A Drier St. Patrick’s Day Ahead? An Update On Multiple Beer Strikes In The Forecast: LRI INK

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Subject: A Drier St. Patrick’s Day Ahead? An Update On Multiple Beer Strikes In The Forecast: LRI INK

February 22, 2024

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A Drier St. Patrick’s Day Ahead? An Update On Multiple Beer Strikes In The Forecast

by Kimberly Ricci

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is being awfully quiet about UPS announcing that it will soon be laying off hundreds of warehouse workers. That is to say, the union is ignoring the issue other than to claim that jobs are not being lost for union workers. Whether or not that is true, the union only cares to focus on what President Sean O’Brien insists was a “historic” 2023 union “win” for the company's drivers and package sorters.

Not coincidentally, those UPS layoffs coincide with the rollout of automation at one hub with more scheduled for the same, and it doesn’t take a giant leap of logic to guess that this push could be related to increased labor costs from the new contract. Yet the IBT have dollar signs on their brains and are ignoring the effects of their maneuvering on workers. And they are now onto their next agenda: multiple strikes and boycotts for beer breweries.

We already warmed up the discussion for this brewing kerfuffle, which could toss a wrench in St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Earlier this month, the union doubled strike benefits for brewery workers to $1000 per week, and here is how the union is using that boost:

Molson Coors: Over the past weekend, 400 Teamsters members hit the picket lines at the company’s Fort Worth, Texas brewery following months of stalled contract negotiations.

Anheuser-Busch: An almost certain strike – described as “unavoidable” by Sean O’Brien – looms for Teamsters at Anheuser-Busch, where the current union contract expires on February 29. Suppose the union’s wage, benefit, and job security demands are not met. In that case, the Teamsters plan to swiftly put 5,000 workers on strike at 12 breweries across the U.S. and urge a “nationwide boycott” against parent company AB InBev.

Will this strike be averted at the twelfth hour, which was the case for UPS negotiations last year? Well, O’Brien walked out of AB InBev negotiations in late January, so he is amping up the drama.

In the meantime, prepare for a potential shortage of Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, and Stella Artois right in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Perhaps the beer-drinking public should plan on acquiring Guinness instead.

Yes, that joke was “too soon,” but fair warning to these brewery workers: automation can replace them in breweries, too. And if that happens, the Teamsters will already be moving on to reframing their beer battles, as with the UPS contract, “as a template” in their quest to organize Amazon.

Additionally, alcoholic beverages aren’t the only current Teamsters focus:

Teamsters at Marathon Petroleum in Detroit, Michigan, authorized a strike for 273 workers who process crude oil.
Teamsters pilots of Omni Air International, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, overwhelmingly voted for a strike following three years of failed contract negotiations.
Teamsters in California are lobbying for SB 915, which would “require autonomous vehicle (AV) companies to secure local approvals prior to starting operations.” The bill is aimed at halting operations such as the California Public Utilities Commission’s approval of Waymo’s expansion of its robotaxi fleet.
Some lucky union members are now ex-members. That’s the case for Keurig Dr. Pepper drivers and warehouse workers who recently removed the Teamsters from power across Wisconsin.

Hopefully, workers who scored a decertification and partake in beer have already located their preferred variety to celebrate freedom from union representation. After all, ale shortages might be on the horizon soon.

Blog Post

Sticky Fingers and Bad Actors: Union Misconduct in 2024

by Michael VanDervort

It’s been more than a minute since we did any update about union corruption and misconduct by labor union officials, so let’s jump right in with a look at what has been going on in 2024.

It’s been a busy couple of months jam-packed with the usual stuff you would expect from organizations wanting to represent you in the workplace: - wire fraud, tax evasion, falsification of records, altercations, and retaliation against members.

The Muriel Newman Incident: The conviction of Muriel Newman, formerly at the helm of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2779, for nine counts of wire fraud and falsification of records in January 2024 shines a spotlight on the grim potential for union leaders to betray the trust of their members.

