The Weekly Download

“Here in the United States, I think it’s somehow easy to confuse isolation for independence. We feel free driving our own cars, and many of us dream of being our own boss. But these faceless apps are a new kind of boss, one that is always watching each one of us while we work alone in our cars. Alone, we are powerless to change anything, which is why unions were created. The problem is that drivers for Uber and Lyft have no way to form one.”

“Listen to Burnes Center Senior Fellow Seth Harris in conversation about podcasting in the labor movement with Judy Ancel, executive producer of the "Heartland Labor Forum;" Max Alvarez, host of "Working People" and Editor-In-Chief of the Real News Network; and Mel Buer, staff reporter at the Real News Network and host of the "Real News Network Podcast." Seth and guests discuss why they started their podcasts and some of the biggest current issues in the labor movement like union reform, the strengths and weaknesses of American labor law, and the importance of labor leadership.”

“Culture change is never easy. But it is happening, and not just at Stanford. Medicine residents at the University of Pennsylvania and Fellows at Mass General Brigham Housestaff recently unionized. It is going to take time for people to adjust to the fact that being in a union is not a bad thing. Maybe this could be good for my professional development because I am going to learn skills about negotiation, public speaking, and what advocacy can look like. As a profession, maybe we could actually organize to change this harmful system instead of organizing to perpetuate it like we used to.”

“Costco workers in Norfolk, Virginia, recently unionized, defying the company’s reputation as one that cares about workers. In an interview, a Costco worker says he and his coworkers are tired of being treated with disrespect on the job.”

“After a years-long fight, legislative employees at the State Capitol and throughout California will have the right to unionize following the signing of AB 1 by Gov. Gavin Newsom. This will affect numerous Sacramento-area workers.  The bill, also known as the Legislative Employer-Employee Relations Act, or LEERA, takes effect on July 1, 2026. The bill was authored by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor of Inglewood, who formerly worked as a legislative staffer. ‘I thought this would be a dream job and then got here and saw it differently,’ McKinnor recalled. ‘I saw lots of bullying. I saw just an inconsistency in pay.’ McKinnor said she remembered only making $80,000 as a staffer when her male coworker was making $150,000. She said that state legislators were able to pay staff whatever they thought they were worth. ‘A lot of times in the Senate, doing the same work, a black woman is not thought of the same as a white man,’ McKinnor suggested."

“Toyota used to host free car giveaways and give workers 12% bonuses. They promised workers would ‘retire as millionaires.’ Now Toyota workers can’t even afford the cars they make, while the company’s profits have doubled over the past 40 years.”

“Nine MOW workers on the Class III Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad have voted 8-1 to join the BMWED and will be assigned to the Allied Federation. The newest Brothers, who maintain and repair trackage from Baldwin through Tallahassee into Pensacola along the state’s Panhandle, reached out to BMWED Organizing Director Thomas Kirby in August seeking Union representation.”

“Workers at the MPX/iAnthus cannabis dispensary in Atlantic City, N.J., recently voted to join UFCW Local 152 for a better life. The 12 workers are employed as budtenders, who provide knowledgeable customer service, facilitate retail sales, and fulfill online orders. UFCW Local 152 also represents workers at the MPX/iAnthus grow facility in Pleasantville, who joined the local last April.”

“The union that organized nearly 400 Starbucks stores has asked regulators to demand financial disclosures from the coffee chain and its law firm related to their long-running campaign against the organizing effort. Workers United sent a complaint to the Labor Department on Tuesday, arguing that both Starbucks and the firm, Littler Mendelson, should have to reveal details about their relationship, including how much Starbucks is paying the firm. Starbucks has deployed dozens of Littler attorneys in labor litigation across the country, part of a two-year legal effort to blunt the organizing campaign. The union suspects Starbucks has spent a fortune on the firm’s services – and claims the law should compel both parties to divulge numbers.”

“The Missouri AFL-CIO is closely monitoring a host of bills filed in the state legislature that would negatively impact Labor, one of which would enable counties to enact phony so-called ‘right-to-work’ laws. This, even after Missouri voters overwhelming defeated so-called “right-to-work” in 2018.”

“Members of the Denver Newspaper Guild-CWA Local 37074 have won a major victory over the union-busting Musk family. When program coordinators and program managers at Kimbal Musk’s nonprofit, Big Green, formed their union in 2021, leadership responded with a campaign of intimidation, surveillance, and retaliation, then escalated by laying off the entire 10-person bargaining unit.”

“Passional Boutique & Sexploratorium, a decades-old, multilevel South Street sex shop known for its queer and trans inclusivity, has laid off its roughly dozen staffers ahead of a proposed sale. The layoffs come one month after the store’s part-time sales associates — eight in total — announced their intent to form a union, seeking job protection in the event of a sale. The workers, who hoped to organize an independent union called the South Street Workers Union, believe they got laid off because they attempted to unionize. It’s illegal for employers to retaliate against workers who want to form a union, but workers don’t have many options when their rights are violated, especially if the business shuts down.”

“During this blogcast moderated by Seth Harris, Former top Biden White House labor advisor, former Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor, and a Senior Fellow at the Burnes Center for Social Change at Northeastern University, our guest labor experts will react to and analyze the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023 Union Member Survey, which reports on how many American workers are union members as well as America’s union density rate --- in other words, the percentage of workers in unions. This blogcast was aired and recorded live on January 23. This blogcast features ⁠⁠Vonda McDaniel⁠⁠, President of the Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee and AFL-CIO Executive Council member, and ⁠⁠Heidi Shierholz⁠⁠, President of the Economic Policy Institute as they analyze BLS's 2023 Union Members Survey results.”

