Posts tagged UNITE HERE Local 17
Chef Ann Kim’s Korean American Restaurant Will Close Following Unionization
August 26, 2024 // Vestalia did not voluntarily recognize the union. Kim made her first public statement about the unionization push on June 9, writing on Instagram that she “firmly agree[s] that everyone deserves the right to a voice and a vote,” but that she felt Kim’s team could “come together” without a union. (The post has since been removed.) Later that month, food blogger Joe Rosenthal posted internal messages from Kim, her partner Conrad Leifur, and restaurant managers seemingly attempting to persuade staff to vote against unionizing.
First Avenue says it will recognize employee union
November 6, 2023 // Workers cited low pay, inconsistent training and short-notice scheduling among their top concerns. Unite Here Local 17 will represent all of the company's hospitality employees, whose work ranges from collecting tickets to bartending. First Avenue recognizing the union "is a testament to the love the First Ave. workers have for each other, their unity and their desire to make their workplaces better," Unite Here Local 17 said in a statement. "We look forward to beginning discussions with First Avenue." If First Avenue had chosen not to recognize the union, the next step would have been filing a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to hold a union election.
What Happens When Progressive Companies Meet Unionizing Workers?
January 5, 2023 // But today’s economy is unrecognizable from that of the 1950s, when U.S. labor last flexed considerable muscle before a decades-long downfall spurred by political kneecapping, internal mismanagement, and widescale deindustrialization. Today, as unionization rates hover near all-time lows, glimmers of hope for labor are appearing in traditionally non-unionized sectors—food/beverage, digital media, retail, museums, nonprofits, and tech. Bucking historical norms, those industries are public-facing, with customers who are often barraged by messaging about what companies believe. But when that rhetorical rubber meets the labor-agitated road, corporations often default to the same anti-union tactics that they’ve employed for more than a century.
Common Roots employees respond to its abrupt closure after unionization attempt
January 4, 2023 // Dan Schwartzman made the shock announcement Wednesday that he was immediately closing his cafe after 15 years in business, citing challenging financial conditions both before and during the pandemic, but also his staff's plans to form a union.