Subject: The UAW Negotiation Games Are Off To The Dubious Races: LRI INK

July 20, 2023

To visit the blog post, click on the link below the article.

The UAW Negotiation Games Are Off To The Dubious Races

by Kimberly Ricci

UAW President Shawn Fain has made much of his readiness to strike the Big Three automakers. If that happens, 150,000 union members will picket after the current contracts expire on Sept. 14. Renewal negotiations began on July 14, starting with Stellantis and then Ford. GM talks launch on July 18. 


The stakes are undeniably high. The union amassed a strike fund of at least $825 million, from which members would draw $500 weekly pay. For automakers, costs could be astronomical and dwarf the $3.6 billion hit to GM in 2019. 


Those immediate losses would only be part of the damage. A leading analyst estimated that a strike could result in “wage and benefit improvements that result in 25% to 30% higher labor costs for the companies over the four years of the contract.” 


Fain is surely gleeful at this prospect. He has a lot to prove as the first directly elected UAW president following a notorious corruption scandal. Yet he also entered amid accusations of asham election. So, it’s no surprise that he has doubled down on “militant” posturing whileinsisting that “the future of the working class is at stake.”


In other words, cue the big gestures. The union began negotiations by shunning the ceremonial handshake with Big Three CEOs and christening a "Member's Handshake.”


Enter the key UAW demands: (1) Increasing wages for EV battery plant workers who currently make between $16.50 and $20.00 per hour (vs. $32 to $60 at traditional assembly plants), despite EV cars being far cheaper to produce; (2) Eliminating wage tiers; (3) Restoring long-lost COLA benefits. 


As is the case with unions, their objectives might sound altruistic, yet wrinkles exist:


  • UAW members at the Ultium EV battery plant questioned whether the union cares aboutOSHA violations and whether leadership will stand firm on EV wages. That lack of confidence is understandable. After all, a six-week strike at Clarios recently ended with what workers called a sell-out deal, including longer work days with no overtime and no substantial wage increases.

  • Workers accused the UAW of doing nothing about mandatory 7-day work weeks for Stellantis at Michigan factories that entered “critical status” mode to increase Jeep SUV production. The company cites increased demand, but workers called this a strike-preparation tactic for stockpiling inventory.

  • The union’s beef with Biden and lack of endorsement continues. Fain accused Biden of “actively funding the race to the bottom” with the Energy Department’s planned $9.2 billion loan to EV plants. The UAW also wants to extend the EPA’s timeline for two-thirds of new cars to be EVs by 2032. 

  • Fain mysteriously dumped the entire law firm that guided the union through its corruption cleanup. This follows General Counsel Abigail Carter’s dismissal, ostensibly for withholding information about Neil Barofsky’s investigation.

Additionally, Biden enlisted long-term adviser Gene Sperling as the point person for UAW negotiations. Sperling will work with Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, still far from Senate confirmation. And now… prepare for fireworks.

Biden’s New Deal: Government Stacked For Unions

by Michael VanDervort

Biden Union Bailout continues: Recent months have seen a flurry of pro-labor actions by the White House, Congress, and government agencies. With Democrats controlling Washington, unions are profiting from recent memory's most union-friendly political climate. Here's a rundown of key developments that have labor leaders grinning:


PRO-mises, PRO-mises: The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act passed a major hurdle, clearing the Senate HELP committee in May. This sweeping legislation would severely limit right-to-work laws, impose fines on employers for unfair labor practices, and weaken prohibitions on secondary boycotts. Supporters call it labor law reform; opponents have labeled it "the peak of labor cronyism."


The NLRB's Pro-labor Pivot: Under Biden's appointees, the National Labor Relations Board has made multiple decisions bolstering union rights. In addition to easing rules aroundworkplace speech, the Board pivoted towards finding most non-compete agreements illegal. It returned to an Obama-era standard that will classify more gig workers as employees.


Biden's Union Romance: President Biden earned an early AFL-CIO endorsement for 2024, reflecting labor's delight with the administration's direction. Biden even threw shade at Amazon, tweaking the company for its anti-union reputation. His administration is stocked with union alums and supporters.


Strikes and Support: Labor Secretary Julie Su has publicly supported workers' right to strikewhile criticizing companies like Starbucks for alleged union-busting. The NLRB also ruled that a Toyota dealer illegally discriminated against striking workers.


Contractor Crackdown: The NLRB outlined a stricter test for classifying workers as contractors rather than employees. This could enable more gig workers to unionize.


Athlete Activism: A complaint filed with the NLRB argues that Northwestern University football players should be classified as employees with collective bargaining rights. This could pave the way for unionization in college sports.

With Democrats facing tough midterm elections, expect more union giveaways while still controlling Congress. Love it or hate it, the federal government is pushing its thumb firmly on the Union side of the scale.

Long-Term Healthcare And The Paradox Of Short-Term Union Solutions

by Kimberly Ricci

The healthcare industry suffered from chronic understaffing and decades of wear and tear long before the pandemic. Over three years since Covid emerged, the cracks continue to widen. The issue has long since come to a head in nursing homes, where union-propelled initiatives take a band-aid approach for an ever-deepening, institutional-level wound. 


Cue a rash of staffing mandates in process and initiatives to boost nursing home wages to attract more workers to the field. One wonders, however, whether swiftly mandated change could exacerbate the issue. After all, increased costs would likely lead to budget trimming elsewhere, program losses, and, eventually, a staff exodus. 


To say the issue is complex is an understatement. Still, the unions want quick solutions for problems that demand long-term strategies.


