JOINING TOGETHER
Employees at three Somerville cafes approve union contract, among first in Mass.
Boston Globe
By Diti Kohli
Feb. 21, 2023
Workers at three Somerville cafes ratified a union contract with their shared management team Sunday, cementing the group as one of the first coffeehouse chains in the state to reach an agreement. Around 60 baristas and back-of-house employees at Diesel Café, Bloc Café, and Forge Baking Company voted to enact a contract that includes a 95-cent raise within the next 30 days, as well as 25-to-35-cent raises twice a year. That bumps hourly wages to at least $15 for baristas, in addition to tips (which typically amount to between $8 and $12 an hour). Bakery and kitchen workers now make at least $20.25 an hour. The agreement — forged with the New England Joint Board UNITE HERE — also increases workers’ paid time off allowance to 8 hours for every year spent at the company and includes a clearer discipline policy. A number of measures that were in place before the union formed, like health insurance, matching 401(k) contributions, paid breaks, and a $21 daily meal allowance, remain.
Morgan Local School Non-Teaching Employees Notice to Strike
WHIZ
By Nichole Hannahs
Feb. 21, 2023
100 Morgan Local School non-teaching employees have given their 10-day notice to strike with the state employment relations board. This includes bus drivers, classroom and health aides, mechanics, maintenance workers, food service employees and secretaries. The workers, members of Local 51 of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees said if they can’t resolve their dispute over wages with the employer they are prepared to strike on March 1. Tom Quaintance a bus driver for the district and president of Local 51 said that they began negotiations last May, but almost immediately were met an impasse.
Unionized HarperCollins Employees Are Back to Work After a 3-Month Strike
The New York Times
By Kate Dwyer and Elizabeth A. Harris
Feb. 21, 2023
Unionized HarperCollins workers returned to work on Tuesday, in many cases opening their inboxes and corresponding with their supervisors for the first time since walking out three months ago. For many of the more than 250 unionized employees, the agreement ratified on Feb. 16 between their union, Local 2110 of the U.A.W., and the publisher was a victory: It included a raise and some guaranteed overtime for the employees at the lower end of the wage scale. “We are very proud of the settlement,” said Olga Brudastova, the president of Local 2110 of the U.A.W., whose members include HarperCollins employees in editorial, publicity, sales, legal, design and marketing. HarperCollins has been part of the union for 80 years. “We covered a lot of ground.”
Striking Alabama coal miners offer to return to work
AP
Feb. 21, 2023
Alabama coal miners who have been on strike for almost two years have offered to return to work. The United Mine Workers of America sent a letter Feb. 17 to executives at Warrior Met Coal Inc. offering an unconditional return to work while the union and the company continue to negotiate a new labor agreement. Cecil E. Roberts, international president of the UMWA, said in a statement Monday that the union has received a response from the company but want answers to a few questions “before we can discuss the next steps with our members.”
Minneapolis Museum Workers Say “No Money, No Monet”
Hyperallergic
By Elaine Velie
Feb. 21, 2023
The approximately 150-person MIA union includes curators and other non-managerial staff. It is old by art world standards: MIA employees joined OPEIU Local 12 almost 50 years ago in 1974, three years after New York’s Museum of Modern Art formed the first wall-to-wall museum union. Until last Thursday, February 16, when workers picketed outside the museum holding signs with messages like “no money, no Monet,” labor relations at the Minneapolis Institute of Art had been relatively calm, with no strikes or picketing events in at least 25 years.
Negotiations stalled between Bay Area Hospital and UCFW Local 555
KPIC
By Gold Meadows and KCBY.com Staff
Feb. 21, 2023
Negotiations between Bay Area Hospital and the UFCW 555 currently at an impasse, but hospital CEO Brian Moore says it only delays their ability to distribute pay raises to employees. The Union declared the impasse Friday following 14 days of mediation with a state mediator. This Friday, both sides will present their last and final offer for the new contract for half the hospital's employees.
IN THE STATES
Labor WINS in Winslow Fire District Referendum
Insider NJ
Feb. 21, 2023
The New Jersey State AFL-CIO is proud to announce that on Saturday, February 18th, 57% of Winslow Township residents voted “yes” to provide the Fire District the funding for two emergency response units instead of one. The additional unit will allow the Winslow Fire District to hire professional staff for round-the-clock fire and emergency service. The Southern NJ Central Labor Council and International Association of Fire Fighters Local 3249 spearheaded the effort in favor of the referendum, working alongside the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, our affiliates and community partners. Together, we sent letters, text messages, made phone calls, shared information on social media and visited union members and their families at their homes in Winslow Township to educate them on the issues at stake and encourage them to vote for the referendum.