On Black Friday, Amazon Workers in 40+ Countries Strike and Protest 'Despicable' Treatment by Jake Johnson
November 25, 2022
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Thousands of Amazon workers in more than 40 countries are planning to mark Black Friday by walking off the job and protesting the corporate behemoth's abuse of employees and the climate, as well as its chronic avoidance of taxes while raking in huge profits.
"Make Amazon Pay" actions are expected to include marches and rallies for union recognition in Bangladesh, strikes at nearly 20 warehouses in France and Germany, walkouts in a dozen cities in the United States, and a protest by newly unionized workers in Japan.
"Today, unions, civil society, and progressive elected officials will stand shoulder to shoulder in a massive global day of action to denounce Amazon's despicable multimillion-dollar campaigns to kill worker-led union efforts," Christy Hoffman, president of UNI Global Union, said in a statement. "It's time for the tech giant to cease their awful, unsafe practices immediately, respect the law, and negotiate with the workers who want to make their jobs better."
Amazon spent around $4.3 million on anti-union consultants in the U.S. last year as it worked to crush historic labor organizing efforts in Alabama and New York. Workers ultimately voted earlier this year to unionize at a Staten Island warehouse, the first-ever organized location in the United States.
Meanwhile, Amazon avoided $5 billion in federal corporate income taxes in the U.S. last year, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, as the company continued to shortchange and exploit its employees, who are frequently injured on the job as they race to meet the company's punishing productivity metrics.
Farmworkers from Nearly a Dozen States Attended Rally in D.C. to Urge Action During Lame Duck Session by Gabe Ortoz
November , 2022
Introduction:
(Daily Kos) It’s not only young undocumented immigrants who are pushing for legislative relief during the lame duck session.
More than 60 farmworkers from nearly a dozen states are also in Washington, D.C., to urge Senate action on bipartisan legislation putting undocumented laborers onto a pathway to legalization. While the Farm Workforce Modernization Act passed the House more than a year ago, it has stalled in the upper chamber.
“Despite all the backbreaking work, the blisters and pain we face, farm workers put so much effort into ensuring that we all have our fruits and vegetables on our tables,” said Arizona farmworker Maria Yolanda Bay. The joint release from advocacy organizations notes Bay’s late husband was also a farmworker. He died from COVID in 2020. “I am going to Washington D.C. because farm workers deserve legal status. We work so hard for this country.”
It’s true—and it should be noted that as farmworkers are in D.C., lawmakers are also set to return to their districts for their Thanksgiving holiday, where many will likely eat poultry, vegetables, and other items that were harvested and processed by undocumented workers.
“Farmworker Mairi Elston has never been to the Capitol before,” central California’s KVPR reports. “The Delano teenager is there with her parents to urge senators to pass the bill. The Elstons harvest fruits and vegetables in the productive Central Valley, helping to feed the nation’s families. But Mairi’s undocumented parents haven’t been able to visit their own families in Mexico in decades.”
NLRB Region-29 Wins Federal Court Order Requiring Amazon to Cease and Desist from Firing Employees..
Source: NLRB
November 28, 2022
Staten Island, New York – On November 18, 2022, Judge Diane Gujarati of the United States District Court for the District of Eastern New York issued a Section 10(j) injunction against Amazon.com Services LLC directing Amazon to cease and desist from discharging employees, and from engaging in any like or related conduct, in retaliation for employees engaging in protected activities. The injunction also directs Amazon to post, distribute, and read the Court’s order to employees at the Employer’s Staten Island facility (“JFK8”).
The injunction was issued based on a petition for Section 10(j) injunctive relief filed by Kathy Drew King, former Regional Director of Region 29 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) authorizes the NLRB to seek injunctions against employers and unions in federal district courts to ensure that employees' rights will be adequately protected from remedial failure due to the passage of time.
