Seattle, WA – On December 8, workers at Seattle sandwich chain Homegrown won their National Labor Relations Board election to join UNITE HERE Local 8, a food service and hospitality union. With a vote count of 59-11 for their union, workers clearly showed they wanted a seat at the bargaining table. This election, representing 130 employees at ten different cafes, came after a separate vote by distribution drivers at Homegrown-owned company Catapult NW, who also voted to join the union.
Berkeley, CA – Wednesday, November 23, around 100 people came to support the academic workers’ strike at the University of California, Berkeley. University of California’s 48,000 academic workers have been on a statewide strike that is now heading into its fourth week.
On Monday, President Joe Biden publicly called on Congress to force union rail workers to accept the sub-par contract terms he helped craft. This is shameless union busting and pre-emptive strike breaking on behalf of the billionaire railroad bosses.
On Monday, President Joe Biden publicly called on Congress to force union rail workers to accept the sub-par contract terms he helped craft. This is shameless union busting and pre-emptive strike breaking on behalf of the billionaire railroad bosses.
St Paul, MN – On November 20, the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) livestreamed their announcement that around 15,000 Minnesota nurses in hospitals across the state will hold a strike authorization vote. The vote to authorize another strike came after their three-day strike in September. Since then, they have been unable to obtain a contract offer that meets the nurses’ demands.
San José, CA – Thousands of University of California students and workers are currently on strike across the state. In late October, the United Auto Workers union which represents 48,000 academic workers, called a strike authorization vote. In a historic vote, 98% of the 36,558 people who participated voted yes to strike. This is the largest academic workers’ strike in the history of the country.
Milwaukee, WI – On November 16, nearly 50 members of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 998 and their supporters marched from their union hall to the Milwaukee County Courthouse, raising the demands for greater security on their buses, better healthcare, and an overall decent contract. Chants of “Who are we? ATU!” and “Who moves this city? We move this city!” could be heard as the demonstrators marched through the streets of downtown Milwaukee. At least one on-duty MCTS bus driver along the route opened her window with a beaming smile and voiced her support for the action.
Milwaukee, WI – On November 10, the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals – AFT Local 5000 held a press conference to call attention to the unsafe working conditions in hospitals in the context of what public health experts are calling a tridemic – of the Flu, COVID-19 and RSV this winter season.
Orange, CA – 150 Orange County Transportation Authority maintenance workers, represented by Teamsters Local 952, walked off the job on Wednesday, November 2 demanding that OCTA increase healthcare allowances and negotiate in good faith.
San Bernardino, CA – Dozens of Amazon workers out of an air hub in San Bernardino walked off the job on Friday, October 14 in an unfair labor practice strike demanding a $5 pay raise, safer working conditions and no retaliation for organizing. Amazon workers start around $17 per hour with limited benefits and work under high production quotas.
Minneapolis, MN – Scabby the rat has become a familiar figure on the University of Minnesota Minneapolis campus as the contract fight between Teamsters Local 320 and the administration intensifies. Teamsters voted by a 93% margin to strike if the university does not agree to their demands to end poverty wages. The university brought in a company called “Chefs On the Fly” to scab on the potential strike and has put them to work in dining facilities. They are being housed in a hotel near campus, the Hilton Garden Inn.
Minneapolis, MN – About 150 University of Minnesota AFSCME workers and their supporters joined a noon informational picket, October 10 to demand real raises, respect and racial equity. The action coincided with a meeting of President Joan Gabel and Twin Cities deans. The meeting was set for Walter Library, but the administration attempted to evade the picket, and moved the gathering to Coffman Union. Workers marched to Coffman, held a picket in front of the building and chanting, they marched up to the third floor meeting location.
Minneapolis, MN – AFSCME at the University of Minnesota is holding an informational picket on Monday, October 10, from noon until 2 p.m. at Walter Library on the East Bank campus here. This coincides with a meeting between President Joan Gabel and Twin Cities deans at the same location. They will demand university leadership respond to their demands for raises, respect and racial equity.
Seattle, WA – Educators voted to ratify a tentative agreement with Seattle Public Schools (SPS) on September 19, after a powerful five-day strike. The strike mobilized 90% of union members, supported by parents and students, to picket lines and rallies at their schools. The schools were shut down for five days. The Seattle Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators, known as SCORE, was one of the driving forces behind the strike and has grown in membership by 60% since the strike began.
Tampa, FL – Members of the Hillsborough County teachers union packed the school board meeting, September 20, to demand a better contract that takes teachers' needs for a livable salary into account. A sea of the union's red shirts confronted the board members and the county's superintendent, who with faux concern, offered nothing but the platitude that he “heard” teachers’ concerns.
Milwaukee, WI – As the fall semester began at UW-Milwaukee, faculty and staff received an email from the Student Services office asking them to help cover staffing shortages in dining services. Specifically, they were asked to “donate any time [they] can find.” The office framed the request as a need to cover their new dining plan, which will help to address food insecurity, improve options for dietary restrictions, and is aligned with the campus’ strategic plan “to make UWM a radically welcoming place for our students.” Administration laid the guilt on thick.
Oshkosh, WI – Worker solidarity proved to be too much for the administration of UW Oshkosh, when they were forced September 12 to scrap their plan to privatize over 100 custodial and groundskeeper jobs at the university. Workers first learned of this plan on August 22, when UW Oshkosh custodial and grounds staff were informed via email that the administration was considering contracting with a private company, SSC Services, in Tennessee. This move would have pushed workers off their state benefits and resulted in reduced job security, poorer working conditions and less effective services rendered, all while funneling public education dollars to a private company.
Madison, WI – On September 12, a tentative agreement was reached between nurses at University of Wisconsin Health (UW Health) and administration over management recognition of their union, represented by SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin. Nurses at UW Health had lost their union after their contract expired in 2014 and the administration refused to bargain, citing Wisconsin's “Act 10” law. The effort for renewed recognition was restarted as of 2019.
