Boston, MA – On August 5, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) began its 73rd biennial national convention. Tensions among the rank and file heading into the convention were high, as the national body has been unable to finalize a tentative agreement with the United States Postal Service despite the contract expiring May 20, 2023. Letter carriers are working for near-poverty wages due to rapid inflation.
Milwaukee, WI – On the afternoon of May 31, nearly 100 union members and their supporters gathered outside the entrance to the Master Lock factory on Milwaukee’s North Side to call on the company to keep the plant open. The rally came in response to a sudden announcement that the shop was going to be closed, a course of action that will leave more than 400 people out of work. A number of other unions were represented by the different participants at the rally and picket, including United Steel Workers, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, and others.
Tampa, FL – Members of the Hillsborough County teachers union packed the school board meeting, September 20, to demand a better contract that takes teachers' needs for a livable salary into account. A sea of the union's red shirts confronted the board members and the county's superintendent, who with faux concern, offered nothing but the platitude that he “heard” teachers’ concerns.
Tallahassee, FL – On February 9, Starbucks workers and local organizations rallied to announce an effort to unionize at the Starbucks here on Magnolia Drive.
Tallahassee, FL – On February 9, Starbucks workers and local organizations rallied to announce an effort to unionize at the Starbucks here on Magnolia Drive.
Tallahassee, FL- On January 12, Starbucks workers at 2264 North Monroe Street filed to unionize their store. Employees across the country have been filing to unionize at a remarkable rate, with locations in Oregon, Cleveland, Chicago and New Jersey having submitted petitions as well.
Birmingham, AL – On April 7, more than a week after union voting ended for workers at Amazon’s Bessemer Distribution Center, the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union says that 3215 votes were cast, which is 55% of the 5800 workers at the location. Up until now the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) – which oversees this type of union election – as well as the union and the employer, were engaged in a process of going through every name on the eligibility list and checking if they voted, and seeing if either the employer or the union wished to file an objection to the validity of each ballot based on eligibility of the voter.
Bessemer, AL – Voting formally began Monday, February 8 for Amazon workers at a large distribution center in Bessemer, Alabama. They are voting on whether or not to join the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Ballots are being mailed to workers and voting will continue through March 29.
Teachers demand safety before returning to classrooms
Chicago, IL – Students in Chicago Public Schools (CPS) stayed home and learned remotely again on Thursday, January 28. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) continued to demand that any return to in-person learning be done in a safe way. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot had ordered all teachers back to the classroom on Wednesday the 27th but was forced to backtrack and tell parents to keep their kids home again Thursday.
Milwaukee, WI – Café workers at Wonderstate Coffee located in Milwaukee’s Third Ward have successfully unionized. Workers at Wonderstate are Milwaukee’s as the first coffee shop employees to form a union. These Wonderstate employees are now represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 344, which represents sales and service employees as well as many other workers across the state, including those at UPS.
Chicago, IL – Members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted May 19 to re-elect the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE) leadership slate, headed by President Jesse Sharkey, Vice President Stacy Davis Gates, Financial Secretary Maria Moreno, and Recording Secretary Christel Williams Hayes. The result was 66% for CORE, 34% for the challengers.
Chicago, IL – Members of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted May 19 to re-elect the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE) leadership slate, headed by President Jesse Sharkey, Vice President Stacy Davis Gates, Financial Secretary Maria Moreno, and Recording Secretary Christel Williams Hayes. The result was 66% for CORE, 34% for the challengers.
“The combination driver will create animosity in the work place” —Teamster Central Region International VP Robert Kopystynsky
Chicago, IL – Teamster Chief Negotiator Dennis Taylor and UPS shook hands on a tentative agreement, June 22, which will include a new driving position called Full-Time Combination Drivers (Combo Driver). Full details were released July 10. UPS Teamsters across the country are calling the new position a two-tiered concession that spells doom for future package car drivers.
Milwaukee, WI – On the overcast morning of June 22, over 50 package car drivers and part-time workers at the Elm Grove hub came to work early for a parking lot rally led by Teamsters Local 344.
Minneapolis, MN – While Minnesota’s elite assembled for a University of Minnesota fundraising gala, Sept. 23, where the price of admission was a half-million dollars, about 200 campus workers and their backers crashed the party.
Saint Paul, MN – More than 240 members of Workers United Local 150 walked off the job from Health Systems Cooperative Laundries, August 5, forming picket lines at the plant entrances in a strike over unfair labor practices, which include the company’s unilateral discontinuation of sick-day benefits.
On Sept. 1 Mexico’s outgoing President Felipe Calderon of the National Action Party (PAN) proposed a massive reform to Mexico’s federal labor law. The proposal would modify over 100 articles of Mexico’s labor law.
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following letter of solidarity from the Salvadoran Labor Front, a federation made up of 27 trade unions, to striking members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association. We urge other unions in the United States and internationally to offer similar support.