The LEEBA Leadership's Downfall: The case against Kenneth Wynder Jr., former President of the Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association (LEEBA), sentenced to 40 months in prison in January 2024 for a slew of charges including wire fraud and tax evasion, epitomizes the egregious betrayal of member trust. Such instances vividly illustrate the risks inherent in entrusting one's dues contributions to organizations where accountability may be compromised by individuals with ulterior motives. Wynder was ordered to pay $838,683 in restitution, $529,000 in forfeiture, and a $700 special assessment. Andrew Brown, former Benefits Coordinator for LEEBA, was also ordered to pay $529,000 in restitution, $3,049 in forfeiture, and a $200 special assessment.

Randal Dunlap's Misappropriation: The indictment of Randal Dunlap for embezzling around $86,000 from the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 1018's coffers in January 2024 underscores a blatant disregard for the financial contributions of union members. Dunlap's alleged actions represent a direct theft not just from the union but from the pockets of its members, further fueling skepticism towards the ethical management of union dues.

Questionable Union Practices: Beyond individual acts of corruption, systemic issues such as the illegal dues deduction scheme contested by Brunilda Vargas against United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 5502 spotlight the broader problem of unions not always acting in the best interest of their constituents.

Internal Conflicts and Power Misuse: Altercations such as the one involving Joe Duffle of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1167 and retaliation claims, such as the one filed by John Cwiek against International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 63, expose the internal strife and power dynamics that can compromise union integrity. These disputes detract from the union's primary mission and reveal a concerning potential for leadership to prioritize personal agendas over worker welfare.

The Teamsters' Discrimination Settlement: The $2.9 million settlement of a discrimination lawsuit against the IBT, alleging wrongful termination based on race, further complicates the narrative on union trustworthiness. Such incidents suggest that issues of fairness and justice within unions extend beyond financial mismanagement to encompass broader ethical failings.

These cases collectively paint a disturbing portrait of certain unions as entities where corruption and retaliation can flourish, unchecked by the very principles they supposedly uphold. They also offer insight into why employees should think twice before committing a portion of their hard-earned wages to organizations that are all too often tainted by corruption and bad conduct.

Blog Post

A Union-Fueled Automation Conundrum: The Restaurant Industry’s Chess Vs. Checkers

by Kimberly Ricci

As we recently discussed, the SEIU tipped its hand on an upcoming magic trick by inventing an illusory union after failing to organize fast-food workers through card signing and the NLRB election process. This stunt followed the SEIU’s lobbying extravaganza for California’s FAST Recovery Act, AB 1228, pushing the fast-food minimum wage to $20 per hour on April 1. Preemptive side-effects of this legislation include layoffs and fast-tracking of automation, so the SEIU’s antics are hurting the workers that it claims to want to represent.

Negative byproducts of union tactics are nothing new, as many workers can attest to after experiencing the realities of living under a union constitution. Yet it’s quite something that the SEIU has managed to trounce workers who technically haven’t even signed up for union membership. Legislation with a significant impact on the bottom, like AB 1228, often has unintended consequences. In an industry where lobby kiosks are ubiquitous, that means exploring automation to replace or supplement human labor.

Stuart Kerr, VizExplorer Senior Vice President of Development and AI, has drawn an apt analogy in a LinkedIn post: “Unions are playing checkers, while companies are playing chess.” Kerr further explains that “automation has already been operationally deployed that can replace line workers” at McDonald’s, Burger King, Jack-in-the-Box, and Carl’s Jr in California.

Other restaurant industry tidbits further back up this growing trend:

The number of quick-serve restaurants experimenting with automation continues to increase. Those chains include Chipotle (which has been frying tortilla chips via robots) and Sweetgreen (which uses a robotic food-prep service to prepare salads). Many companies, including White Castle, Wendy's, Del Taco, Sonic, and Panera, are testing AI bots to take drive-thru orders. Some restaurants also use Google Cloud to suggest personalized recommendations when customers order through an app.
The overall U.S. shortage of food-service workers will not slow the automation trend a bit, although many businesses still hope to grow their numbers with actual workers, too. Restaurant Business Online detailed how employers have been pulling out the stops – including child care and tuition assistance, armed service veteran-to-franchisee initiatives, and mental health benefits – to entice workers and enlarge their labor pool. Sadly, that still leaves around 225,000 open food-service positions in Texas, let alone the rest of the U.S.
The SEIU’s One Fair Wage arm, which devotes substantial efforts to ending a lower minimum wage for tipped workers, could further push the restaurant industry towards automation. Of course, the irony in One Fair Wage’s approach is that workers have vocalized how ending the tipped minimum wage would lower their overall pay, yet the movement persists. As a side note, Congress is questioning why the IRS allows One Fair Wage to maintain 501(c)(3) non-profit status for tax purposes despite their participation in political advocacy while lobbying against the restaurant industry. Stay tuned there.

