ORGANIZING
AMC Theatres’ Workers at Universal City Location Attempt to Unionize
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
Feb. 27, 2024
The latest coming attraction for Universal Cinema AMC at CityWalk Hollywood? A union election at the National Labor Relations Board. On Feb. 20, the crew union IATSE petitioned the NLRB for an election to determine if 44 staffers at the Universal City location will decide to join their ranks. The union is attempting to represent a broad swath of roles — including ushers, cooks, bartenders, janitors and others — at the sprawling, 19-theater location, situated on the same campus as the Universal Studios theme park.
Homegrown Sustainable Sandwiches Fired a Union Organizer—and Sparked an Organizing Drive
In These Times
By Maximillian Alvarez
Feb. 27, 2024
Homegrown Sustainable Sandwiches, a Seattle-based chain, was founded with the mission of creating a more sustainable food system; however, as one former employee tells TRNN, Homegrown’s business model is “not actually sustainable for their workers.” Workers at Homegrown voted overwhelmingly to unionize with UNITE HERE LOCAL 8 in late 2022, and they have been fighting for a first contract ever since. In fact, workers from two Homegrown stores have been on strike since late last fall in protest of the unfair termination of union leader Sydney Lankford, who was fired after speaking up at a union delegation. As of this week, workers at the Redmond Homegrown location have been on strike for over 100 days. We talk with Sydney Lankford and Perry, two members of the Homegrown workers union who are currently on strike.
Part-Time Adjuncts in Cinematic Arts Unionize at Southern California
Inside Higher Ed
By Ryan Quinn
Feb. 27, 2024
Part‐time adjunct faculty who teach at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts have unionized. The mail-in election took place this month among non-tenure-track adjuncts who work for the school remotely or at the University Park campus, according to information from the National Labor Relations Board. The tally was 206 to 13 out of 290 eligible voters, the NLRB said.
Harvard Proctors and Tutors Plan to Launch Unionization Push
The Harvard Crimson
By Aran Sonnad-Joshi and Sheerea X. Yu
Feb. 27, 2024
Some Harvard residential tutors, proctors, and house aides are planning to publicly launch a campaign for unionization, an effort they have been quietly working towards since last spring. The group, called Harvard Union of Residential Advisors, has been organizing privately since May and plans to file a representation petition with the National Labor Relations Board.
JOINING TOGETHER
Starbucks and Union Agree to Work Out Framework for Contract Talks
The New York Times
By Noam Scheiber
February 27, 2024
Starbucks and the union that represents employees in roughly 400 of its U.S. stores announced Tuesday that they were beginning discussions on a “foundational framework” that would help the company reach labor agreements with unionized workers and resolve litigation between the two sides. The union greeted the development as a major shift in strategy for Starbucks, which has taken steps to resist union organizing at the company since the campaign began in 2021, moves that federal labor regulators have said violated labor law hundreds of times.
Starbucks Stops Opposing Its Baristas’ Union
The American Prospect
By Harold Meyerson
February 27, 2024
Beyond the immediate factors, what really was behind Starbucks’s epochal shift was a change in the zeitgeist. Unions are more popular today than they’ve been in 60 years, and young workers—a description that covers the vast majority of the company’s baristas—are overwhelmingly pro-union. Over the past two years, 90 percent of thousands of university student employees who’ve participated in unionization elections have voted to go union, and I suspect we may see a similar rate at hundreds and perhaps thousands more Starbucks outlets now that the company has said it will work toward a master agreement for unionized shops.
Brainerd City Council approves street workers union contract
Brainerd Dispatch
By Tim Speier
Feb. 27, 2024
During the council meeting Feb. 20, a unanimous vote approved the 2024-2026 terms and wage contract with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local No. 49, the Street Division union, and the city of Brainerd. The IUOE Local No. 49 union represents Brainerd’s street division employees.
Law360 staffers vote to strike
Talking Biz News
By Chris Roush
Feb. 27, 2024
Unionized editorial workers at LexisNexis-owned Law360 voted to authorize a strike Monday. The union says the strike is due to lack of progress at the bargaining table, unlawful tactics that violate union members’ rights and planned layoffs following record profits in 2023. Law360 Union is part of the NewsGuild of New York, which represents nearly 7,000 media workers.
STATE LEGISLATION
Iowa House Democrats file bills to raise minimum wage, protect collective bargaining rights
Des Moines Register
By Stephen Gruber-Miller
Feb. 27, 2024
Iowa House Democrats are introducing a slate of bills that they say will raise wages and lower costs for workers, although majority Republicans are expected to ignore the proposals. "I want to send a message to Iowa’s workers and that is that we see you," House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said at a news conference Tuesday. "We understand how frustrated you are. We know that you’re tired of seeing corporations hoard money while you struggle to pay your bills."
IN THE STATES
Capitol Notebook: Iowa public union workers protest proposed collective bargaining changes
The Gazette
By Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau
Feb. 26, 2024
Members of the largest public employees union in Iowa rallied at the Iowa Capitol against a legislative proposal that would impact collective bargaining for public workers. Members and supporters of the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, became the second labor group in the past five days to rally at the Iowa Capitol in opposition to Senate File 2374, which would decertify a public worker collective bargaining unit if the employer fails to submit to the state a list of union-eligible workers.
LABOR AND COMMUNITY
St. Cloud First Responders Receive Golden Stork Award for Delivering Baby in the Nick of Time
KNSI
By Jake Judd
Feb. 27, 2024
A group of St. Cloud first responders were honored for helping deliver a fussy baby that just couldn’t wait. On Tuesday morning, B Shift Engine 1 members were presented the Golden Stork Award. The recognition is for delivering a baby in the field. On February 5th, the crew was called for a woman in labor. When they got on the scene, they could see the delivery was imminent, and the child would have to be delivered in the mother’s home. Firefighters and members of Mayo Ambulance worked together through the labor. The little boy was brought into the world without complications other than the location.