Posts tagged union election
BACKGROUNDER: Employee Rights Act
June 26, 2023 // Sponsored by Rick Allen (R-GA) The Employee Rights Act of 2025 safeguards and strengthens the rights of American workers. It guarantees workers’ right to a secret ballot election, ensures they can work directly with their employer if they opt-out of union membership, protects worker privacy, allows workers to choose to fund union politics or not, provides legal clarity for small business owners and independent contractors, and guarantees fair representation for all American workers.
In Union Votes, 11% Can Make a Majority
June 24, 2023 // Sen. Bill Cassidy raised the issue on June 21 in a Senate committee debate. He proposed an amendment to a labor-backed bill that would require a union to win support from a majority of eligible workers before representing a workplace—not just a majority of those who turn out to vote. (Fittingly, the committee debate lacked a quorum, so a vote on the amendment had to be postponed, under Senate rules.) Sen. Bernie Sanders led the opposition to the proposal. When only a handful of workers vote, it is more likely that the union doesn’t speak for the majority of workers, much less everyone. By contrast, when many workers vote for a union, there is a clearer signal that representation is popular. Once a union wins an election, it often maintains its grip on a workplace for generations. Future workers, who didn’t get a chance to vote for the union, can take comfort knowing that a large share of their predecessors wanted unionization.
New report finds inequity before labor boards
June 5, 2023 // Between December 2015 and December 2022, fewer than 1% of individuals’ charges by federal employees against their union resulted in an enforcement action. Of the 1,211 cases brought by individuals in the seven-year-period, just 9 resulted in an FLRA complaint against the union. Two unions—the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU)—accounted for the overwhelming majority of charges filed by individuals. Of the 1,211 charges, 935 were filed against AFGE, and 108 were filed against NTEU. Fewer than 1% of individuals’ charges resulted in a settlement of some kind. Of the 1,211 cases brought by individuals, just 12 resulted in a private or bilateral settlement. Over 52% of individuals’ charges were dismissed. Of the 1,211 cases brought by individuals, 636 were dismissed in full; another 2 were dismissed in part. Over 45% of individuals’ charges were withdrawn by the individual at some point prior to a determination. Of the 1,211 cases brought by individuals, 552 were marked as withdrawn.
DC restaurant workers claim attempt to unionize caused popular eatery to close
May 25, 2023 // In a statement to partners at 7News, IHG Hotels & Resorts, the owners of The Wharf’s InterContinental Hotel, announced that it will be parting ways with Moon Rabbit chef Kevin Tien and options are “being explored for a new concept” to replace the restaurant. The closure comes more than a month after the restaurant made Food and Wine’s “10 Best Restaurants in the U.S.”
Nurses inch toward union vote amid GW Hospital’s alleged anti-union efforts
May 23, 2023 // Page said without space to advertise the union inside the hospital, union organizers began advertising the benefits of unionizing in chalk art, with slogans like “Patients Over Profits” on the pavement outside the hospital and flyers posted near the Foggy Bottom Metro station. He said union representatives table outside the hospital to answer any questions nurses might have three times per week.
New York: Workers at Union Square Barnes & Noble push for unionization
May 1, 2023 // Employees at the Union Square store filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board on Friday, hoping to be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. RWDSU also represents other booksellers in New York City such as McNally Jackson and Greenlight Bookstore. According to workers, the petition came hours after management at Barnes & Noble chose not to voluntarily recognize the union. A Barnes & Noble spokesperson declined to comment. . “We’re stretched thin, and with a union we’d win the pay, needed benefits and long-overdue training and safety resources we need to attract more co-workers and adequately staff the store so our customers have a safer and better experience shopping with us,” said Desiree Nelson, a lead bookseller at the Union Square store.
The biggest federal employee union expands its international presence
April 20, 2023 // Some 10,000 federal employees working in Europe will soon be eligible for the American Federation of Government Employees. AFGE has launched a new local, as it expands coverage. Tom Temin And what are the timelines and schedules here? When does this election take place? When does it get certified? And how long will this all take? Peter Winch Well, we would hope to file for an election Defense Health Agency continent-wide. And we have a new logo, which is based on our U.S. logo with the map of Europe. And we have a new card for people to fill out if they want to have an election at their workplace. And if they contact AFGE, and we’re getting a lot of contacts, they can join by what we call E-dues. So I work for District 14, we have Local 14 and the dues are $14. If you’re an at large member, and if we succeed in these elections, it’ll be $20 and you get all the benefits of membership then.
Ben & Jerry’s workers in flagship Vermont store file for union election
April 18, 2023 // The company's stance on this recent unionization push isn't yet known. In 1998, the company challenged a unionization attempt made by maintenance workers in its Vermont plant, arguing the union vote should be held among all plant workers.
The Undercover Organizers Behind America’s Union Wins
April 5, 2023 // The practice of joining a workplace with the secret aim of organizing it is called “salting.” Westlake was addressing recruits at the Inside Organizer School, a workshop held a couple times a year by a loose confederation of labor organizers. At these meetups, experienced activists train other attendees in the art of going undercover. Speakers lecture and lead discussions on how to pass employer screenings, forge relationships with co-workers and process the complicated feelings that can accompany a double life. Most salts are volunteers, not paid union officials, but unions sometimes fund their housing or, later, tap them for full-time jobs. Workers United, the Service Employees International Union affiliate that’s home to the new Starbucks union, hired Westlake as an organizer around the time the coffee chain fired him last fall.