“The recent surge in labor actions has not translated into higher unionization rates in the latest government data. Despite workers’ desire for unions, their efforts to organize are being undermined by a broken system that has failed them.”

“In spite of growing numbers of workers trying to form unions and rising public support for labor, union membership is likely to remain stagnant at about 10 percent of the workforce when the U.S. Department of Labor releases new data later this month. As membership remains stuck near 100-year lows, it is clear that even more grassroots activism and legal reforms to make it easier for workers to form unions and bargain collectively are needed.”

“The U.S. Supreme Court last week put an end to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s political attacks against public service unions in that state, including the Alaska State Employees Association (ASEA/AFSCME Local 52). The attacks go back to the beginning of the Dunleavy administration, which has wasted millions of dollars in public funds to interfere with the internal affairs of unions. The politically motivated attacks had sought to undermine the strength and membership of public service unions.”

“Instead, rather than scapegoating Canadians, our lawmakers can actually help farmers by inserting policies that would help them into the Farm Bill.  This massive piece of legislation that governs most facets of our food system, including dairy, is set to expire in September of this year. One such policy is the National Family Farm Coalition’s Milk from Family Dairies Act, which has been endorsed by ninety-four food, farm, environmental and labor organizations and includes provisions that would adjust the prices that farmers are paid based off of their cost of production, establish import and export controls and strengthen regional dairy infrastructure to balance supply with demand to create fair, competitive markets.“

“The California State University system and the union representing thousands of professors and lecturers reached a tentative deal on Monday to raise wages, ending what was the largest strike by university faculty members in U.S. history. The deal, announced by both sides on Monday night, came just hours after the California Faculty Association, the union that represents 29,000 professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches, began what was planned as a five-day walkout across the 23 C.S.U. campuses, which serve nearly 460,000 students.”

“Pilots at the Dallas-based carrier will get a 29.15% pay raise immediately and a hike of 4% each in 2025, 2026 and 2027. The agreement provides for a 3.25% gain in wages in 2028. Carriers are offering bumper contracts to attract and retain pilots as travel rebounds after the pandemic. Last year, pilots at United Airlines Holdings (UAL.O), ratified a contract with cumulative increases in wages ranging between 34.5% and 46% over four years, as well as other benefits, following deals at American Airlines (AAL.O), and Delta Air Lines (DAL.N).”

“It wasn’t such a merry Christmas for grocery store management in central Minnesota. Five hundred grocery workers in the Brainerd Lakes area walked out on an unfair labor practice strike, deserting five stores between December 22 and 25. Management tried to keep the stores running, but workers said they turned into disaster zones. Why did two Cub Foods stores, two Super Ones, and a SuperValu find themselves on Santa’s naughty list last year? Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 663 charges management with interrogation, surveillance, intimidation, and bargaining in bad faith.”

“Six years after forming their union, workers at the Los Angeles Times struck for 24 hours over illegal behavior by management and a plan to gut the largest newsroom on the West Coast. The newsroom of about 400 walked off the job in a quickly organized strike, the first ever work stoppage in the L.A. Times’ 142-year history. Workers struck across the country and gathered in downtown Los Angeles, Sacramento, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts and Texas.”

“Local 1391 members in UAW Region 4 have been holding the line on strike at CVR Nitrogen in East Dubuque, IL, since October of last year, courageously standing up to protect their retirement security. Workers walked out after the company refused to guarantee they will provide a match to workers’ 401(k) contributions during current contract negotiations.In a new video released by the UAW, workers at CVR Nitrogen speak out about why they are willing to stay out on strike as long as it takes to secure their future.”

“Shortly after midnight on Tuesday the POLITICO and E&E News (PEN) Guild reached a tentative agreement for its first-ever collective bargaining agreement after 20 months of negotiations. Covering three years, the tentative contract includes numerous improvements for the company’s journalists, including higher pay that helps close inequities in the newsroom, stronger benefits and layoff protections — including enhanced protections against adoption of artificial intelligence, some of the industry’s first contract language regarding the use of AI.”

“Pilots at Southwest Airlines have overwhelmingly approved a new contract that will raise their pay rates by nearly 50% by 2028, becoming the last group of pilots at the nation’s four biggest airlines to score huge raises. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association said Monday that the agreement covering pay and other issues for about 11,000 pilots was ratified by a 93% to 7% margin. Airline labor groups – and pilots in particular – have succeeded in negotiating pay raises over the past year as most U.S. have returned to solid profitability coming out of the pandemic. Pilots have been helped by a shortage, particularly at smaller carriers that act as training grounds for American, Delta, United and Southwest.”

“Nearly two years after a contentious yet successful organizing campaign that generated staunch resistance from management at McLean Hospital, nurses and other clinical staff at the world-renowned psychiatric facility in the Boston suburb of Belmont have ratified their first contract. These workers, who formed a union through AFSCME Council 93, will join the McLean Hospital research assistants, who recently ratified their own first contract, to form AFSCME Local 1115 McLean United to advocate for better wages, safer working conditions and improved outcomes for their patients.”

“Over 100 members of UFCW Local 400 who work at Elizabeth Adam Crump Health & Rehab and Elizabeth House Assisted Living in Glen Allen, Va., ratified a new contract on Dec. 21 that strengthens wages and benefits. The two facilities are owned by Trio Healthcare.”

“The extraction of wealth is a pathology of late capitalism and is defined by the cultural and political processes by which the rich establish themselves as the dominant class. Social theorist and organizer Marjorie Kelly labels this phenomenon “wealth supremacy” which is also the title of her latest book. But as she points out in this exclusive interview for Truthout, wealth supremacy, which has institutionalized greed, defines a system that is not only biased but rigged against the great bulk of the population and thus detrimental to the economy, the citizens and the planet.”