A national mandate on the table: The SEIU and AFL-CIO teamed up in favor of federally-enforced staffing minimums at nursing homes for better worker-to-resident ratios. Yet there’s a question of whether enough qualified nursing home workers actually exist to fill gaps –191,000 more workers would be required to meet the 4.1 hours per patient standard. 


This would cost an estimated $11 billion annually, and Biden has earmarked grants totaling $80 million to train new nursing home workers, but clearly, those ends don’t meet. Due to cost, many facilities will likely seek waivers from the requirements. Those facilities that cannot secure an exemption could be forced to close their doors, which would overload other nursing homes and exacerbate the staffing issue.


On the state level, the mileage of mandates varies:


Pennsylvania’s exampleThis state’s nursing homes recently began ushering in new staffing ratios projected to take two years to achieve at the cost of $200 million. It’s the first set of such regulations in the state since 1997, and the goal is for facilities to give patients 2.87 direct-care hours daily, rising to 3.2 hours daily in July 2024.


California’s turmoilLA County nursing home workers launched a series of eight protestsagainst several facilities earlier this month. Key grievances include staffing shortages and demand for 5% raises, and workers seek a statewide staffing mandate.


Let’s close with a pair of general budget-related healthcare updates from trendsettingCalifornia:


(1) A union-supported annual cap on hospital executive wages and perks will head to Los Angeles voters in spring 2024. If that passes, we could see exits from healthcare executives, too; 


(2) SB 525 would establish a $25 per hour minimum wage for all healthcare workers for a projected cost of $8 billion. After state senate approval, the bill advanced this month at the behest of SEIU. Providers and hospitals oppose the bill, but more notably, the California Nurses Association wants an RN exemption to prevent wage-floor erosion for nurses who already exceed that hourly amount.

 

There’s no easy cure for what ails healthcare workers, so one-size-fits-all solutions will not work for this industry. Still, unions will do their best to woo more members to increase the size of their cookie jar.

The Winds of Change: Unions Rising in the Media Industry

by Michael VanDervort

According to Jerry Del Colliano, of the NYU Steinhardt Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions Music Business Program, in an article from Inside Music Media, the radio industry is a prime candidate for a worker's uprising.


The media industry is shifting significantly as employees across companies and platformspush for unionization, reflecting growing dissatisfaction with economic inequality, job insecurity from AI adoption, and workplace culture issues. The Screen Actors GuildAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and screenwriter strikes and growing discontent among radio professionals, signal this broader trend.


Catalysts for Change


The SAG-AFTRA strike in 2020 over residuals and streaming compensation and the screenwriters’ work stoppage in 2019-2020 over pay reflect growing dissatisfaction among media workers. These actions follow a broader pattern of unionization in the private equity economy, with significant implications for all media, including the radio industry, where union rumblings have occurred for decades.


In addition to reports of mistreatment, the threat of AI and automation replacing jobs has fueled unionization demands. The stark contrast between CEO compensation packages and average worker pay and benefits, especially at large radio station consolidators like iHeart Media, Audacy (formerly Entercom), and Cumulus Media, has raised ire among employees as executives get lucrative contracts and pay raises while employees go without.


The Impact of AI on Job Security


The prospect of AI and automation taking jobs could add urgency for workers to organize. Companies like Futuri Media have begun marketing AI tools as cost-cutting solutions in the industry. This exacerbates employee concerns about job security.  


Potential Union Targets


Given the current climate, giants like iHeart, Audacy, and Cumulus are potential prime targets for unionization efforts. In 2021, iHeartMedia's podcast network moved to unionize with the Writers Guild of America, East (WGA East) in 2021, signaling a concerning trend for management. Workers also cite long-standing issues with iHeart's management style driving unionization interest. Similarly, unstable business conditions and technology-driven changes at Audacy and Cumulus Media could spur a unionization push at those companies.


The Future of Media Unions


Though AI and automation are coming, humans remain irreplaceable in media. Unionization efforts at Starbucks and Apple retail stores provide a decentralized model for media employees to follow, organizing union drives locally as seen recently in Charlotte and  Philadelphia. According to Del Colliano, rumors suggest other radio station groups may follow this hyper-local approach, which could force change at even the most resistant media owners. A prolonged SAG-AFTRA and screenwriters strike could have ripple effects on the broader media industry, potentially inspiring long-mistreated radio station employees to organize drives locally.


Conclusion


Rising unionization across the media industry cannot be ignored. Media companies must address worker concerns as the landscape evolves and strive for a more equitable and sustainable future. Now is the time to begin developing plans to communicate technology changes and the impact they will have on workers. The threatening rant [NSFW] by actor Ron Perlman is a very real indicator of the level of angst and concern that work stoppages can create, and why transparency is so important right now. 

Links

**********

Notable News Links

 

Can Employees Record Almost Anything At Work Now? What Employers Need To Know 

Link

 

Louisville-Area Baristas Go On Strike, Citing Coffee Companies’ Failure To Negotiate Contracts

Link

 

Workers Launch Union Effort At World’s Largest Starbucks, Downtown Chicago’s Michigan Avenue Roastery

Link

 

Apple Guts Internal Communication Tool, Crippling Union Organization

Link

 

DoorDash Banned Discussing Work Issues, Illegally Fired Activist, NLRB Alleges

Link

 

UAW President Meets With Biden As Union Opens Contract Talks 

Link


**********


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.


If you use content from this newsletter, please attribute it to Labor Relations Institute and include our website: http://www.LRIonline.com 


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


You are receiving this email because you subscribed to receive our labor relations newsletters and updates. You can manage your email preferences by clicking the link at the bottom of any of our email communications.


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.

 

Share