Posts tagged voluntary recognition
Amazon says it will not recognize workers’ unionization push at Merrillville warehouse
October 27, 2026 // Amazon does not plan to voluntarily recognize drivers who filed union authorization cards to join the Teamsters Local 142, setting up an election through the National Labor Relations Board. Transportation Operations Management, or TOM, Team drivers out of the 1 million-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center just off Interstate 65 in Merrillville rallied there Thursday to demand the company negotiate a union contract. The department employs about 21 workers out of the hundreds who work at the hulking Amazon warehouse, union leaders said.
Pro women’s softball players unionize, ask AUSL for voluntary recognition
October 14, 2026 // The unionization effort was spearheaded by Sports Solidarity, a consulting firm founded by attorney Harry Marino, who led the successful unionization of Minor League Baseball players in September 2022.
Publishing’s ‘Hot Labor Summer’
August 26, 2026 // HWC organizers told PW they had been organizing on and off since 2022 and decided to go public this April. Something was in the air. Weeks earlier, employees at Catapult Book Group had launched their own union, and after HWC, staffers at University of Chicago Press and Dark Horse Comics announced union drives in quick succession. HWC, the Catapult Workers Collective, and the University of Chicago Press Workers Guild all won their union elections, while Dark Horse Workers United received voluntary recognition from management. In each union’s public statements, employees expressed strikingly similar reasons for organizing: inadequate pay, large workloads, and limited potential for advancement. They all cited, in their own words, what HBG organizer Julia DeVarti, an associate editor at Little, Brown, called publishing’s “passion tax”—workers’ tendency to “be exploited for working in an industry we love.”
Mount Vernon-based Baby’s On Fire Cafe to shutter after workers seek to unionize
July 13, 2026 // Baby's On Fire Cafe will close its doors soon, according to an Instagram post made Friday. Owners Shirlé Hale-Koslowski and David Koslowski cited "significant losses in revenue" as the reason for the closure of the Mount Vernon-based cafe and record store, with the last day of service set for Sunday, July 19.
Why Denver City Council aides want to form a union
June 24, 2026 // The City Council had not yet recognized the union as of Tuesday, Theresa Marchetta, a spokesperson for the Office of Human Resources, told us. Marchetta said the council doesn't have legal authority to certify the bargaining unit, a step that must be completed by the American Arbitration Association.
QVC’s on-air hosts aim to unionize as bankruptcy case continues
June 17, 2026 // On Tuesday, SAG-AFTRA — which represents 160,000 media professionals nationwide — filed an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on the QVC hosts’ behalf, according to the federal agency’s website. If the employer does not voluntarily recognize the union, the petition can trigger an NLRB election and lead to a union’s formal certification. The hosts are taking steps to unionize as company higher-ups try to expedite the bankruptcy process, with the hope of emerging this summer.
‘Demanding a voice’: Tri-State workers go on strike, want union recognition
May 12, 2026 // Workers at Batesville Products plan to begin a strike Monday morning after unanimously voting to demand union recognition, according to Teamsters Local 135. The group — including machinists, polishers, and shipping and receiving employees — is organizing with the union amid concerns over workplace conditions, long hours, pay and benefits. Workers say many have been required to work 60-hour weeks for months with little improvement in conditions. Employees requested voluntary recognition from the company April 28, but the request was denied. They then filed for a representation election with the National Labor Relations Board.
University of Chicago Press Staffers Move to Unionize
May 6, 2026 // The UCP Workers Guild would be the first union in the nonprofit publisher's 130-year history. If not recognized voluntarily, workers will seek a mail election monitored by the National Labor Relations Board. A supermajority of the 139 eligible staffers across the nonprofit publisher's divisions has already signed union cards, according to the Guild.
Is unionization of doctors a good idea amid rising patient loads? Editorial Board Roundtable
May 5, 2026 // Last Tuesday, organizers behind a proposed “Primary Care Providers Union of MetroHealth” asked the Cleveland hospital system to recognize the union immediately, without need for a unionization vote, Organizers seeking to create a chapter of AFSCME Ohio Council 8 said a majority of the MetroHealth physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice registered nurses and certified nurse practitioners eligible to join had already signed union cards.
A quiet filing could decide what happens next inside one of gaming’s biggest studios
April 28, 2026 // From layoffs and return-to-office mandates to challenges around AI and creativity, it’s not all fun and games for video game workers. And now, some are seeking to unionize. On April 27, a group of game developers behind the digital collectible card game Magic: The Gathering Arena announced the intent to form a union in affiliation with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The group is a part of the gaming studio Wizards of the Coast (WOTC), a division of Hasbro.