Subject: Strong-arm Tactics Of The NLRB: LRI INK

December 01, 2022

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Strong-arm Tactics Of The NLRB

by Kimberly Ricci

We previously told you about the NLRB’s eagerness to proclaim 10(j) injunction actions against Starbucks in response to 200+ unfair labor practice (ULPs) allegations that revolve around union elections. NLRB General Counsel Abruzzo strongly supports this aggressive tactic regarding unproven claims, and as the Starbucks saga continues to sprout new legs, the board is applying that strategy toward other companies.  

 

Before we get to that subject, let’s refresh on the numbers of this situation because Starbucks runs about 9000 U.S. locations. To date, around 300 Starbucks stores have held union elections. Nearly 260 stores have unionized, and workers at about 100 cafes, who remain frustrated with the customary slowness of contract negotiations, took much publicized action ahead of Thanksgiving.

 

Those Starbucks workers essentially waged war against the coffeehouse giant’s annual Red Cup Day by holding a coordinated one-day strike. This so-called “Red Cup Rebellion” took place on one of the company’s busiest days of the year, when customers receive free limited edition cups after ordering sugar-filled holiday drinks. 

 

Obviously, a 100-store strike is still a drop in the Starbucks cup of 9000 stores, but it does grab media attention. And the NLRB is happy to swing at Starbucks with more injunction actions, so keep your eyes on followup for this next detail.

 

More store closings: Starbucks continues to shutter “not profitable” stores while pointing towards increased safety costs as an explanation. 

 

This month, the company announced the fourth Seattle closure, which will take place at the first unionized cafe in the coffeehouse giant’s home city. Admittedly, it’s not the best look to close stores. This unfortunately opens the company up to more ULP allegations from Workers United. As well, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree called upon the NLRB to investigate a Maine cafe closure.

 

Meanwhile, the NLRB is no stranger to pulling the 10(j) injunction card on Amazon. This week, the board received a federal court ruling that Amazon must cease and desist “retaliating” against workers and firing them for engaging in “protected activities” that include organizing behavior. This declaration happened despite no fact-finding court process or definitive proof on ULP allegations.

 

Let’s gather up the latest notable organizing news:


  • Apple continues its own slow dance around union activity. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers aimed for a St. Louis store as the third Apple retail location to unionize. Yet nearly as soon as workers filed for a union vote, the group backed out of the effort while mirroring recent actions of Apple retail employees at an Atlanta location. 

  • Amazon workers at the CVG Superhub, located in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, are organizing and want $30+ per hour base pay on their list of demands.

  • Despite a lack of meaningful results for workers at unionized Starbucks cafes, the story still inspires baristas elsewhere to organize. This includes workers at Brooklyn-based Blank Street Coffee location, which filed with the NLRB for a union vote. Two Peet’s Coffee locations also followed suit this month.

  • The fast food industry seemed like an unlikely candidate to produce successful union drives only a year ago. This month, however, an Oregon-based Afuri Ramen and Dumpling location filed with the NLRB while citing workplace chaos and unfair tipping policies. 

  • The Union of Southern Service Workers christened itself at a South Carolina meeting this month. The new union branched away from Raise Up, which is the Southern leg of the SEIU’s Fight for $15 initiative. This group also declared intent to organize fast food, retail, hotel, and gas station workers across the South.

  • Verizon Wireless retail store workers still line up for the Communications Workers of America union. Workers at an Illinois location voted to join the thousands of other CWA-represented workers from the company’s retail and customer service departments. 

  • Museums keep bubbling into the union realm in those larger metropolitan areas. In Chicago, 300 Field Museum workers will soon hold a union vote while seeking higher pay, and in Brooklyn, the UAW staged a demonstration, aimed at disrupting a VIP opening gala, while seeking wage hikes.

 

Let’s end this week’s roundup with some good news: Home Depot freight drivers voted to boot the Teamsters from representing them in San Jose, California. This development follows our recent discussion of a tiny rally that the union touted in Philadelphia, where a store’s workers ultimately voted against unionizing.

