (though without a contract resolution), and there were no reported website outages. But the offer from Srinivas struck many as a way to undercut the union’s power and compromise workers’ ability to fight for better labor conditions. Replies to his comment called him a “scab” (a term for someone who crosses a picket line and replaces striking workers).
AFSCME union organizes state-wide rally over UC patient care contract
October 15, 2024 // Employees at the UCI Health Lakewood and Placentia Linda hospitals picketed similarly in front of their workplaces. Rallies were held simultaneously at all 10 UC campuses, including UC San Francisco and the UC San Diego, UC Davis and UCLA medical centers. Participants at UCI gathered at 8:30 a.m. to protest an ongoing impasse between the union and the UC system on negotiations for patient care technical and service employees, according to an Oct. 9 press release from AFSCME Local 3299.
Workers at Portland-area Fred Meyer stores to go on strike starting Wednesday morning
August 28, 2024 // Union leaders say the strike is necessary to encourage Kroger to reach a deal. The sides still disagree on pensions and wage scales, among other items. An unfair labor practices strike, often referred to as a ULP, is a common tool used by organized labor and, by definition, is a limited-duration protest. “A ULP strike is crucial to force Fred Meyer to comply with their obligations as an Employer to their Employees,” Dan Clay, president of UFCW Local 555 said in a statement, adding that members overwhelmingly approved the strike.
Fred Meyer workers to vote on potential strike
August 14, 2024 // The union claims Fred Meyer refused to provide essential information for proper contract negotiations. It represents about 4,500 workers at affected Fred Meyer locations in the Pacific Northwest. The union said it filed a suit against what it said are multiple unfair labor practices.
Southern California Amazon workers strike at one of company’s major West Coast air hubs
July 24, 2024 // The warehouse where the strike took place – the KSBD warehouse in San Bernardino – is Amazon’s largest air facility on the West Coast. The walkout comes on the heels of Prime Day, the marketplace’s incredibly popular 48-hour shopping event.
After unionized strippers accused club owner of violating deal, federal labor board intervenes
April 1, 2024 // Star Garden reopened in August, after a 15-month tussle during which club management fired more than a dozen dancers, contested the results of a union election held by strippers, filed for bankruptcy and closed its doors. Soon after Star Garden reopened, dancers told The Times that drink prices had ratcheted up, the bar had gone cashless and removed its ATM and management was discouraging customers from tipping with cash. Dancers accused Star Garden management of introducing arbitrary rules and implementing high drink prices and cover fees in bad faith in an effort to deter customers, demoralize dancers and weaken resolve in contract negotiations. Union attorneys filed multiple unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB alleging club owners were engaging in bad faith bargaining and arbitrarily disciplining employees, among other claims.
A Labor Strike Over Shoplifting
November 29, 2023 // Ms. Luick says workers at her store “frequently observe shoplifting and even occasional violence,” and “the lack of security affects our customers too.” But when she called 911 about “a repeat shoplifter that even law enforcement was familiar with,” Macy’s suspended her without pay “for nearly three weeks,” she wrote in a letter to the Everett Herald last week. Now Macy’s workers “are afraid to call the police because we worry we’ll get in trouble or even lose our jobs,” she said. Macy’s declined to respond to Ms. Luick’s claims but said “our top priority is to ensure the safety of our colleagues and customers in-store.” UFCW Local 3000 said it filed an unfair labor practice charge against Macy’s over its treatment of Ms. Luick and that the company “eventually provided back pay.”
Powell’s Union Workers Say They Will Strike Sept. 4
August 15, 2023 // In a statement, Powell’s defended its offer as fair. “Powell’s proposal includes immediate wage increases for every employee in the bargaining unit and annual wage increases every year of the contract, making our wages competitive with the majority of retail wages in Portland,” the company said in an email. “In addition, we proposed reduced health care monthly premiums for the majority of employees, eliminating deductibles for the majority of doctors’ visits, and an enhanced 401(k) retirement plan match.” The company expressed optimism that it would reach a deal at the bargaining table. The union says that in a recent strike vote, 92% of workers voted to walk off the job. They last struck Powell’s in 2003 but now plan to hold a one-day “unfair labor practices strike” Sept. 4 before negotiations resume Sept. 4 and 6.
With strike talk prevalent as UAW negotiates, labor expert weighs in
August 8, 2023 // “The biggest tool that management has in an economic strike is it can replace these workers permanently, and so the workers may never get their jobs back even if they want them back. The strike wasn’t per se illegal, but that doesn’t mean they have a permanent right to their job back if the strike ends,” Masters said. Not all workers face the same risk of replacement, however. It’s impractical to contemplate permanent replacement workers at companies like UPS, where Teamsters members are currently voting on a tentative agreement, because of the scale of that operation and the pressure to settle a contract because of the potential loss of business, Masters said. In the case of the auto industry, Detroit Three automakers can do some stockpiling of vehicles but would likely have limited capacity to prepare that way for an extended strike and would risk losing too much business to competitors as well should a dispute drag on too long. Those same factors might not favor Hollywood actors or writers, who are currently engaged in their own high-profile strikes, Masters said, noting that some of the companies involved in those sectors might be more motivated to try to break the unions. “Not all workers are equal in terms of their replaceability. I think that’s the touchstone,” he said, noting the 1981 strike by air controllers that ended in a mass firing by then-President Ronald Reagan as an example of what can go wrong for workers in a strike.