Upcoming Events 🗓

The seventh series of the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee’s Organizer Training Series starts this week! In four discussion sessions over two weeks, you will be introduced to the fundamental principles of effective shop-floor organizing: Mapping/Charting, Leader Identification, Bringing Coworkers Together Around Common Concerns, Getting Over Fear, Taking Action, and Escalating Demands. Sessions begin this Wednesday, March 9th. Sign up here today!

Last week saw two incredible victories for workers in the United States. In a landslide win, tech workers at the New York Times voted (404-88) in favor of certifying their union. With around 600 members, the Times Tech Guild will be “the largest union of tech workers in the United States.” The Tech Guild will be affiliated with the NewsGuild of New York “the largest union for news professionals — and we are its biggest local, fearlessly representing nearly 3,000 journalists and other media employees at New York-based media organizations”

Like their peers at the New York Times, workers at a Manhattan REI retail store (Recreational Equipment, Inc.) voted overwhelmingly (88-14) to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).

These wins are the result of years of organizing and perseverance in the face of union busting tactics by both the New York Times and REI. They are a testament to the power of the worker and the strength of solidarity. And victories like this remind us all that when we fight, we win.

Image: SoHo REI workers after voting to unionize last week

World of Work 🌍

AL/NY – Amazon.com Inc. was recently hit with unfair labor practice allegations that could give the National Labor Relations Board’s Democratic majority a chance to ban one of the most potent weapons used by employers to repel union campaigns.  The unions attempting to represent Amazon workers at facilities in Bessemer, Ala., and Staten Island, N.Y., filed separate charges this month claiming federal labor law violations arising from the company convening mandatory anti-union meetings.

NY – In an unusual class-action grievance arbitration, 42 home health-care agencies have been ordered to pay $30 million for underpaying workers represented by 1199SEIU.

IA – A labor strike that began last week at a Davenport defense contractor supplier will continue for at least another week, union leaders said.  A representative of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District Lodge 6 said that Eaton Corp. has said company representatives won’t return to the bargaining table until March 1, the Des Moines Register reported.

Week in Labor History 📚

March 1, 1900 – The Granite Cutters National Union, led by James Duncan, begins what is to be a successful nationwide strike for the eight-hour day. Also won: union recognition, wage increases, a grievance procedure and a minimum wage scale.

Solidarity,

Team EWOC

EWOC is a collaboration between the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE). We depend on small-dollar donations to provide frontline workers with the support they need to fight for protections during COVID-19. Click here to make a contribution that will help fund our work.