Have you recently won union recognition, or are you in the process of organizing your union now? Want to learn the fundamentals of what to do next? Come to the New Union Academy! In this six-week online class, you’ll meet fellow union activists from across the US, learn from top Rutgers labor educators, and get the knowledge and power you need to win that first contract and beyond!
Join us for the return of the Socialism Conference this Labor Day weekend in Chicago! EWOC will be hosting a panel about our organizing and the revival of the American labor movement and will be joining a DSA panel on rank-and-file power in the labor movement today! We’ll also host a workplace organizing training on Saturday at 5 p.m. during the meet-up sessions for conference attendees. If you’d like to volunteer that weekend with us, please sign up for a tabling shift or join us at the training.
When President Biden said “I intend to be the most pro-union president leading the most pro-union administration in American history,” he set some pretty high expectations for himself. While it was exciting rhetoric, most of us in the labor movement did not really expect much, and we were mostly right. However, one area in which Biden has been a clear improvement over his predecessors is in his pro-labor appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which has shifted the balance not just to a democratic majority on the board but a genuinely pro-labor majority that has proved useful in the organizing wave of the last year.
Thanks to that new pro-labor majority, the NLRB officially filed a complaint against Starbucks last week, stating its practice of expanding wages and benefits to only non-unionized employees was illegal. The complaint follows a particularly spurious claim by Howard Schultz that because all of the unionized stores are in the middle of collective bargaining, Starbucks cannot unilaterally change wages and benefits in those stores outside of the bargaining process. That implies that bargaining is happening in good faith, even though Starbucks is delaying that process as much as possible.
The NLRB complaint, which came from a field office, will be heard on October 25 by an administrative law judge. If Starbucks appeals the ruling, it will go to the full board for a final decision. The result could have a major impact on unionization efforts at other corporations with many shops like Amazon, Trader Joe’s, and now Chipotle.
Having an NLRB that is favorable to workers has been an invaluable advantage, but like so much else about the current moment, we cannot expect it to last forever. Now is not the time to slow down. We will keep organizing, keep building, keep fighting to create a better world for working people.
World of Work 🌍
MI: Workers at Chipotle in Lansing voted overwhelmingly to unionize with the Teamsters, in a historic victory forming the first union at the company.
MA: Starbucks workers in Brookline are now on day 43 of their strike. Dozens of strikes continue to emerge across the country. Starbucks Workers United has called on Starbucks executives to testify about the company’s union busting campaign before Congress.
CA: A majority of the dancers employed at Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in Los Angeles filed for a union election. “We like what we do,” said one worker. “We would like our jobs even more if we had basic worker protections … it’s not a choice between suffering abuse or quitting. With a union, together, we can make needed improvements to our workplace.”
NY: Following protracted contract negotiations, 6,300 healthcare workers represented by SEIU and CWA and employed by Kaleida Health have moved to a strike authorization vote, which will take place the week of September 12. Workers have protested chronic understaffing, which undermines the safety and effectiveness of staff and the health of patients.
Week in Labor History 📚
August 29, 1996: Dancers at the Lusty Lady in San Francisco club vote to unionize with SEIU Local 790. Their first contract, ratified several months later, established guaranteed work shifts, protection against arbitrary discipline and arbitration, a grievance procedure, sick days, and wage increases. The campaign was groundbreaking as a model for successful strip club organizing. Although the Lucky Lady closed in 2013, the legacy of the workers and their union continues today.
Solidarity,
Team EWOC
