Labor Briefs, where we bring you short updates on happenings around the international labor movement.
Post-doctoral researchers at University of Southern California file for union election
LOS ANGELES | MAY 12—550 workers at the University of Southern California (USC) are filing for union representation under the United Auto Workers (UAW) as the USC Researchers and Fellows United (URFU-UAW). As of May 9th, the petition has been filed with the NLRB with 67% of the workers in support.
Apple Employees in Towson, Maryland vote to authorize strike
TOWSON, MD | MAY 13—One hundred retail workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (IAM CORE) have authorized a strike vote following a year of negotiations that have resulted in “unsatisfactory outcomes”.
ILWU Members Attend First Blood Memorial
SAN PEDRO, CA | MAY 16—More than 300 ILWU members turned out for the First Blood memorial in San Pedro yesterday. The First Blood ceremony recalls the violent clash between dockworkers and company-paid strikebreakers on May 15, 1934, that led to the deaths of Dickie Parker and John Knudsen, the first two workers killed in 1934 in the fight for dignity on the waterfront. The event also honors the memory of all ILWU dockworkers, IBU mariners, and Local 26 Watchmen who have died on the job. It is organized by the SoCal ILWU pensioners. This year marks the 90th Anniversary of the 1934 West Coast Waterfront Strike that began on May 9, 1934.
