Posts tagged walkout
Here’s how a union strike could impact Ford — and what Jim Cramer thinks about the stock
September 6, 2023 // The risk of a walkout by the union has also created near-term uncertainty for General Motors (GM) and Stellantis (STLA) — the Dutch owner of the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands, among others. The UAW's current labor contract covering 146,000 workers at the Big 3 American automakers expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sept. 14. Jim Cramer's advice: He would not look to buy more Ford on weakness nor would he look to sell Ford stock at this point. Club name Ford, which employs the most UAW members at 57,000, has seen its stock drop more than 6% in the past month. Over the same stretch, GM, which has 46,000 UAW members, declined roughly 9% and Stellantis, which has 43,000 union workers, fell roughly 7%. No matter where the talks lead, the automakers are going to see significant increases in their labor costs. The question is whether they have enough inventory to offset complications from work stoppage.
Labor Day weekend draws Portland workers out in droves to the picket lines
September 5, 2023 // Across town, in Northeast Portland, New Seasons Market employees walked off the job and took up signs to express their frustration. "We're out here today protesting against a union-busting tactic that New Seasons has sort of been leveraging," said Wil, a New Seasons Market employee. "They've used their very punitive attendance policy to pit union stores and non-union stores against each other." The New Seasons Labor Union is an independent workers union, and so are many of the groups that marched in downtown Portland on Saturday. “We’ve always had the larger unions representing us, but now working-class people are taking it into their own hands to form their own unions and take the power back in the workplace," said Samantha Medina with the Coalition of Independent Unions.
San Jose workers strike paused as terms sent to city council, labor groups say
August 16, 2023 // The workers are calling for better wages, better working conditions and asking the city to address nearly 800 job vacancies. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan released the following statement: "While I support substantial raises for our workers, I will be paying close attention to the Budget Office's projected fiscal impact before voting on the proposal. Signing up for tens of millions of dollars in projected deficits and, therefore, likely future service cuts and layoffs wouldn't be fair to city workers or residents. I won't vote for something today that's going to hurt us tomorrow."
‘It feels like it’s strike summer’: US unions flex muscles across industries
July 31, 2023 // “In the wake of the Patco strike, companies saw strikes as opportunities to weaken unions or even break them. That’s not the case today. Today there’s no fear that calling a strike will result in disaster,” said Lichtenstein. “Today there’s a sense that unions are on the offensive,” Lichtenstein continued. “Take the actors. They say they don’t want just a good contract. They want a transformative contract.”
Terminations and failed union negotiations lead to closures of Nashville coffee shops
July 7, 2023 // The futures of two popular Nashville coffee shops are uncertain as multiple Barista Parlor locations and Three Brothers Coffee remain closed after weeks of failed union negotiation efforts and unexplained terminations. Employees at both companies say baristas have major concerns about the coffee industry in Nashville because of multiple closures, terminations and low or stolen wages. Golden Sound, a Barista Parlor location in the Gulch, closed almost two months ago. Some employees transferred to the Germantown location before all but three staff were fired without warning June 14. A Barista Parlor worker said management attempted to have one-on-one meetings with staff in order to terminate them, but the group demanded to meet together. Three staff members who were not terminated quit in solidarity. The entire staff of the Hillsboro Village location also walked out, citing similar concerns about working conditions, understaffing, wages and job security. Katte Noel, who has worked at Barista Parlor for a year and a half, said workers have experienced hundreds of dollars in wage theft in the last few months. Noel said management has promised to repay those wages but This was in addition to hours being cut and company favorites being given better shift times and assignments, which Noel says puts stress on baristas trying to make ends meet; shorter shifts mean slimmer pay checks.
Trader Joe’s staff walkout at Hadley store, local unions join in protest
July 3, 2023 // The union representing up to 15,000 workers employed at 65 major hotels in Los Angeles and Orange counties said that their members are on strike. The union promised whatever action they take would include a peaceful sit-in at Los Angeles International Airport. Contract agreements are unresolved with the remaining hotels, which include the Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott LA Live, the Beverly Hilton, Fairmont Miramar, Anaheim Hilton, and Four Seasons Regent Beverly Wilshire.
Erie’s United Electrical Workers Strike at Wabtec
June 26, 2023 // On June 10, Wabtec offered workers what was described as their "last, best, and final offer" in the ongoing contract negotiations. On June 22, the membership voted not to ratify it. Wabtec executives expressed disappointment in a letter, stating that it is an "unfortunate decision" that the labor would "engage in a strike at this time rather than return to the bargaining table." They added that a walkout benefited no one and argued that they had "repeatedly informed the UE" that the Erie plant's labor costs were burdening and their work rules too restrictive. "UE members have rejected these terms," the company continued, "and are striking in support of Union proposals that would significantly increase our wage and benefit costs, further limit operational flexibility, and create an on-going risk of disruption in our manufacturing operations." Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was no mention by the company of the costs of Wabtec executives as a burden. According to the AFL-CIO, Wabtec CEO Rafael Santana received over $11 million in compensation in 2021 alone. Explained in another way, $11 million is equivalent to nearly 150 employees earning $75,000 each. For additional context, as described by the Economic Policy Institute, the CEO-to-worker compensation disparity has increased significantly over the decades: 15-to-1 in 1965, 44-to-1 in 1989, to now hundreds of times more today (between 200 to 300).
Lunds & Byerlys workers may go on strike if deal can’t be reached
June 26, 2023 //
Amazon drivers, dispatchers stage walkout at Palmdale warehouse
June 16, 2023 // The 84 workers involved in the one-day walkout are employed by logistics partner Battle-Tested Strategies and subcontracted by Amazon. They voted in April to join Teamsters Local 396 in hopes of boosting their wages to $30 hourly by September and securing immediate safety protections. In a statement issued Thursday, Amazon spokeswoman Eileen Hards said facts are “being intentionally misrepresented” by the Teamsters and Battle-Tested Strategies. “This company has a history of underperformance and not providing a safe environment, and was notified that Amazon was ending their contract before the Teamsters got involved to try and re-write the facts,” Hards said.