This year’s Labor Day seemed to mark the end of a truly historic summer of labor activity in what the New York Times calls “A Summer of Strikes.” At EWOC, we believe it’s just the beginning!
A new ruling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) could be a game-changer for union organizing efforts across the country. Common Dreams reports that leading up to a union election vote at Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC, the company had engaged in more than 20 unlawful union-busting actions. The NLRB ruled that if a company engages in illegal manipulation of a union election, the union can automatically be recognized by the NLRB. This framework brings us closer to the Joy Silk doctrine, which gave unions legitimacy through majority “card-check.” (Card-check is when a union presents union authorization cards signed by a majority of employees.) Although critics are viewing this as a half-measure, it’s certainly a step in the right direction. HuffPost also has a great breakdown.
Additionally, the Department of Labor is pushing forward a new rule in its regulatory agenda that would protect the 40-hour work week for salaried employees who make less than $55,000 a year. We’ve also seen increasing support of unions and union influence from the American public surpassing the levels of support from the 1970s.
Upcoming Events 🗓
EWOC is working on building and supporting organizing efforts of tech workers. If you want support or information on organizing your workplace, fill out our Tech Workers Intake Form.
Labor Notes 2023 Tech Organizing Conference | October 7, 2023
This year’s Labor Notes Tech Organizing Conference will be held on Oct. 7 in New York near Washington Square Park. Exact location will be disclosed to confirmed attendees. Meet other union organizers from across the tech industry and attend or propose your own workshop, talk, or open discussion sessions.
New From Our Blog 💻
We recently had the opportunity to read Ethan Marcotte’s new book, “You Deserve a Tech Union,” and to talk to him about it. Ethan is a web designer, writer, consultant, and all around thoughtful human being. You may know him as the man who coined the term “Responsive Web Design” in 2010. He also penned a recent Op-Ed about AI and its effects on labor including the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
The stories in Ethan’s book capture tech workers struggling for employment that’s meaningful, secure, and dignified, resonating with the experiences of workers in many other industries. He incorporates present-day data and unionizing efforts with plain-faced language that explains how to get started with organizing your workplace. He also shares awe-inspiring stories from the past that remind us of what new technologies looked like 100 years ago, what it meant for workers then, and what unions have been able to accomplish in the past 150 years. Tech workers face unique challenges and union-busting efforts, so this is a must read for anyone contemplating what strategies will secure their wins in this era of repressive, behemoth corporate power.
“You Deserve a Tech Union” is a valuable and galvanizing read for anyone who is union-curious or even union-skeptical (not just tech workers). Let’s face it, with the creep of technology and our reliance on it, with globalization and the shrinking of our world, we’ve all become “tech workers,” and we all absolutely deserve a union!
Read our interview with Ethan here: Tech Workers Deserve a Union.
You can find out more about Ethan or connect with him at ethanmarcotte.com. He will be attending this year’s Tech Organizing Conference in New York. Get your own copy of Ethan’s book using discount code: EWOC15, for a 15% discount at A Book Apart.
World of Work 🌍
- United Auto Workers’ (UAW) current contract with the Big Three Automakers — Ford, GM, and Stellantis — is set to expire at midnight on Sept. 14. After decades of concessions, workers have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if their demands aren’t met before then: 98% at Ford, 96% at GM, and 95% at Stellantis. UAW president Shawn Fain explains what’s at stake for American workers. Here’s how to support them.
- SAG-AFTRA seeks a second strike authorization from members as their contract with major video game companies, including Activision and Electronic Arts, is set to expire on Sept. 26.
- VFX Technicians at Marvel and Disney are ramping up their unionizing efforts by creating a local chapter of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employers (IATSE). We hope to see more to come.
- After a seven-month contract campaign and a seven-day strike, Oakland Education Association won substantial raises and broad benefits, including “common good” demands.
- American Airlines flight attendants vote for a strike authorization with 99.47% voting “yes.” Its more than 26,000 members are ready to strike.
- More than 4,800 research fellows at the National Institutes of Health will vote on whether to unionize with the UAW, potentially joining tens of thousands of recently unionized post-doctoral workers across the country.
- REI workers in SoHo NYC walked off the job during the middle of NYC’s Labor Day Parade in protest of REI’s retaliatory actions against union members. They’re demanding REI restore their wages and bargain in good faith.
Organizing Tip of the Month 📧
When to Go Public by Bob Lawson
Week in Labor History 📚
Sept. 1, 1894: Congress declared Labor Day a national holiday.
Sept. 9, 1973: United Auto Workers president Leonard Woodcock is named in president Richard Nixon’s “Enemy’s List,” a White House compilation of Americans Nixon regarded as major political opponents. Another dozen union presidents were added later. The existence of the list was revealed during Senate Watergate Committee hearings.
Solidarity,
Team EWOC