The petition alleged that Amazon unlawfully fired an employee at JFK8 for advocating, with his co-workers, for workplace health and safety protections in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and by protesting with his co-workers Amazon’s failure to provide greater safety protections to employees. While the injunction does not order interim reinstatement of the employee at this time, it does order Amazon to cease and desist from further discharging any employees for protected activities under the NLRA, or in any like or related manner interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed to them by Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act. If Amazon violates the cease-and-desist order, it could be held in contempt by the court.
“The Judge’s order in this case recognizes Amazon’s unlawful conduct and provides the full force of a federal court injunction to prohibit Amazon from further discharging employees for engaging in protected concerted activity,” said Region 29 Brooklyn Director Teresa Poor. “This relief is critical to ensure that Amazon employees can fully and freely exercise their rights to join together and improve their working conditions, including by forming, assisting, or joining a union.”
Field Attorneys Matthew Jackson and Evamaria Cox of the NLRB’s Region 29 represented Regional Director Poor in the Section 10(j) proceedings before Judge Gujarati.
Established in 1935, the National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency that protects employees from unfair labor practices and protects the right of private sector employees to join together, with or without a union, to improve wages, benefits and working conditions. The NLRB conducts hundreds of workplace elections and investigates thousands of unfair labor practice charges each year.
“All of Rail Labor Is Going to Suffer”: Workers Furious Over Biden Move to Preempt Strike by Jake Johnson
November , 2022
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Rank-and-file rail workers voiced frustration and anger late Monday after Joe Biden—a self-described "pro-labor president"—urged Congress to pass legislation forcing unions to accept a contract agreement without any paid sick days, a step that would avert a looming nationwide strike and deliver a win for the profitable railroad industry.
"By forcing workers into an agreement which doesn't address basic needs like healthcare and sick time, President Joe Biden is choosing railroads over workers and the economy," said Ross Grooters, an engineer and co-chair of Railroad Workers United, an inter-union alliance that supports public ownership of the national rail system.
Another worker was more blunt in a text message to labor reporter Jonah Furman: "Words cannot express how fucking livid I am at this administration... people in power, LIKE HIM, would rather screw workers than stand up to fucking robber barons."
While Congress could put forth legislation that would improve the tentative White House-brokered contract deal announced in September, Biden made clear he wants lawmakers "to pass legislation immediately to adopt the tentative agreement between railroad workers and operators—without any modifications or delay—to avert a potentially crippling national rail shutdown."
That agreement, which has been rejected by more than half of the country's unionized rail workforce, does not include a single day of paid sick leave and would only allow three penalty-free days off per year for medical visits. But even that time off is heavily constrained: It's unpaid; can only be taken on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday; and must be scheduled at least 30 days in advance.
caltrek’s comment: To me, this is yet another argument for a primary challenge to Biden in 2024, should he decide to run for re-election. Any such challenge should recognize that, for the most part, Biden has been far more helpful to organized labor than can realistically be expected from any likely Republican nominee that comes forward. Such a primary challenge does threaten to assist Republican in the general election, even if an unsuccessful candidate does end up endorsing Biden. Still, Democrats need to receive the message that the laboring class should not be taken for granted. A contested nomination would also energize voters and thus increase voter registration, fund raising, etc.
House votes to impose agreement to block rail strike
Source: ABC News
The House on Wednesday voted to block a strike by the nation's railway workers, intervening in a labor dispute with wide-ranging economic and political implications.
The House voted 290-137 to adopt the tentative deal between the rail companies and employees reached in September and brokered by the White House.
In a second, separate 221-207 vote -- aimed at addressing progressive Democrats' concerns over protecting workers -- the House added seven days of paid sick leave to the agreement, which currently calls for only one.
Just three Republicans vote in favor of the added paid leave. The two bills now head to the Senate.
Senate rejects proposal to give rail workers seven days of paid sick leave
Source: The Hill
The Senate voted on Thursday to reject a proposal to give railway workers seven days of sick leave, a benefit that was left out of a labor deal brokered by the presidential emergency board between freight rail companies and unionized workers.
The proposal to give workers seven days of sick leave, which was championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and other liberal Democrats, failed to pick up enough Republican support to overcome a 60-vote threshold set for adopting the measure.
