Subject: The NLRB’s Full-Court Press And The First Microsoft Union: LRI INK

January 05, 2023

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The NLRB's Full-Court Press And The First Microsoft Union

by Kimberly Ricci

We made it to 2023, and as our own Phil Wilson predicts, a busy year of labor law developments awaits us. The NLRB closed out last year with three cases that will pave the board’s way for pushing the Biden administration’s aggressively union-friendly agenda into motion. The board will soon finish reconsidering Joy Silk, deliver their ruling on captive audience meetings, and much more will come.

 

That impending news will arrive after 2022’s intense media focus on organizing drives at high-profile companies. Unsurprisingly, those reports generally do not communicate the full picture, although NPR recently acknowledged the reality of an organizing frenzy, which does include notable union victories but will also bring worker disappointment when unions fail to deliver tangible results at the bargaining table. 

 

That’s already happening with Starbucks Workers United, which has so far notched over 250 union winswithout any successful contract negotiations to show for them. This results in more worker frustration along with more strong-arm tactics from the NLRB, and with that, we have set the stage for Biden’s labor board taking stronger action on the Starbucks front. We’ll finish this article with Microsoft updates and a brief roundup:


  • The NLRB’s all-out battle against Starbucks continues. Board prosecutors recently alleged that Starbucks illegally refused to negotiate with at least 20 cafes throughout the Pacific Northwest. In response, the company pointed the finger at Starbucks Workers United as a culprit in the failed negotiations while claiming to have come to the table in “good faith” for 75 bargaining sessions during 2022.

  • The NLRB’s complaint against two Oklahoma City Starbucks cafes will head toward a hearing in April to consider numerous claims of unfair labor practices.

  • 1,000+ members of the Starbucks union waged the biggest strike in the coffeehouse giant’s history on December 16, when dozens of stores saw baristas hit the picket lines over stalled contract negotiations. This three-day strike follows a coordinated one-day walkout, now known as the Red Cup Rebellion, which took place at 100+ stores on November 17. That’s generally one of the company’s busiest days of the year, given that free holiday cups go out to customers who purchase holiday drinks, so disruption is the name of the game.

 

Here’s fresh news from the Microsoft realm with some Apple on the side:


  • Microsoft’s first U.S.-based union officially exists with recognition from the tech conglomerate. 300 video game testers at Microsoft subsidiary ZeniMax Studios, makers of The Elder Scrolls, voted this week to unionize with the CWA. This turn of events comes on the heels of Microsoft’s neutrality agreement, in which the company agreed to cooperate with unions that formed under its umbrellas.

  • Another Microsoft wrinkle: If the Bill Gates-owned company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard moves past an FTC block and closes, then Microsoft will further cooperate with the CWA. The union has organized two Activision groups, Raven Software and Blizzard Albany, thus far. A third group at Proletariat, makers of World of Warcraft Dragonflight, also filed for a union election.

  • Apple is dealing with its own NLRB woes while continuing to fend off organizing activity after stores in Maryland and Oklahoma voted to unionize. Meanwhile, the CWA has accused Apple of illegally setting up its own company-controlled union to put the kibosh on union activity. The Board also recently moved against Apple on allegations that the company interrogated workers about the CWA and held captive audience meetings.

 

More organizing updates surfaced over the holidays:


  • Amazon is staring down another union drive, this time at their Minnesota Fulfillment Center. The company has succeeded at pushing back all such efforts with the exception of Staten Island’s JFK8 warehouse, where workers voted to unionize in April 2022.

  • The NewsGuild-CWA persuaded nearly 60 editorial workers at Reviewed, a Gannett Inc. product-review publication in Massachusetts, to launch a union drive with the goal of joining the Boston Newspaper Guild.

  • American Red Cross workers in small-town Kansas unanimously voted to become Teamsters in the fourth such union win within the humanitarian organization since mid-2022.

