Nursing Strike Updates Are Coming Your Way
This week, around 31,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses and other frontline workers went on strike in California and Hawaii. If this feels like a replay, this isn’t the first, third, or fifth time that an open-ended strike has been waged by the coalition of unions representing Kaiser workers.
Quite often, these strikes end without meaningful results for workers, and that could happen again here. Currently, United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals is asking for 25% wage increases over four years, and Kaiser is offering 21.5% with other issues including staffing ratios still to be ironed out.
Elsewhere, New York State Nursing Association’s strike against three major hospital systems is now in its third week. The New York Times reported why the union believes that the demand for $200,000+ salaries is realistic, and in response, a trade group executive countered that these nurses’ current average salaries of $160,000+ exceeds that of other essential workers including firefighters, police, and teachers.
Clearly, the union’s salary demands are not realistic, but progressive publication WSWS claims to have inside knowledge on how the union is now planning for “major concessions.” If true, this looks like another case of unions promising what they cannot deliver.
This week, the two sides did come together with an agreement that the striking nurses will maintain health benefits with the three hospital systems while on the picket line. And the negotiations continue.
The ACLU Is Bizarrely Attempting to Limit Workers’ Free Speech
Matt Bruenig of NLRB Edge has been tracking the American Civil Liberties Union’s counterproductive pursuit of “exotic legal theories that would, if adopted by the NLRB or courts, curtail the rights of workers across the country.” One of their convoluted theories would have invalidated much of the Biden Board’s precedent, and another would have put limits on workers pursuing ULP charges with the NLRB.
Bruenig further uncovered how ACLU is using these theories to conduct “a scorched-earth effort to not provide back pay and reinstatement” to a former employee who criticized treatment of the ACLU’s own workers.
This case is now in the appeals process after an administrative law judge’s ruling in favor of this worker. Bruenig has detailed how the ACLU filed a motion asking the NLRB to overturn precedent that protects workers’ abilities to complain about working conditions. This is a confounding case, which as Bruenig points out, “clearly flies in the face of what the ACLU claims to stand for as an institution.” Also, if the ACLU somehow succeeded with its motion to overturn said precedent, this would “torch the speech rights of tens of millions of Americans.”
And speaking of Big Labor organizations behaving hypocritically…
Another Day, Another Union Fighting Their Own Staff’s Union
We recently told you about the Teamsters’ refusal to voluntarily recognize their own staff union for organizers, and here’s another example of a union not practicing what they preach.
This week, Chicago-based staffers for Industrial Workers of the World filed a ULP charge for Refusal to Bargain/Bad Faith Bargaining against their employer. The staff union’s most recent CBA expired in January 2025, and last December, the IWW General Headquarters Staff Union aired their concerns in an anonymous letter.
In the letter, workers alleged that IWW officials were dragging their feet on negotiations and retaliating against union members with a “drastic” new policy that led to disciplinary write-ups for union members who believe that the IWW “is implementing a strategy to get rid of workers.” Yikes.
Employers, Here’s A Chance to Stand Out on Employee Engagement
Gallup released a new poll showing a significant decline in employee engagement from its 2020 high, when 36% of workers felt actively engaged in their workplace. In particular, Gen Z and younger millennial workers are feeling “the biggest drops in feeling cared about, having opportunities to learn and being developed at work.” These younger workers are now 41% less likely to believe that their supervisor “seems to care about me as a person” and 27% less likely to feel that they have growth opportunities.
In follow-up qualitative analysis, Gallup concluded that 35% of these respondents believe that better communication is key to alleviating both pain points. The group also strongly agreed that “a clear definition of exceptional performance” would help them feel more engaged.
You know that adage of how working on communication can solve most problems? It’s truer than ever, in every setting including work.
It Looks Like the Starbucks Strikes Aren’t Hurting Business
The “nationwide” Starbucks Workers United strike that began last November didn’t put a dent in Red Cup Day, which is annually their biggest sales day and stayed that way. SWU’s strike did prompt a limited number of store closings, and picketers disturbed some warehouses, but many baristas went back to work around Christmas with the union vowing to pull more levers. Now, the strike is in its third month and taking place in scattered locations, but SWU put Atlanta baristas back to work on Jan. 21.
This week, Starbucks’ latest earnings report reflected that the strike did not have a material impact on sales during Q1. Further, newish CEO Brian Niccol revealed that U.S. same-store sales are up 4% after viral holiday drinks boosted revenue. And although the company did miss analysts’ earnings estimates, transactions grew for the first time since 2024 despite SWU encouraging customers to boycott their local cafes.
The company also announced revamped menu offerings, including new desserts and matcha drinks, which they hope will keep their long-awaited sales upswing going further into 2026, SWU strike or not.