It passed the House Wednesday with a narrow bipartisan majority, 221 to 207 with only three Republicans voting for it.
The votes in the Senate and House now give Democrats the ability to blame Republicans for imposing a labor deal on rail workers that includes little flexibility for taking time off work due to illness or doctors’ visits.
We May be at the Beginning of a New Era of Labor Power by Noah Berlatsky
December 5, 2022
Introduction:
(Alternet) Despite major tech layoffs and ongoing fears of a recession, unemployment in the US remains low. In the long term, businesses are likely to continue to struggle to fill positions. That creates an opportunity for unions. And there are encouraging signs that workers are seizing the moment.
There’s no doubt that the economy is slowing, with ugly consequences for some workers. Tech companies have been laying off employees at a brutal rate. Amazon plans to lay off about 10,000 workers. Hewlett-Packard has announced plans to lay off 4,000 to 5,000 people in the next few years.
NBC estimates tech layoffs this year could hit more than 137,000.
Higher interest rates and a slowing job market contributed to a 3.7 percent unemployment rate in October, higher than the 3.5 percent estimate.
Job gains were lower than in any month since December 2020. Many economists still expect a recession in 2023. That’s the bad news.
The article goes on to discuss the effects of an overall growth in the number of jobs in the non-farm economy, early retirement, and lower rates of immigration. Unionizing efforts in places like Starbucks are reviewed, as are organizing efforts among academic workers. Opposition toward unionizing efforts by the business class and rightwing politicians is noted.
‘Nurses Have Had Enough': Largest-Ever NHS Strike Kicks Off in UK Over Low Pay by Jake Johnson
December 15, 2022
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Tens of thousands of nurses across the United Kingdom are set to walk off the job Thursday in what's been described as the largest-ever strike by National Health Service workers, who said they were forced to act after the government refused to negotiate over pay amid painfully high inflation.
The walkout represents NHS nurses' first national strike, and it comes as U.K. rail and postal workers are also taking major labor actions in response to falling real pay, meager benefits, and worsening conditions.
Nurses taking part in Thursday's walkouts in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland—one of two scheduled days of action in the week—lamented that a strike became necessary but said they had no choice as inadequate pay and staffing shortages put themselves and patients in danger. Healthcare workers also pointed to years of Tory-imposed funding cuts as a factor harming nurses and compromising the U.K.'s public healthcare system.
"Nurses have had enough—we are underpaid and undervalued," said nurse anesthetist Lyndsay Thompson of Northern Ireland. "Yes, this is a pay dispute but it's also very much about patient safety. The fact we cannot recruit enough nurses means patient safety is being put at risk."
'To Hold Billionaire CEOs Accountable,' House Democrats and Union Leaders Push for Fully Funded NLRB by Kenny Stancil
December 14, 2022
Extract:
(Common Dreams) A half-dozen progressive lawmakers joined multiple union representatives at a Tuesday afternoon press conference outside the U.S. Capitol to urge Democratic leaders to include ample funding for the cash-starved National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the final appropriations bill of the lame-duck session—before Republicans take control of the House.
…
"Our country is experiencing a moment of mass worker organizing—71% of Americans approve of unions and tens of millions of Americans would join a union right now if they could without retaliation or harassment," said (Jimmy) Williams (president of Communications Workers of America). "But the drastic underfunding of the NLRB means that many of these workers will face delays in getting a union vote or receiving justice for illegal retaliation or termination from their employers, which is why Congress must respond to this crisis to stand with workers and fully fund the NLRB with this urgent budget bill."
Due to GOP opposition, the federal agency tasked with enforcing U.S. labor law hasn't received a funding increase in nearly a decade. The NLRB's annual budget has been frozen at $274.2 million since fiscal year 2014, which amounts to a 25% cut when inflation is taken into account.
While the NLRB's budget has effectively shrunk, its workload has soared. The agency recently reported that from FY2021 to FY2022, the number of union representation petitions and unfair labor practice (ULP) charges filed grew by 53% and 19%, respectively. Meanwhile, the number of NLRB officials who oversee union elections and investigate employer abuses has been slashed by 50% since FY2002.
