Reality checks still abound for newly minted union members who are frequently shocked at the slow pace of contract negotiations following union election victories. Still, union organizers will work their charisma, and the NLRB has now released statistics to show 2023 fiscal year organizing to be on par with the same time frame in 2022.
Granted, this year hasn’t seen a further increase, although 1,200 petitions have been filed over a period of six months. As well, low unemployment could work in unions’ favor as they continue to woo retail and food service workers, who are in short supply for companies. Let’s check in on the latest developments:
- Ben & Jerry’s workers are organizing at a Vermont flagship ice cream shop, where 40 workers are somehow claiming that they view “this union as a sign of respect for Ben & Jerry’s.” Activists petitioned to hold a union vote.
- DHL Express global hub workers are organizing at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, where some of the 900 workers are claiming that they are “referred to as inmates by managers.”
- Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry workers will soon vote on whether to join the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
- Four REI retail stores filed for union elections this month, adding to the outdoor-recreation leader’s union woes at the hands of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. These include locations in Boston and Chicago as well as Durham, North Carolina and Eugene, Oregon. To date, REI has witnessed successful union votes in New York, California, and Ohio.
- 150 Trader Joe’s workers in Oakland, California are organizing while claiming that the store is plagued with a rat infestation and other safety issues.
- Precision Strategies, a Democratic PR consulting firm, will soon see its 120 workers vote on whether to unionize.
- American Red Cross workers in Cary, North Carolina joined the Teamsters.
- Chipotle agreed to a settlement, under which it must pay ex-employees $240,000 after closing a store where workers were organizing.
- Apple has been accused by the Communications Workers of America of illegally firing union organizers for minor slip-ups including one-minute tardiness.
- Dill Pickle Food Co-op must rehire two workers with back pay after the NLRB ruled that they were illegally fired in retaliation for organizing.
- The Amazon Labor Union is reportedly struggling to keep a foothold amid reports of infighting after a lone union victory at the JFK8 fulfillment center with no successful movement at other facilities in over a year. However, the union is attempting to organize an air hub in northern Kentucky. Also, a regional NLRB office determined that Amazon must allow off-duty workers to enter the workplace after the online retailer barred them from using the breakroom to engage in organizing activity.
