The Weekly Download

“Two of America’s biggest grocery store chains, who control 16% of all grocery stores, are preparing to merge. It’s an impending disaster for workers and consumers.”

“A judge at the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision Monday in a case where workers accused Amazon of illegally suppressing a union campaign in Staten Island, New York ― finding that the online retail giant violated the law on three occasions as it tried to persuade workers not to unionize during 2021 and 2022.”

“...[I]ntense pushback against unionization is becoming the norm in the US – and it is having an impact. The intense opposition from many major US employers to workers who are trying to unionize is a major factor in the recent decline in labor union density in the US, with the US having among the lowest union densities compared with other industrialized countries.”

“Apple Inc (AAPL.O) maintains workplace policies that unlawfully discourage employees from discussing working conditions, a U.S. labor agency has found. The National Labor Relations Board will issue a complaint targeting the policies and claiming Apple executives made comments that stymied worker organizing unless the company settles first, an agency official said on Monday in an email reviewed by Reuters.”

“Alphabet Inc. is illegally using return-to-office policies as a tool to try to derail YouTube contract workers from organizing in Texas, a union alleged in a National Labor Relations Board complaint.”

“[Right-to-work] laws have nothing whatsoever to do with a right to work. No U.S. state guarantees its residents jobs, as these laws suggest they will. The name is a fraud. Rather, they are best described as right-to-freeload laws.”

“Two economic releases today tell us that U.S. economic conditions remain strong for workers ... Solid economic growth is a clear indication that the American economy is strong and there are no signs that an unemployment-producing recession is looming.”

“PhD student workers at Johns Hopkins University voted overwhelmingly in favor of union representation this week, opting to make Teachers and Researchers United–United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (TRU-UE) their exclusive representative for the purposes of collective bargaining.”

“[G]rievances — including claims of discrimination and calls for fair and transparent pay — have led a growing segment of the industry’s workforce to unionize — a tactic many might associate more with old-school factory lines than 21st century software gigs.”

“Chicago’s thousands of graduate workers — increasingly responsible for teaching and research work once performed by faculty — have long been overworked, underpaid, and non-union…If Northwestern and UChicago were to raise workplace standards, organizers believe it will have a tangible impact on academic workers across Chicago

"On Thursday and Friday, about 32,000 Disney employees will be voting on a contract offer from management... The company’s five-year offer would raise salaries for cast members by a minimum of $1 an hour per year, taking most workers to at least $20 an hour by 2026."

“Home care is one of the fastest-growing occupations in the U.S., and the need for these workers is only expected to skyrocket in the coming years as the population of people over the age of 65 doubles. But Black women … who make up a large percentage of this workforce, are also aging—and they’re entirely without a safety net.”

“2022 saw an unprecedented rise in labor organizing in U.S. tech firms, with some workers pushing for collective rights just as a tanking economy changed the industry's dynamics.”

“New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has fashioned himself a loyal ally to organized labor. He’s negotiated multiple contracts with major public employee unions and been showered with their political support. But at Rutgers University, where faculty and staff have been without a contract for more than 200 days, the Democrat isn’t the one leading discussions with labor leaders. Murphy and Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway have left that, mainly, to members of former Gov. Chris Christie’s administration.”

“Teamsters at United Airlines have ratified an agreement that includes significant wage increases and added job protections for more than 8,200 technicians and related classifications nationwide.”

“Teamsters President Sean O’Brien is promising a hard fight. He won election in late 2021 on a vow to get tougher with UPS and correct what he says was a flawed contract forced on workers in 2018. The union is also shortening the negotiation period with UPS. Talks on the nationwide contract will begin April 16, O’Brien said in an interview.”

“Earlier this month, Maryland state Del. Robbyn Lewis and Sen. Jill Carter, both of Baltimore City, sponsored legislation that would give employees at the Walters Art Museum collective bargaining rights and the ability to have their union recognized. Due in part to intractable museum leadership, the workers have been unable to certify their union despite achieving overwhelming support among staff.”

“Higher education workers are helping drive labor struggle right now …On January 31, Temple University’s grad workers joined the ranks of that struggle. With a light winter rain sprinkling them, 750 members of TUGSA walked off the job — and onto the picket lines.”

“Even as newspaper profits have plummeted and job losses have piled up, newsroom employees in the U.S. have stopped short of open-ended strikes for more than 20 years. But the Post-Gazette is ending that streak.”

“To some, the memes are just a misstep, an excess of the too-online. But this is what at least some organizing is likely to look like from a newer, if not exclusive cultural face of labor.”

“In 1962, when Chávez and his allies began organizing farmworkers, chemical companies deceptively asserted that their pesticides could be used safely, so long as they weren’t applied beyond the recommended dosage. But farmworkers’ own experiences helped them realize that these claims were specious.”

“...[W]orkers at all kinds of workplaces can fight for their unions and win demands here and now. It's a strategy called “pre-majority” unionism, and the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) is here to help navigate it.”

“Over the past year, there has been a notable influx of energy surrounding the labor movement, with tight labor markets giving workers a greater ability to demand better wages. At the same time, popular support for unions reached highs not seen since the 1960s. To take full advantage of the moment, a comprehensive policy rethink is needed.”

“Opportunities now exist for workers and unions in all three countries to jointly oppose efforts of employers to use the integration of the three economies to weaken the Mexican, Canadian, and U.S. labor movements. Such an alliance also presents the opportunity to reverse the depression of wages and poor working conditions of workers across the U.S., Canadian, and Mexican borders.”