Last month, NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran and General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo warned members of Congress that the agency "has exhausted its ability to absorb cost increases through staff attrition and operational efficiencies." They added that it "has already implemented a hiring freeze and, without additional funding, will likely be forced to pursue furloughs." The NLRB Union was more blunt, characterizing the situation as "budgetary Armageddon."
Most Workers Who Were Fired This Year Lost Their Jobs for No Good Reason—Again by Maggie Duffy
December 16, 2022
Introduction:
(Mother Jones) A new report, published on Friday, finds that “more than two out of three workers who have been discharged received no reason or an unfair reason for the termination” this year.
In a survey of workers, the National Employment Law Project (NELP) found that 69 percent of respondents told them they had been let go for “no reason or for an unfair reason.” Only “one out of every three terminated employees received severance,” according to the report. Many workers told NELP they stayed at positions where they were faced with poor—or even illegal—working conditions and did not speak up for fear of losing their jobs.
The report highlights a long-held problem for workers: the lack of “just cause” employment protections. Just cause protections would prohibit employers from firing workers without an explanation, prior warning, or due process. The protections look to counter the standard “at-will” employment system in the United States which allows employers to terminate employees for little to no reason, creating a predatory power dynamic. This system means that in low-wage jobs with few employment protections—delivery app drivers, retail cashiers, pharmacy workers—there is little safeguard against unjust and often arbitrary firings.
Conclusion:
There have been some wins in recent years. Fast food employees in New York and rideshare workers in Washington won just cause protections in the last two years–protecting them through a higher standard of termination. Meanwhile, the report finds plenty of work left to be done.
One 52-year-old survey respondent in Tippecanoe County, Indiana told researchers that his employers “fired [him] for being left-handed”—a legal reason under current at-will employment law.
Seattle Starbucks stores join 3-day strike as union fight intensifies
Source: seattletimes.com
Dec. 16, 2022 at 6:45 pm Updated Dec. 16, 2022 at 8:33 pm
By Renata Geraldo
Three Seattle Starbucks cafes joined a three-day nationwide walkout that began Friday, an escalation in the nascent union’s push to secure contracts for the newly organized stores.
Workers at stores in downtown Seattle and Madison Park joined those elsewhere who expect to picket 100 stores across the U.S. over the next three days.
The workers fault Starbucks for closing union stores and refusing union demands for good faith bargaining and fair treatment. Workers at the Special Reserve Roastery, at Minor Avenue and Pike Street, will picket through the weekend; those from the Madison Park store will continue to picket Saturday; while those working at the Fifth Avenue and Pike store plan to strike Sunday.
The action will be the longest strike in the history of Starbucks Workers United, which marked its one-year anniversary last Friday. Last month, eight Washington stores, including the Fifth and Pike location, joined 110 U.S. stores for a one-day walkout on Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day, when the company gives reusable cups to customers who order a holiday drink.
San Francisco Macy's Workers Strike Over 'Totally Unacceptable' Contract by Brett Wilkins
December 24, 2022
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Hundreds of workers at Macy's San Francisco flagship store walked off the job Friday amid the last-minute holiday shopping rush for a two-day strike demanding better pay, healthcare, and working conditions.
Workers at Macy's Union Square store went on strike after contract negotiations between members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UCFW) Local 5 and the retail giant—which reported $108 million in third-quarter income—broke down Thursday. Strike-breakers kept the store open for the final two days of Christmas shopping.
Union president John Nunes told NBC Bay Area that Macy's only offered a $1-per-hour pay raise over three years and would not compromise on affordable healthcare, staffing levels, and seniority.
"What the company is offering is completely insufficient to what the workers had to go through for the last three years," Nunes said. "The wages are inadequate. The healthcare is really bad."
Chelsea Thomas, a Macy's employee and bargaining committee member, said in a statement that "nobody wants to go on strike at Christmas time but after six months of management stalling and refusal to make an offer that recognizes the hard work that we do to make the company profitable and successful, we don't have much choice."
