AMAZON
The union drive at Amazon signals a potential sea change for the labor movement. Will it last?
The Washington Post
By Eli Rosenberg
April 7, 2021
Now, organizers are hoping that the union fight at Amazon could serve as a similar bellwether, particularly if it is successful — capitalizing on the most pro-labor climate in Washington in decades to inspire a wave of organizing around the country. The votes are still being tallied in Bessemer, Ala., where workers have been organizing to form the first U.S.-based union at an Amazon warehouse. “This is probably the most important union election in many years,” said Joseph A. McCartin, a labor historian at Georgetown University. “To be able to have a breakthrough at Amazon would really ripple through the economy.”
Business Insider
By Tyler Sonnemaker and Annabelle Williams
April 7, 2021
The NLRB has counted 3,215 votes in Amazon employees' historic union vote in Bessemer, Alabama.
RWDSU, the union under which employees would unionize, said Amazon challenged hundreds of ballots.
The public vote count could begin as early as Thursday, the RWDSU said in a statement. A total of 3,215 employees at Amazon's fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama, cast ballots in a closely watched vote over whether to unionize, according to a press release from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. The warehouse has more than 5,800 employees, meaning roughly 55% of employees voted. The RWDSU, under which Amazon's warehouse workers would unionize, said the National Labor Relations Board has cleared all unchallenged ballots, but that "hundreds of challenged ballots" remain, most of which were challenged by Amazon, and that "more issues could impact the final results."
Bessemer Amazon union vote update: What we know now about Alabama count
AL.com
By William Thornton
April 7, 2021
We may get an idea this week of how the Bessemer Amazon union vote is going. That’s because the union that could represent workers at the online giant’s Alabama fulfillment center says the portion of the election where ballots can be challenged has ended. According to the Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union, a total of 3,215 ballots were received by the National Labor Relations Board in the election. About 5,800 ballots were sent out in early February to workers at the fulfillment center.
JOINING TOGETHER
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Tom Daykin
April 6, 2021
A vote by Colectivo Coffee workers on whether to have union representation has initially ended in a tie — with some ballots to undergo additional reviews. With over 300 ballots provided to Colectivo hourly employees in the Milwaukee, Madison and Chicago areas, the initial vote resulted in a 99-99 deadlock, said John Zapfel, communications director for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 494. IBEW Local 494 would be the collective bargaining agent for those workers if the National Labor Relations Board rules that the union has obtained a majority of their votes.
WGAE, ITV Entertainment reach agreement for “The Chase”
Real Screen
By Jillian Morgan
April 6, 2021
The Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) and ITV Entertainment have reached a deal for writers on ABC format The Chase, marking the end of a near two week-long strike. “ITV Entertainment and the WGAE are pleased to have come to terms for writers on The Chase to be represented by the WGAE and for the show to be covered by the Minimum Basic Agreement,” WGAE and ITV Entertainment said in a joint statement. “We are in agreement that fair and positive work practices are essential to our industry and that, especially during the ongoing battle of the pandemic, the priority is to keep production going and to ensure that people can do their work and build sustainable careers.
Podcast Staffers at Spotify’s Gimlet, The Ringer Ratify Union Contracts
Variety
By Todd Spangler
April 7, 2021
Writers and producers at Spotify-owned Gimlet Media and The Ringer represented by WGA East have ratified their first collective bargaining agreements, making them among the first podcast workers to unionize with the guild. WGA East negotiated both three-year agreements concurrently. The contracts were unanimously ratified by Gimlet’s 48 union members and The Ringer’s 65 union members. “The collective bargaining agreements at Gimlet Media and The Ringer demonstrate that the people who make podcasts, from writers to producers to editors, bring enormous value to the major platforms for whom they create content,” Lowell Peterson, executive director of the WGA East, said in a statement.
IN THE STATES
Sound off: Teachers should not be quieted (Opinion)
Kokomo Tribune
By Brett Voorhies and GlenEva Dunham
April 5, 2021
Hoosier teachers have shown ingenuity, patience, leadership and determination as they’ve dealt with the pandemic’s effects on our children and schools. Teachers are a vital part of every community, and that’s never been more clear. As educators continue to face challenges, you’d think that Indiana Legislators would be working to find solutions, like making sure classrooms are safe, that schools are fully funded and that teachers are paid what they deserve. Instead, some anti-worker politicians are attacking educators and trying to silence them. There are several bills this legislative session that unfairly target teachers, and one of those bills is Senate Bill 251.
Jill Underly Defeats Deborah Kerr In State Superintendent Election
Wisconsin Public Radio
By WPR Staff
April 6, 2021
"Today, Wisconsin voters continued the call for a better future for all by voting to elect union-endorsed candidate Dr. Jill Underly to lead our public schools out of the pandemic with a focus on equality and a strong, fully-funded public education system that supports every child, every day," Wisconsin AFL-CIO Stephanie Bloomingdale said in the email.
Culinary Union Fights for the Right for Workers to Return to Their Jobs With a New State Senate Bill
Eater
By Susan Stapleton
April 7, 2021
A new bill introduced in the Nevada State Senate hopes to give workers who lost their hospitality and travel jobs due to the pandemic the right to return to jobs when business reopens or resumes operations. Senate Bill 386, dubbed Right to Return, winds its way through the state senate’s commerce and labor committee.“Already, tens of thousands of Nevada’s workers risk dire economic uncertainty. They have already been unemployed for over a year dealing with an overrun unemployment system, food insecurity, housing issues, and a range of other issues due the public health and economic crisis,” says Geoconda Argüello-Kline, secretary-treasurer of the culinary union. “Knowing they will get their job back would at least give workers a hope they will not become homeless or struggle to feed their families, which are fears too many Nevadans and their families are dealing with every day.”