Posts tagged Workers United
Starbucks, union in legal battle over pro-Palestinian social media post
October 19, 2023 // Starbucks sued Workers United in federal court in Iowa Wednesday, saying a pro-Palestinian social media post from a union account early in the Israel-Hamas war angered hundreds of customers and damaged its reputation. Starbucks is suing for trademark infringement, demanding that Workers United stop using the name "Starbucks Workers United" for the group that is organizing the coffee company's workers. Starbucks also wants the group to stop using a circular green logo that resembles Starbucks' logo. Workers United responded with its own filing, asking a federal court in Pennsylvania to rule that it can continue to use Starbucks' name and a similar logo. Workers United also said Starbucks defamed the union by implying that it supports terrorism and violence.
Tesla Workers Are Union “Members Of The Future,” UAW President Says
October 19, 2023 // Tesla is likely the most "problematic" carmaker for the UAW as CEO Elon Musk strongly opposes unionization at the company's plants. The United Auto Workers and Workers United trade unions have sought to unionize Tesla's workers in California and New York, respectively, but Elon Musk has thwarted all attempts so far. In addition, as Teslarati points out, numerous Tesla workers have become millionaires in the past despite being non-unionized, thanks to the company's stock-based compensation programs. In an infamous tweet from May 2018, Musk seemed to threaten Tesla workers with the loss of stock options if they formed a union. "Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?" read the tweet. The National Labor Relations Board ordered Musk to delete the tweet, but the billionaire appealed the court order.
NYC cafe chain will be a test of a new unionization process
September 28, 2023 // Under updated protocol, the proprietors of Hex will have two weeks to petition the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an election if they opt not to voluntarily recognize a chapter of Workers United, the union that is organizing Starbucks. Under the previous protocol, workers would formally ask the NLRB, the federal agency that regulates union elections, to schedule an election to determine if a union represents them. The new arrangement shifts the responsibility of calling for an election to management. One of the most controversial aspect of the new process is the greater leeway it gives the NLRB to recognize the employees as a collective bargaining regardless of an election’s outcome. If the Board has found the employer has engaged in unfair labor practices of any sort leading up to the election, it can declare the union has prevailed, regardless of how employees voted. Previously, the NLRB’s ability to negate an election was much more constrained. Typically the regulatory body would instead call for a second election.
Philly Good Karma Café Employees Will Soon Vote on Whether to Boot Out Workers United Union Officials
August 23, 2023 // The Good Karma employees’ election comes as coffee employees across the country are seeking votes to remove unwanted unions from their workplaces, most notably at Starbucks. Workers United is the same union that is waging an aggressive and high-profile unionization campaign on Starbucks, bolstered by the money and resources of the gigantic Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The New York Post reported in July that Workers United spent nearly $2.5 million on hiring “salts” and other union activists. “Salts” are covert union agents who obtain jobs at nonunion firms to agitate in favor of union control, and often quit soon after the union is installed. “After the Workers United union was installed, there was a lot of employee turnover and we soon found ourselves very short-staffed,” Camponeschi commented. “Workers United union officials have been bad for the stability of Good Karma and have not stood up for the interests of me and my coworkers, and I’m sure that a majority of my coworkers will vote to move forward without their presence.”
NEW UNIONS, NEW TENSIONS: THE COMPLEXITIES OF UNION DECERTIFICATION
August 15, 2023 // Whether these early decertification attempts will gain momentum or fizzle out remains to be seen. Many of the petitions, especially those filed by Starbucks partners, could be blocked by the NLRB due to the high number of ULPs filed by the SBWU union. However, the petitions have generated a lot of publicity indicative of a stirring debate on relevance within newly organized workplaces where little progress has been made in collective bargaining. For now, the prominent backlash from major unions signals they are gearing up to defend their turf aggressively. But if more workers come forward, this could suggest deeper divisions emerging that unions must address.
Starbucks union wants to enlist customers to organize pickets
July 10, 2023 // The Workers United union plans to hand out flyers during a 13-city bus tour to customers with a QR code that takes them to a sign-up sheet to organize their own protests during a "national 'Adopt-a-Store' day of action" on Aug. 7, according to copies of the flyers seen by Reuters. "(Employees) voted for bargaining not buses," the company said, adding that stalled negotiations have led workers to be so frustrated that they filed petitions to kick out the union at several stores. The union's tour has two legs: one travels through the Midwest, South and East, while a second leg will run up the Pacific coast, arriving in Seattle around Aug. 7, the union said. The tour will also target Starbucks board members such as Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford, whose likeness was carved into a statue made of butter that union members delivered to the creamery's Minneapolis headquarters in April.
Starbucks union says workers at more than 150 stores will strike over Pride decor
June 23, 2023 // Workers United has alleged instances in at least 22 states when workers have not been able to decorate. It says it filed an unfair labor practice charge over the alleged change in policy. The coffee giant said its policy on decorating has not changed and that it unwaveringly supports the LGBTQ+ community.
Workers at Museum of Science and Industry vote to unionize
June 19, 2023 // According to its website, the museum sees nearly 1.5 million guests each year, approximately 40% of which visit for free. Employees at the museum first announced plans to unionize in April 2023. More than 50 workers signed an open letter, in which they called for pay increases, professional development and improved health and safety protocols. In March 2023, employees at the Field Museum approved a union contract while those at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum filed for an election.
Corrupt Cappuccinos? Unions Looking to Organize Coffee Shops Aren’t Giving Workers the Whole Story
June 19, 2023 // If union leaders are sometimes keeping money for themselves, they don’t seem to be spreading the wealth. In 2020, UFCW Local 400 issued a statement that workers should be prepared to strike against the supermarket chain Kroger. But hidden in the details of the statement was the fact that the national headquarters of the union would only pay workers $100 a week after the first eight days of striking. By the end of 2020, the union paid nearly double for hotels ($1,003,755) than on strike benefits for workers ($574,173). While UFCW Local 400 members would have struggled financially if a strike took place, the union had nearly $90 million in on hand cash by the end of 2020.