Cal Grad Student Worker Strike Ends with Deal Panned by Many Rank-and-File Union Members by Brett Wilkins
December 24, 2022
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) While many University of California graduate student workers welcomed Friday's strike-ending ratification of a new labor agreement that delivers increased pay and benefits, other rank-and-file union members expressed anger and disappointment that the deal does not deliver enough.
The Los Angeles Times reports two bargaining units of United Auto Workers—which represent the 48,000 student workers—approved tentative agreements on contracts that will take effect immediately and run through the end of May 2025. The six-week strike—the largest academic employee walkout in U.S. history—will end, and most U.C. graduate workers will return to their jobs after winter break.
(EurekAlert) RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- A University of California, Riverside, study performed in the Eastern Coachella Valley, one of California’s top agricultural production regions, has found that farmworkers there lack information and the means to advocate for improved public health even when they are aware of being exposed to health risks stemming from working and living in rural farmlands.
About 76% of the 2.4 million farmworkers in the United States are immigrants, most of whom are from Mexico. In Inland Southern California, where the Eastern Coachella Valley, or EVC, is located, not much research has been done on Latinx farmworkers’ health concerns and barriers to care.
“Agricultural production demands in the U.S. impose a heavy burden on Latinx immigrant farmworkers, which shapes their health and informs their decisions about their living conditions,” said Ann Cheney, an associate professor of social medicine, population, and public health in the School of Medicine and lead author of the study that appears in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. “The health of these workers and their families should be a national priority.”
Amazon has failed to convince Cornele Overstreet, a regional director with the National Labor Relations Board, to overturn JFK8 workers' vote in favor of unionization. If you'll recall, the JFK8 facility in Staten Island became the first unionized Amazon warehouse after workers voted 2,350-1,912 in favor of joining a union back in April 2022. Amazon said at the time that it was "disappointed" with the result and challenged the vote, alleging "inappropriate and undue influence" from the NLRB. The Wall Street Journal says the e-retailer also accused Amazon Labor Union organizers of threatening employees to vote in favor of unionization.
Overstreet, however, has ruled that the company was unable to present sufficient proof of inappropriate conduct to overturn the election's results. He agreed with the labor board hearing officer who recommended in September that JFK8's union vote should be upheld. In a tweet, ALU president Christian Smalls celebrated being "certified by Region 28 NLRB." He added that the union "beat [Amazon] fair and square" and tagged Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, asking him to "come to the table" so they could sign a contract.
British Health Care Crisis Escalates With New Nurse Strikes by Dominic Glover
January 17, 2023
Introduction:
(Courthouse News) — Nurses in the United Kingdom are set for a fresh two-day strike this week, protesting against low pay and poor conditions as an ongoing crisis in the country’s health care system deepens.
The protest by the Royal College of Nursing, a 107-year-old union engaged in its first-ever series of walkouts, is part of an ongoing dispute between the British government and staff in the U.K.’s National Health Service, or NHS. The standoff comes amid a general collapse of health care provision across Britain, with an estimated 1,000 excess deaths a week being attributed to extensive delays in emergency care and a critical lack of capacity.
Nurses have been joined by doctors, paramedics and other medical professionals in their public condemnation of working conditions and falling standards of patient care, primarily attributed to a staffing crisis. There are currently more than 130,000 vacancies in the NHS – a vacancy rate of almost 10%.
Unions argue the primary reason for poor recruitment and retention of staff is low pay. The starting salary for nurses is below the average U.K. wage of 27,756 pounds ($33,854), while many nurses are frequently forced to work shifts of 16 hours or longer to fill gaps in the service. The high-stress conditions have led to an exodus among hospital staff, as large student debts and the impact of leaving the European Union have been cited as reasons for falling recruitment rates.
The effects of the crisis have thus far been stark. Ambulance waiting times have more than doubled for most calls over the past year, and the service has reached record-long waits for both emergency and non-emergency treatment. A total of 7.2 million people are currently awaiting treatment in England – more than 13% of the nation’s population.
