Subject: No Shortage Of Retail And Restaurant Organizing

September 29, 2022

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No Shortage Of Retail And Restaurant Organizing

by Kimberly Ricci

We recently told you about the fast-food dreaming happening in California, where an SEIU-pushed bill (recently signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom) will take effect in 2023. The financial fallout from this bill could be significant, since it bumps the industry’s lowest paid workers up to a $22 minimum wage. As well, these workers will have the power to bargain through a newly created industry council, all of which could strain businesses and also influence copycat state lawmakers and workers in other industries.

 

If one adds this to the pile of Starbucks developments over the past year, it’s no wonder that food-service workers (along with their retail counterparts) continue to fuel talk of a labor resurgence, even though (if one looks at the full picture) unions aren’t too popular among workers. Still, the pandemic years (which aren’t over yet) proved that even those industries that seemed immune (in part due to high turnover) to union activity continue to witness organizing behavior, especially in the wake of high-profile examples like Starbucks, which we’ll talk about in a moment. Let’s run down recent news of note:

  • Trader Joe’s (which recently experienced the company’s “first” union petition in Massachusetts) saw workers at a Brooklyn store follow suit

  • Starbucks continues to have the dubious distinction of inspiring much union activity in the food-service and retail industries. The company recently doubled back to address morale and create new benefits that will be exclusive to non-union workers. However, the coffeehouse giant has now signaled its readiness to begin bargaining with its 234 cafes that have unionized thus far. The company could soon also face a mess of “just cause” bids from the Workers United bargaining committee, which claims that the company fired over 110 workers as retaliation for organizing activity.


And in academia, a rush of union activity continues at universities. One such push takes place in Massachusetts, where the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Graduate Workers’ Union filed with the NLRB (while seeking greater benefits and higher wages). This move follows a graduate student worker strike at Clark university, thereby suggesting that the spreading trend of organizing is something to keep an eye out for in all industries.


Links

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Union Bailout

 

United States: NLRB Signals Pullback On Consequential Damages Against Unions

https://lri.link/3Rdzxwm


Unions Seize Midterms 'Hot Moment' To Rebuild, Support Democrats

https://lri.link/3UBjcVc


Labor Board Seeks Court Order Against Kimbal Musk's Gardening Nonprofit

https://lri.link/3C9FbeS



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Union Corruption


Ex-Labor Leader Charged With Embezzling Tens of Thousands Of Dollars From Local Union

https://lri.link/3xWbewm


FBI Comes Up Empty-Handed In Search For Jimmy Hoffa In New Jersey Landfill

https://lri.link/3dJELCB


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Healthcare


An Uptick In Health Worker Strikes Could Signal A Trend Amid Staffing Shortages

https://lri.link/3CafFGw


U.S. Healthcare Workers Walk Off The Job: 14 (Major) Strikes In 2022 

https://lri.link/3fj7qi4

Therapists On Strike Refuse Kaiser's Offer As Contract Dispute Enters Second Month

https://lri.link/3M0x6N3

Twin Cities Mental Health Care Workers Set Date For Three-Day Strike 

https://lri.link/3Rgs7sg


Michigan Nurses Agree to New Contract in Tight Labor Market

https://lri.link/3UAu6uy

After One-Day Strike, Fresno Nursing Home Staff Could Walk Out Indefinitely

https://lri.link/3SdJbjV


Seattle’s Swedish To Invest $125M In Employee Pay Increases

https://lri.link/3UCRg3f


Ascension Nurses In Texas Vote To Unionize

https://lri.link/3SalrgE


Sacramento-area Pine Creek Care Center Nurses Overwhelmingly Vote to Oust Unwanted Union 

https://lri.link/3dAMK4Y


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Manufacturing


UAW Will Seek Faster Recognition In GM's U.S. Joint-Venture Battery Plants

https://lri.link/3dDTL4M


GM To Invest $760 Million To Shift Ohio Plant To EV-Part Production

https://lri.link/3r6CtAw


UAW Presidential Candidate Will Lehman Calls For Abolition Of Union Bureaucracy, Power To The Rank And File

https://lri.link/3SarLoh


Detroit Autoworkers Back Will Lehman For UAW President

https://lri.link/3r8EpID


At UAW Monitor's VP debate, Solidarity House candidates lie about eliminating tiers

https://lri.link/3S4OPF7


Warrior Met Coal Strike Drags On After 16 Months: No Easy Path Forward, Experts Say

https://lri.link/3SxGFoq


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Aviation


JetBlue Ground Operations Workers Seek Union Representation

https://lri.link/3UB1lh8


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Labor Around The World


Workers At GM Plant In Silao, Mexico: U.S.-Sponsored Union ‘Destroyed Our Independence’

https://lri.link/3SxYP9S


Volkswagen Workers In Mexico Reject Union-Backed 9% Wage Hike

https://lri.link/3LEYuQi


Mexico, U.S. Close VU Manufacturing Complaint In Fifth USMCA Labor Probe

https://lri.link/3C2TbGb



 

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Contributing editors for this issue: Phillip Wilson, Greg Kittinger, and Kimberly Ricci 


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About Labor Relations Institute

LRI exists to help our clients thrive and become extraordinary workplaces. We improve the lives of working people by strengthening relationships with their leaders and each other. For over 41 years LRI has led the labor and employee relations industry, driven by our core values and our proven process, the LRI Way.

 

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