Posts tagged union election
Innercare staves off unionization for now
August 21, 2024 // The fight to unionize 14 Innercare facilities in the Imperial and Coachella Valleys fell short last month, as the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West lost a unionization election in a 214-132 vote last month.
SkyWest Airlines facing federal lawsuit over alleged ‘fake company union’
August 14, 2024 // SkyWest Airlines, the largest regional airline in North America, is facing legal action over an alleged “fake” company union that the airline operates and the allegedly retaliatory firings of flight attendants who were engaged in union organizing efforts. A lawsuit was filed by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) in October 2023. The US Department of Labor also filed a lawsuit last month against the company over the “company union”, alleging SkyWest Inflight Association (SIA) did not perform its legal duties as a representative agency and barred two employees from running in an election for leadership positions due to their support for an independent union at the airline.
Union losses Innercare election, alleges employee intimidation, harassment
July 31, 2024 // “Certainly the employees suffered from harassment but not from Innercare but from the members of the SEIU,” Gonzalez wrote on the union’s Facebook page Friday. “Not content with harassing them at work, they also had the audacity to show up at their homes and refused to leave even though they were asked to do so.” The Facebook user assured SEIU-UHW members allegedly chased patients around the Innercare parking lot to hand out brochures she considered “full of false information.” “Employees do not need to be represented by such snide and abusive people who do not show the slightest bit of respect and education,” Gonzalez wrote.
Ranking Member Cassidy Demands Accountability from NLRB for Abusing Authority, Influencing Union Elections on Behalf of Labor Organizers
July 19, 2024 // In early 2023, a whistleblower came forward with information and documents alleging that NLRB regional officials in St. Louis, MO improperly coordinated with Starbucks Workers United (SWU) to tip union elections in favor of SWU. Following an investigation into the claims, the NLRB Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that NLRB officials in St. Louis engaged in “gross mismanagement” in an attempt to promote a union election victory at a Starbucks retail location. Similar allegations of improper election management have also been made at the NLRB’s Buffalo, NY office. On June 6, the NLRB OIG released another report detailing serious issues in the NLRB’s mail ballot election system, including the Board’s failure to ensure that all employees received a ballot in a union election. Specifically, OIG found that a staggering 49 percent of elections audited had instances of at least one voter not receiving a ballot. This gross mismanagement undermines the union election process, preventing all workers from having a voice on whether they want their workplace to be unionized.
Compass Coffee union election on hold over challenged ballots
July 18, 2024 // More than 100 workers from seven Compass Coffee shops voted Tuesday on whether to unionize, but after all the ballots were cast, nothing was resolved in this contentious battle between union organizers and the Washington-based company that has been accused of hiring dozens of new employees to dilute the vote. All 22 workers whose ballots went unchallenged voted in favor of a union, according to tallies from the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday. But union organizers and Compass representatives challenged 101 ballots, which puts the issue in the NLRB’s hands.
Baristas at Flatwoods Starbucks seek unionization for second time after failed bid in 2023
July 11, 2024 // Following the failed election for the Flatwoods store last year, Tambellini said the union filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board. “Those charges were settled and now they’re trying for a second time,” Tambellini said. According to the NLRB, objections were filed by the union and workers seeking union recognition following the March vote. Those documents were not available to be viewed by publication time Tuesday.
UAW president: Mercedes breaking promises to workers by blaming the union
June 25, 2024 // “Status quo refers to a specific legal standard in U.S. labor law that requires unionized employers to notify the union prior to making any changes to wages, benefits, or working conditions and bargain with the union over any proposed changes prior to implementation,” Fain said. “However, MBUSI is not currently unionized, so no status quo condition exists” [emphasis in original].
Austin Pets Alive workers vote to unionize, creating the largest animal shelter union in the U.S.
June 12, 2024 // Despite the vote, APA workers have a long road ahead. Because Texas is a “right to work” state, APA workers might have more difficulty getting everything they want out of a contract. In a “right-to-work” state, employees can choose whether or not they want to join a union, but once the union is certified it represents every employee in a union-covered position, even those who choose not to be members and don’t pay dues. As KUT has previously reported, “this is thought to weaken a union's power because it doesn't always receive every employee's full support.”
OPINION A regulatory change promises to make the unionization of restaurants even easier
May 31, 2024 // And if that employer shows even mild resistance during that process to the staff being organized, a judge can declare the union has won the right to represent the employees, with no vote needed. In that instance, it’s not even necessary for a majority of the employees to favor unionizing. Working Lunch co-hosts Joe Kefauver and Franklin Coley explain how that radical change in the organizing process is already being used by unions to organize single-unit restaurant operations.