Amazon Warehouse Inspections Find Workers Exposed to Safety Hazards by Megan Butler
January 18, 2023
Introduction:
(Courthouse News) — The U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to three Amazon warehouse facilities for failing to provide safe workplaces.
After conducting inspections last July at warehouse facilities in Deltona, Florida, Waukegan, Illinois, and New Windsor, New York, OSHA found that workers were exposed to ergonomic hazards, putting them at high risk of musculoskeletal injuries.
According to the citations, these ergonomic hazards involve the high frequency with which workers are required to lift packages and other items, the heavy weight of these items, and awkward movements used to lift them such as twisting, bending and long reaches. The Florida warehouse was also cited for exposing workers to "struck-by hazards."
“Each of these inspections found work processes that were designed for speed but not safety, and they resulted in serious worker injuries,” said Doug Parker, the Labor Department's assistant secretary for occupational safety and health.
OSHA investigators found that these Amazon workers experienced high rates of musculoskeletal disorders after reviewing on-site injury logs.
Nebraska state employees union negotiates highest salary increases in more than 35 years
Source: Omaha World Herald
Erin Bamer Jan 20, 2023 Updated 3 hrs ago
LINCOLN — More than 8,000 Nebraska state employees would see the highest salary increases in more than 35 years under a tentative two-year contract agreement negotiated through their union.
Under the agreement, union members would receive raises ranging from 10% to 27%, according to a press release from the Nebraska Association of Public Employees (NAPE). NAPE Executive Director Justin Hubly said these are the highest salary increases state employees have received since the State Employees Collective Bargaining Act passed in 1987, establishing the union’s right to negotiate contracts with the state.
The contract will not be finalized until a majority of union members vote to ratify it. Hubly said ratification meetings will be held through Jan. 26. If ratified, the contracts would take effect from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2025.
Further details about the new contracts will not be revealed until they have been ratified, Hubly said. There were other benefits NAPE was aiming to secure in the contracts, but even before negotiations officially began, members made it clear that their biggest focus was pushing for wages that exceeded inflation.
Union membership drops to record low in 2022
Source: Politico
Union membership hit an all-time low in 2022 despite a surge in organizing efforts that emerged during the pandemic.
The percentage of U.S. workers who belong to a union dropped from 10.3 percent to 10.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday, as the job market added non-unionized workers at a faster rate than unionized workers. That’s the lowest the figure has been since the agency first started tracking comparable data nearly four decades ago.
The decline comes despite the highest union approval rate in decades and a pro-union administration — and backs up earlier findings that while many workers view organized labor favorably, that doesn’t always mean they want to join its ranks. Gallup reported earlier this year that while 71 percent of Americans view unions favorably, 58 percent of non-unionized workers say they are “not interested at all” in joining a union.
Workers launched a series of high-profile unionization drives in 2022, including at nationwide chains Amazon and Starbucks. The federal agency that oversees union elections, National Labor Relations Board, reported a 53 percent uptick in petitions filed during the fiscal year.
DOJ files second antitrust lawsuit against Google
Source: CNBC
The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday filed its second antitrust lawsuit against Google in just over two years. It’s the latest sign that the U.S. government is not backing down from cases against tech firms even in light of a mixed record in court on antitrust suits.
This lawsuit, focused on Google’s online advertising business and seeks to make Google divest parts of the business, is the first against the company filed under the Biden administration. The Department’s earlier lawsuit, filed in October 2020 under the Trump administration, accused Google of using its alleged monopoly power to cut off competition for internet search through exclusionary agreements. That case is expected to go to trial in September.
Google also faces three other antitrust lawsuits from large groups of state attorneys general, including one focused on its advertising business led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Virginia joined DOJ in the lawsuit.
Google’s advertising business has drawn critics because the platform operates on multiple sides of the market — buying, selling and an ad exchange — giving it unique insight into the process and potential leverage. The company has long denied that it dominates the online advertising market, pointing to the market share of competitors including Meta’s Facebook.