The takeaway: The food-service industry’s automation floodgates are open. This is happening – between California’s sudden shift toward a much higher fast-food minimum wage and labor shortages throughout the rest of the U.S. – whether anyone wants it or not. The roller coaster has taken off, so hang on tight.

Blog Post

Is The NLRB Unconstitutional?

by Kimberly Ricci

So far, 2024 appears to be the year that employers are pushing back against what they believe is essentially unchecked power of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1935, and it took a Supreme Court ruling to push the NLRB into effect because the agency did not jibe with employers’ abilities to run their businesses as they saw fit. Since then, the NLRB’s political balance has careened back and forth, and as we all know, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is a very different beast in 2024, so this legal saga could get interesting should the issue go that far.

The current fight began in early January when SpaceX filed a lawsuit against the NLRB to challenge the agency’s constitutionality. Three other companies – Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, and Amazon – have now followed suit. This growing collective of employers takes issue with how the NLRB is structured, and SpaceX argues that the NLRB violates the separation of powers. The company also requests an injunction against the Board’s decision that SpaceX illegally fired employees who criticized CEO Elon Musk.

A few points of distinction exist between these four employers’ arguments:

The companies largely agree in their argument that the NLRB’s structure is not constitutionally sound and that it is allowed to run unchecked while writing rules and using in-house judges to make rulings about these rules. The board also enforces its own rules, arguably assuming the roles of all three government branches.
SpaceX specifically claims that the NLRB’s structure violates Article II of the U.S. Constitution, the Fifth Amendment (on due process protections), and the Seventh Amendment (on a right to jury trial).
SpaceX’s argument arose in a federal lawsuit, whereas Amazon and Trader Joe’s arguments surfaced in administrative proceedings. So, SpaceX’s case will be decided first and conceivably could go all the way to SCOTUS, which is also reviewing a case on the Board’s 10(j) injunctions over unfair labor allegations against Starbucks.
Amazon slightly departs in its argument by referring to the “major questions doctrine,” a principle that dictates how courts must presume that, in the absence of a clear statement otherwise, Congress does not delegate matters of political or economic significance to agencies.

A worker joins the cause: A Starbucks barista is also suing the NLRB in a Texas federal court. In this case, the issue is how a regional NLRB director dismissed a decertification petition, thereby barring a vote to remove the union. The National Right To Work Foundation is now representing the barista and pushing for the decertification process to go forth.

Where the SpaceX lawsuit currently stands: The company initially lost its bid to hold the case in a Texas federal court, with the judge saying the case should be moved to California, where the employees who wrote the letter were fired, and SpaceX is headquartered. However, earlier this week, a federal appeals court paused the transfer (paywall) of SpaceX’s lawsuit, giving Elon Musk’s firm a chance to contest a lower court’s order sending the case from Texas to California.

This is where things get trickier. If SpaceX’s case stays in the Fifth Circuit, SpaceX could have an easier route to lawsuit victory because the Fifth Circuit previously ruled against an agency (the Security and Exchanges Commission) on whether the SEC’s structure violated the Seventh Amendment.

The barista’s lawsuit appears rooted in Texas, but the SpaceX lawsuit is the bigger one to watch for now.

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Contributing editors for this issue: Greg Kittinger, Michael VanDervort, and Kimberly Ricci.

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Subject: A Drier St. Patrick’s Day Ahead? An Update On Multiple Beer Strikes In The Forecast: LRI INK