Entries by Paul Becker

july bits & pieces

STARBUCKS UNION DRIVE ROLLS ON It has been less than a year that a Starbucks store in Buffalo, NY voted for a union. Since then, despite company hostility and union busting tactics, the drive for collective bargaining has spread nearly as fast as the Covid. As of late July, the number of Starbucks stores voting […]

HARPERCOLLINS WORKERS STAGE ONE-DAY WALKOUT; ATLANTIC WORKERS UNIONIZE

About 100 employees at HarperCollins publishers Manhattan office staged a one-day strike July 20, picketing for higher wages, better family leave policies, and stronger action to improve diversity in its staff. Negotiations with the company have been going on since the union contract expired Dec. 31 with little headway. The HarperCollins workers are members oi […]

FREIGHT TRAIN WORKERS SET TO STRIKE

A conductor on Union Pacific rail summed up the mood. “The company keeps making working conditions worse. They’re making billions per quarter and they’re only paying those dividends out to shareholders, when it’s the workers who are moving freight and making sure this country keeps the supply chain moving.” The conductor asked that his name […]

THE CLASSIC WAYS CORPORATIONS BUST UNIONS

We invite you to click on the link below for a graphic presentation by Robert Reich of the four ways that corporations engage in union busting. The tactics are classic and they continued to be employed by corporations all around the country. Reich was Secretary of Labor in Bill Clinton’s administration and is currently a […]

UAW LOCAL LISTS WINS AT CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS UAW local 2110 based in New York City is breaking new ground organizing workers at cultural institutions across the region. Like all workers, they are fighting for fair wages, benefits, work and life balance and respect at work. To date, workers at these institutions have voted overwhelmingly to join […]

BALTIMORE STORE: FIRST IN APPLE CHAIN TO ORGANIZE Workers at an Apple store outside Baltimore have formed the tech giant’s first retail union in the U.S., marking another high-profile victory for the labor movement this year. Employees at the company’s Towson Center store voted 65 to 33 in favor of joining the International Association of […]

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Amid Jousts and Stunts, NJ medieval times workers vote union

Workers at Medieval Times have formed the dinner-theater chain’s first labor union, bringing collective bargaining to a castle in northern New Jersey. The knights, squires, show cast and stablehands at the Lyndhurst location voted 26 to 11 in favor of joining the American Guild of Variety Artists following a ballot count June i5, according to the union. The […]

In Memoriam

Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) for many years during the period of its historic growth, and a staunch defender of civil rights, who died July 10. In addition to being an effective union leader in bargaining for good wages and working conditions for his members, he […]

AFL-CIO head hits court decision on abortion rights

Statement from AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 6/24: Today’s decision by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade is a devastating blow to working women and families across this country. We strongly believe that everyone should have control over their own bodies, […]