Posts tagged voluntary recognition
Under Trump, Student Labor Organizers Face New Challenges
August 7, 2025 // Anticipating a rollback of recent NLRB precedent, some unions have withdrawn petitions for recognition, looking for other paths to continue their work.
Will Sussman: Columbia Students Should Decertify Their Union
August 5, 2025 // Columbia students are fed up with their union’s focus on radicalism over bread-and-butter issues. “As a Jewish Israeli student at Columbia, the union has done absolutely nothing for me,” said Alon Levin, a graduate student in electrical engineering. “I have heard more blatantly racist and discriminatory language from them than anything that would remotely resemble aiding me in, say, addressing my cost of living or my health insurance concerns.” The problem with graduate student unions is not limited to Columbia, as I learned at MIT.
Now Park City Mountain’s bike and trail workers want to form a union
August 5, 2025 // After seeing the success of the ski patrol union in last winter’s strike, the resort’s summer employees are trying to follow suit.
Casa Bonita Workers Will Still Face Nasty Gases, Drunk Patrons, But Now As a Part of a Union
July 21, 2025 // The more recent efforts for this small arcade team to unionize started up again in May, when all eight team members signed authorization cards, citing lack of job security, unfair pay and inconsistent shifts. We’ll have to wait and see what the future of Casa Bonita’s larger union holds, but it appears employees may still have to deal with concerning odors, hordes of camera-wielding influencers and rowdy South Park fans.
Unionizing NYC’s Board Game Cafés
June 17, 2025 // Following the lead of Starbucks workers, employees at board game cafés across New York City unionized in 2023 as Tabletop Workers United. After impressive shows of customer support and a credible strike threat, TWU has just won its first tentative agreement.
Garden State Equality staff move to unionize
June 12, 2025 // Initially, GSE had chosen not to recognize them, according to @gseworkersunited on Instagram, and created a community petition on May 10th to sway management to reconsider their decision. On May 15, @gseworkersunited posted, “Two dozen organizations and more than 50 individuals signed a petition urging management to voluntarily recognize our union … Unfortunately, management did not listen to our community and refused to consider the petition.” According to GSE Deputy Director Brielle Winslow-Majette, GSE leadership never denied the request for voluntary recognition, but wanted to move forward with an election process due to the union’s decision to file with the NLRB.
Aquarium workers to vote on potential unionization after voluntary recognition is rejected.
February 27, 2025 // Executive Director Julie Packard, who recently announced her retirement, sent a message to Aquarium employees stating: “We want to be sure we honor each of your voices… That’s why holding a secret ballot election is the best path forward.” There are two main ways workers can form a union with a private company, says Shane Anderson, organizing director with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, one of the largest labor unions in the country which is representing MBAWU. The first is through voluntary recognition if a majority of workers show support, and the second is through a formal union election filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
With federal student labor rights in limbo, Brown’s unions push for state-level protections
February 10, 2025 // Under President Trump, the National Labor Relations Board may overrule its landmark 2016 decision extending unionization rights to student workers.
Workers Unionize at NIAD, Richmond’s Progressive Art Studio
October 17, 2024 // After NIAD workers delivered a letter of intent to executive director Amanda Eicher Tuesday morning, the organization’s board executive committee voted unanimously to recognize NIAD Unidad.