Links

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Union Bailout

 

U.S. Labor Board Warns Of Furloughs Without Budget Increase

http://bit.ly/3V0JyA3

 

NLRB Expands Employer Requirements To Provide Sales Agreement To Union

http://bit.ly/3XvunQI

 

NLRB Proposes Rescission Of Recently Issued Rules On Elections

http://bit.ly/3V3SbJQ

 

Fired SpaceX Employees File Charges With National Labor Relations Board 

http://bit.ly/3VqMUvX

 

Federal Funds To Restore Teamsters' Pensions, Give Years After Cuts

http://bit.ly/3XuKzSe

 

NLRB Extends Time For Submitting Comments On The Proposed Fair Choice And Employee Voice Rule

https://bit.ly/3XIneNh

            

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh's Pro-PRO Act Op-Ed, Including Complaints About Starbucks And Amazon

http://bit.ly/3XzAvHX

 

T-Mobile's Employee Feedback Group Violated Labor Law, NLRB Says

http://bit.ly/3XFs0ez

       

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California Home Depot Freight Drivers Overwhelmingly Vote to Oust Unwanted Teamsters Union

http://bit.ly/3AT90PA

 

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Education/UAW In Flux

 

University Of California Strike Reveals UAW In Transition

http://bit.ly/3VpF3Ph

 

The University Of California Strike Has Been 50 Years In The Making, Could Be Largest Strike In State History

http://bit.ly/3EEHXsF

 

UC Students On Strike Say They Are Overworked And Underpaid

http://bit.ly/3V3SK6q

 

UC Says Tying Workers’ Housing Costs To Pay Could Have Dire Impacts

http://bit.ly/3VobRb8

 

UC Postdoctoral Scholars, Researchers Reach Tentative Deal but Will Remain On Strike

https://bit.ly/3Utm5GE

 

New School And Parsons School Of Design Adjunct Professors Go On Strike

http://bit.ly/3U0qm44

            

New School Tells Students To Attend Class While Professors Strike http://bit.ly/3XwnoXN

 

Graduate Workers Formally File To Hold Union Election, University Responds

http://bit.ly/3EWEM0N


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Healthcare

 

Kaiser Permanente Nurses Avoid Work Strike, Reach Tentative Agreement

http://bit.ly/3AGgrK4

 

Kaiser Avoids Historic Nursing Strike By Boosting Pay 22.5% 

http://bit.ly/3AHscQl

 

Five Largest Canadian Health Care Unions Join Forces 

http://bit.ly/3EA4Jlm

 

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UAW/Manufacturing

 

Workers To Decide Whether To Unionize Ohio GM-LG Battery Joint Venture

http://bit.ly/3VegNzL

            

Biden To Meet With Ford CEO, UAW On Economy 

http://bit.ly/3V4bLpA

 

Will Lehman Sues UAW And Monitor In Federal Court To Guarantee Workers’ Right To Vote In Election

http://bit.ly/3Ou926h

 

Federal Judge Sides With UAW Apparatus, Denies Will Lehman’s Request For Extension Of Ballot Deadline

http://bit.ly/3VaUb3i

 

UAW's Historic First Direct Election Of Top Officers Met With Low Turnout

https://bit.ly/3VGnydG

 

Federal Judge Orders U.S. Secretary Of Labor To Respond To Will Lehman's Lawsuit

http://bit.ly/3Xufhv2

 

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Minimum Rising

 

SEIU Pushes Chicago Candidates To Back $25 Minimum Wage

http://bit.ly/3V0qule

 

A California Law That Takes Wage-Setting Power From Fast-Food Bosses Sparks Fight

http://bit.ly/3V21fPH

 

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Gig Economy

 

Uber, Delivery Apps Propose Offering Social Security To Mexico Drivers

http://bit.ly/3VtzQG2

 

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Transportation

 

Largest Rail Union Rejects Contract, Stoking Fears Of A Strike

http://bit.ly/3tWosXo

 

President Of Largest Rail Union Predicts Congressional Intervention

http://bit.ly/3VoppDy

About Labor Relations INK

Labor Relations INK is published weekly and is edited by Labor Relations Institute, Inc. Feel free to pass this newsletter on to anyone you think might enjoy it. New subscribers can sign up by visiting here.


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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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