Posts tagged Unite Here
Concessions workers at United Center strike ahead of Big Ten Tournament
March 7, 2023 // Compass-Levy responded to the one-day strike, saying in part that it has introduced a new pension plan, wage increases and a new health care plan.
Disney Worker Hits UNITE HERE Union Bosses with Federal Charge for Illegal Dues Seizures
February 27, 2023 // Labor Board charge: Union violated federal law by ignoring worker’s request to stop dues payments without any explanation Jose Alejandro Class Robles, a Disney Parks and Resorts employee in Orlando, Florida has filed federal charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against UNITE HERE Local 362 for illegally deducting dues from his paycheck. The unfair labor practice charges were filed with the NLRB Region 12 office with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. Since 1943, Florida’s Right to Work protections make union membership and financial support strictly voluntary. However, rather than respect workers’ ability to decide individually whether or not to voluntary financially support the union, UNITE HERE union officials are blocking Class from exercising his rights under the law and stonewalling his request for required information regarding the dues deductions.
House cafeteria workers eyeing pickets, walkouts if contract talks sour
February 22, 2023 // The collective bargaining agreement for the House’s 35 caterers expired at the end of the year, while the contract for 120 dining services workers ends in May. While the two sides are talking, the terms of the old contracts will continue to apply. The House workers in Unite Here Local 23 basically want the same deal that their colleagues in the Senate got last year, which boils down to a demand for higher wages. Their current contracts set the lowest starting wage at $13.85 per hour; the union wants that minimum raised to $20. Sodexo runs 10 House dining facilities, including the Capitol Market in the basement, the Longworth and Rayburn office cafeterias, and branded shops like the Au Bon Pain in Cannon. Sodexo’s contract with the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer is up for renewal in 2025, when the CAO could either terminate the deal, renegotiate or exercise a six-year extension option.
Tech Layoffs Threaten Unions’ Plan to Draw White-Collar Workers
January 18, 2023 // Some 500 technology companies have axed nearly 100,000 workers since last October, according to Layoffs.fyi, a public database of tech layoffs. Amazon this month announced it would cut 18,000 jobs, and on the same day, cloud computing company Salesforce and the online video-sharing service Vimeo said they would slash 10% and 11% of their staffs, respectively. Meta, formerly known as Facebook, said in November it would eliminate 11,000 jobs—about 13% of its staff. Those reductions in force don’t bode well for unions that have increasingly funneled resources into tech organizing, which was, until recently, seen as an ever-growing pool of potential members. The AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation, last year raised membership fees for the first time in two decades, hoping to raise $10 million a year for new organizing. Union leaders this month flocked to Las Vegas for the CES technology conference, set on understanding how the latest innovations in artificial intelligence could disrupt their industries.
Yale grad students vote to unionize after decadeslong push
January 11, 2023 // Graduate students across the U.S., both at public and private institutions, have pushed in recent years to organize and bargain collectively. Columbia University, another Ivy League school, in 2018 agreed to begin contract negotiations with a union representing its graduate student teaching and research assistants, ending a long battle in which the university denied them the right to unionize.
Workers at Eeva in Kensington have unionized
January 11, 2023 // Local 80, Philly’s food-service union, celebrated another victory this weekend as it welcomed its latest member: Eeva, the Kensington bakery/restaurant from the owners of ReAnimator Coffee. It is the first independent restaurant in the city to unionize. “The management team at Eeva intends to voluntarily recognize the Eeva staff union,” Eeva’s owners, Mark Corpus, Greg Dunn and Mark Capriotti, said in a statement to The Inquirer on Monday.
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.
First Orlando, Now Vegas: Convention-Center Labor Strikes Authorized
December 14, 2022 // For event planners seeking to avoid a similar labor crisis that could derail their events, veteran events-industry attorney Joshua L. Grimes, Esq., of Grimes Law Office in Philadelphia, offers these thoughts: “If your event is coming up soon, I think it’s appropriate to ask the host facility specifically how they intend to handle things if the union members strike. The answer given to groups is usually, ‘Don't worry, we're going to take care of it.’ But without a labor agreement in place, I would say it's reasonable to ask the in-house catering company for a detailed backup plan. And if a group does not have confidence in what it hears, the group could demand the right to bring in its own caterer” or to use other options such as food trucks. Further, “due diligence requires that a group not wait until a few days before the event to start asking questions. There's a legal doctrine called ‘anticipatory breach’ that says a group may not need to wait until the last minute to see if foodservice can be provided at an acceptable level of quality. If it's clear that the in-house caterer won't be able to perform its contractual obligations, the group may be able to cancel the foodservice contract before the event starts and proceed to make alternate arrangements to get F&B for its guests” at an acceptable level of both product quality and service quality.
What’s next for staffer unions on the Hill?
November 1, 2022 // Staff for another five members — all Democrats — have filed petitions with the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to hold elections. Since the initial eight offices filed petitions when they were first allowed to in July, only two more have done so — staff for Reps. Dina Titus of Nevada and Sean Casten of Illinois. If all form unions, around 100 House staffers out of 9,100 will be represented by the Congressional Workers Union.
College cafeteria workers organize with support from Catholic Labor Network
October 25, 2022 // On behalf of workers at Loyola, Unite Here has asked Sodexo to enter into a card check neutrality agreement; if accepted, the company would pledge to recognize the union automatically if a certain number of signed union authorization cards are collected. The letter to Sodexo prepared by the Catholic Labor Network and the Interreligious Network for Worker Solidarity affirms it is up to workers, not their employer, to make decisions around union membership. "We call on Sodexo to treat workers with the dignity they deserve," it reads. Fr. Ty Hullinger, a pastor in Baltimore, signed the letter and attended the September listening session organized by the Catholic Labor Network. Ignatian Solidarity Network, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development