ORGANIZING
The year labor organizing came to tech
Axios
By Peter Allen Clark
Dec. 12, 2022
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. Collective action pressure within the video game industry has been building for years, with workers citing punishing schedules and hostile work environments. 2022 saw the first U.S. union formed in a big game publisher. Raven Software, owned by Activision Blizzard, unionized in May after the NLRB ruled against an Activision Blizzard challenge to the vote. Testers at Activision Blizzard Albany unionized this month.
Between the lines: Those moves mean that Microsoft, which still hopes to close its acquisition of Activision Blizzard despite regulatory challenges, will soon become a union employer.
JOINING TOGETHER
Philly Pops musicians vote to strike if necessary; meeting set for Wednesday
ABC6
By 6abc Digital Staff
Dec. 13, 2022
The Philly Pops musicians' union is meeting virtually with Pops leadership Wednesday after voting overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if necessary. The Philly Pops announced last month it will cease operations following the conclusion of the 2022-2023 season. The last show is scheduled for June.
Denver Processing Plant Workers' Union Votes To Approve Strike
Patch
By CBS Denver Staff
Dec. 13, 2022
The union representing hundreds of workers at a meat processing plant in Denver has voted in favor of a strike. Negotiations between the union and company continue while a date for the strike remains unscheduled. Two hundred workers at Denver Processing on Yuma Street are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7. The plant is owned by JBS which is based in Greeley.
Faculty at Art Institute’s school aligns with AFSCME
Chicago Sun-Times
By David Roeder
Dec. 13, 2022
Adjunct professors and lecturers at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago have voted overwhelmingly to unionize with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The non-tenure-track faculty at the school will join the union’s Council 31, which has had a string of organizing wins here. It already represents staff at the Art Institute itself and its school. The faculty’s mailed-in ballots were counted Tuesday in the Chicago offices of the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that supervises union votes. AFSCME said the result was 377-33 to unionize.
As concerns about working conditions grow, IATSE is pushing for VFX artists to unionize
AV Club
By Sam Barsanti
Dec. 12, 2022
However, it’s not a problem exclusive to the VFX studios that work with Marvel and Disney, so in the last few months, some members of the VFX community have started pushing for unionization in order to improve their working conditions and prevent major studios with a ton of power from exploiting them. As reported by IndieWire, those efforts took another step forward today with the International Alliance Of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE, the union that represents the behind-the-scenes crew people in the entertainment industry, but not writers or directors) launching a survey today to gather data on pay rates and working conditions for VFX artists.
NLRB
New penalties for companies that illegally fire workers who unionize
The Washington Post
By Lauren Kaori Gurley
Dec. 13, 2022
Companies that illegally fire or demote unionizing workers can now be held responsible for workers’ financial demise — including credit card late fees, lost housing or cars and health-care costs — in a move that could help some workers who have been fired from Starbucks and Amazon, labor activists say. In a big win for labor unions, the National Labor Relations Board ruled on Tuesday to expand the fees and penalties the agency can collect from employers that illegally terminate workers for labor activism, both union and nonunion, in a move long sought after by the labor movement.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
Adopt-A-Family still needing adopters
KQTV
By Jade Steffens
Dec. 13, 2022
AFL-CIO Community Services recommends that if you are interested in adopting a family this year, it’s best to take action as soon as you can. “And so, you know, if adopters come in now, and can get things taken care of and get it to them, you know, the first or next week or whatever it gives them, they're reassured then, and they don't have to worry, it gives them some peace of mind. And so that would be probably the biggest gift they can give them is give them a couple of days piece before Christmas, knowing that they don't have to worry about it,” said Nichi Yeager Seckinger, Executive Director, AFL-CIO Community Services.
UFCW locals pitch in for Sudbury Food Bank
Sudbury.com
By Sudbury.com Staff
Dec. 13, 2022
This week the United Food and Commercials Workers Union (UFCW) Local 175 and 633 presented a cheque for $3,000 to the Sudbury Food Bank. Derik McArthur, UFCW region director for Northern Ontario, presented a cheque on Dec. 12 for $3,000 to the Sudbury Food Bank.