Posts tagged union-busting
AI is now giving big business the power to bust labor unions
June 9, 2023 // All that has now been eclipsed by AI. Why keep an eye or an ear trained on employees, or purchase software to read their posts and Facebook pages, when a centralized AI can detect union-friendly phrases and behaviors in every Amazon warehouse automatically in real time and at zero cost? Disconcertingly, union-busting AI relies on exactly the same scientific breakthroughs that yielded the germ-busting AI. Before AI, researchers categorized molecules as vectors that either contained or did not contain certain groups of chemicals. This was no different, and no more efficient, than Amazon’s SPOC software categorizing employees on the basis of their perceived temptation to form a union.
U.S. employers have gone from opposing international labor standards to hiding behind them. Now a complaint is trying to stop U.S.-style union busting from taking over the world
May 31, 2023 // What explains the shift? International standards are increasingly becoming part of the fabric of global governance. They might be embedded in trade agreements, procurement rules, or within the codes of conduct of investors. It’s not acceptable anymore for a global company to tell its investors that they reject international labor standards. So instead of being honest, employers seek to distort the meaning of international labor standards beyond recognition. It’s time for the ILO to make clear that U.S.-style interference with workers’ efforts to come together in a union violates the ILO Convention on Freedom of Association (convention 87). Such a finding might not deliver a change in U.S. law, but it would send a message to companies that they can’t hide behind the United Nations and the ILO to justify their union-busting tactics.
Florida teachers union sues over DeSantis’ new union restrictions
May 17, 2023 // Under the new law, union dues will no longer be automatically deducted from paychecks. Those wishing to be a part of the union need to mail in a separate check to pay their monthly dues. Unions can also be decertified if less than 60% of eligible employees are members.
SEIU DOING A LITTLE UNION-BUSTING OF ITS OWN
May 15, 2023 // This week, the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 2 went on strike protesting the unfair bargaining conditions and lack of bargaining in good faith of their employer. The employer? SEIU. In this brief video on Twitter, SEIU staffers can be seen hanging a sign from their headquarters building in Washington, D.C., that reads “SEIU: Stop union-busting. Bargain a fair contract!” The description of the video explains, “Unionized staff at SEIU have authorized a strike to win pay that keeps up with the cost of living because Mary Kay Henry and April Verrett continue to utilize corporate tricks and delay tactics instead of bargaining with us in good faith. #UnionsForAll starts at home!”
San Jose recycling drivers allege union busting
May 10, 2023 // With a staff of less than 100 people, the family-owned business has subcontracted with local governments and prolific developers to help bring major Bay Area developments to life, from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara to Santana Row and San Jose Mineta International Airport’s Terminal B. Castillo is one of up to 20 drivers for the company who haul construction materials from major development sites. The drivers voted to join the Teamsters Local 853 last year after allegations of payroll issues and unsafe working conditions were not addressed. In July, the drivers will have to vote again to keep their union.
Google contractors vote to unionize in historic landslide election
April 27, 2023 // The unionization vote passed 41-0. The National Labor Relations Board representative counting the ballots said 49 workers were eligible to vote. The employees work for the subcontractor Cognizant on content operations for Google’s YouTube Music, resolving bugs and completing other tasks to ensure the streaming service runs smoothly. Google continues to argue that Cognizant is the workers’ sole employer and says the Mountain View-based tech giant should not be forced to negotiate with the workers. Held via mail-in ballot, the election creates a bargaining unit with the Alphabet Workers Union — an organization affiliated with the Communications Workers of America that, until now, has represented only one office of unionized Google workers, a contracted Fiber retail shop in Missouri. Those workers opted to drop Google from their petition.
Union members file complaints against well-known Athens brewery
April 24, 2023 //
Tied vote stymies union effort at Lower East Side Trader Joe’s
April 24, 2023 // A two-day union vote at a Lower East Side Trader Joe’s ended in a tie, handing a loss to workers who supported the effort, the union announced Friday. The final vote at the Essex Crossing Trader Joe’s was 76-76, legally marking a win for the company, worker-led union Trader Joe’s United said in a news release. Despite the tie, however, worker-organizers at the store said they would continue to fight for a union.
GLIDE, the Tenderloin-based social justice institution, is being accused of union busting
April 11, 2023 // GLIDE, one of San Francisco’s most prestigious social justice institutions dedicated to helping the homeless and low-income, is being accused of using union busting tactics by multiple former and current employees ahead of union contract negotiations that happened earlier today.