Links

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Union Bailout

 

NLRB Opens Door To Union For Student Athletes

https://bit.ly/3PEsXji

 

Significant NLRB Move Will Aid Pursuit Of College Athletes Becoming Employees

https://bit.ly/3WKooGT

 

SCOTUS Case From Washington Could Have Far Reaching Implications For Unions

https://bit.ly/3jwEs0h

 

N.C. Limits On Farmworker Union Organizing Upheld By Appeals Court

https://bit.ly/3jHBUwI

 

U.S. Budget Bill Includes First Increase For Labor Board Since 2014

https://bit.ly/3C0ZBGk

 

Tesla Broke Labor Laws By Telling Workers Not To Discuss Pay, NLRB Claims

https://bit.ly/3Gxb0R0

 

Congress Passes Omnibus Bill With Worker Protections, NLRB Funds 

https://bit.ly/3hUplNR

 

https://bit.ly/3WNnklG

 

"Outlook Not So Good" - An Employer's Guide To The NLRB's 2023 Agenda

https://bit.ly/3vrrhkc

 

Employers Beware: The National Labor Relations Board Diminishes Private Property Rights. What Will It Mean?

https://bit.ly/3vhCLq9

 

Teamster Pension Bailout May Not Be The Remedy Employers Hoped For

https://bit.ly/3WDeZB5

 

Rubio, Braun Urge NLRB Chairman To Reverse Inconsistent Franchise Rule

https://bit.ly/3hDeGHg

 

Board Modifies Standard Governing Off-Duty Workplace Access For Contract Workers

https://bit.ly/3C4TDnV

 

**********

Healthcare

 

Congress' Last-Minute $1.7 Trillion Omnibus Package (Healthcare Perspective)

https://bit.ly/3WoPp2J

 

Healthcare Unions To Continue Pushing Aggressive Agenda In 2023

https://bit.ly/3IsQdzB

 

16,000 New York Nurses Announce Intention To Strike

https://bit.ly/3X4JPCB

 

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Nurses Announce A 10-Day Strike

https://bit.ly/3V8AXKA

 

'Historic' Pay Raises Avert Nurses Strike In Minnesota

https://bit.ly/3hPzUld

 

Senators Urge Kaiser To End 16-Week Mental Health Strike

https://bit.ly/3vlUzAo

 

After 122 days on strike, little hope for deal in sight for Kaiser mental health workers

https://bit.ly/3Id2GXQ

 

**********

UAW/Manufacturing

 

Ohio Workers Vote For Union At GM, LG Battery Plant

https://bit.ly/3jicmFZ

 

UAW Statement On Failure To Declare USPS Electric Vehicles Will Be Union-Made

https://bit.ly/3HXrbrX

 

Autoworkers Back Official Protest By Will Lehman Against Voter Suppression In UAW Election

https://bit.ly/3YLR43Z

 

Increased UAW Strike Pay Steels Casino Workers For Possible Hollywood Casino Stoppage

https://bit.ly/3hTocGm

 

GM Flint Rank-And-File Committee Denounces UAW Voter Suppression

https://bit.ly/3Id2zvo

            

**********

Education

 

University Of California Academic Workers Reach Deal To End 5-Week Strike

https://bit.ly/3HMrXIg

 

Vote By UC Grad Student Workers Exposed Divide Among Campuses

https://bit.ly/3vqKodX

            

Six-Week Strike Of 48000 University Of California Academic Workers Betrayed By The UAW

https://bit.ly/3C8cJte

 

Boston University Graduate Students Vote To Unionize In Lopsided Approval

https://bit.ly/3I2IfwH

 

**********

Media/Tech

 

HarperCollins Workers’ Strike Nears The Two-Month Mark

https://bit.ly/3X1oSIB

 

**********

Gig Economy

 

Contract Employees' Right To Organize Restored By U.S. Labor Board

https://bit.ly/3hzdBjL

 

App-Based Drivers Revive Push To Unionize

https://bit.ly/3Q1zkgY

 

Uber Drivers Impending NYC Strike (After Blocked Raises)

https://bit.ly/3HPHU0b

 

Board Modifies Standard Governing Off-Duty Workplace Access For Contract Workers

https://bit.ly/3C4TDnV

 

**********

Minimum Rising

 

California Fast-Food Businesses Prepare For Minimum Wage Increase In 2023

https://bit.ly/3YNUval

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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