In less than 60 days of the current drive, over half of eligible workers had signed cards expressing their desire to have UAW representation. In the months ahead, organizers at the plant will need to continue their efforts. Once 70% of eligible plant workers sign their cards in favor of union representation, the UAW will file a request that Volkswagen voluntarily recognize their representation. If the company refuses, the union will ask the National Labor Relations Board to step in and hold an election. The UAW hopes that with a majority of support, Volkswagen will be forced to recognize the union. Whether this can be accomplished remains to be seen, but the current momentum is a good sign.

This plant which opened in 2009 has previously seen union drives in 2014 and 2019 where the UAW lost by narrow margins. As with the previous attempts, union organizers will have to overcome union busting tactics by not just the company, but State political leaders who led the anti-union campaigns in the first two unionization efforts. Labor Today stands firmly in solidarity with the workers in their quest for union representation and will stay on top of the events as they happen.

The post Volkswagen Workers Back Union Drive in Chattanooga, TN appeared first on Labor Today.

“Right now, thousands of workers at thirteen auto companies are fighting for a better life with the UAW. Workers at Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Nissan, Hyundai, Mazda, BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Volvo, Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid are ready to Stand Up. From California to South Carolina. From Illinois to Alabama. These workers are making history, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, TN had signed over 1,000 union authorization cards in the first week of organizing and then more than 50% signed by the beginning of February. With this surge in labor organizing comes company repression as Honda, Hyundai, and Volkswagen are using union busting tactics to prevent workers from fighting for better pay and benefits. The right to unionize and join a union continues to be recognized by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and therefore the UAW filed unfair labor practice charges against these companies in early December. Many workers reported having their union leaflets thrown away by management and told they could not distribute union material while companies simultaneously hand out anti-union t-shirts and flyers.

In a letter to the executives of thirteen different non-union auto companies, thirty-three US Senators called for a stance of neutrality as these automaker companies are currently benefiting from federal electric vehicle subsidies, saying:

“All workers, no matter what states they live in, should have a free and unhindered opportunity to join a union. We strongly urge you to implement a neutrality agreement at all of your plants and commit to negotiating in good faith if your employees do elect to unionize with the UAW.”

Before and during the current wave of union organizing, manufacturers have worked hard to prevent workers from filing elections, using tactics such as mandatory anti-union meetings, terminations, and intimidation. A Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi threatened a plant closure if workers unionized in 2017. A Portland, OR Volvo dealership hired a union busting law firm and other consultants in March 2022 to bend election rules in favor of the company. Tesla fired workers in February 2023 just one day after their union campaign had been announced. Elon Musk has been public and vocal about his opposition to unions. In January 2024 SpaceX filed a lawsuit attacking the National Labor Relations Board as unconstitutional. Despite these attacks, the UAW union drives push forward. Along with over 50% signing union cards at Volkswagen in Tennessee, the UAW has also signed over 30% of the workers at the Hyundai plant in Montgomery, AL and Mercedes in Tuscaloosa, AL. The success thus far in Alabama has led to union-busting attempts by state Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair, who threatened to fight any unionization drives in the auto industry in Alabama claiming it “places our state’s main economic driver in the crosshairs.” This is a blatant attempt at intimidation of the workers in Alabama from standing up to fight. Shawn Fain has stated union elections won’t be filed until a plant has 70% signatures. LUEL stands in solidarity with auto workers nationwide as they stand up and fight back against their corrupt bosses.

The post Despite a Wave of Union-Busting Activity, UAW Organizing Drive Pushes Forward appeared first on Labor Today.

Dear Fellow Railroad Workers:

Last Wednesday, a fellow rail was gravely injured on the job and lost his life Thursday. Our brother Chris Wilson who worked for Norfolk Southern was critically injured in its Decatur rail yard Wednesday and died Thursday at Huntsville Hospital, according to the NTSB and Morgan County Coroner Jeffrey Chunn.

A spokesman with the National Transportation Safety Board said the accident took place at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday “when the locomotive the engineer was in was struck by freight cars.”

In a statement, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) union identified the victim as Chris M. Wilson, 55, a locomotive engineer. BLET said Wilson, a member of the union, was a 30-year employee of Norfolk Southern.

“This tragic loss underscores the safety risks present in railroading, even in the controlled environment of a rail yard,” BLET National President Eddie Hall said in the statement. “This week marks one year since Norfolk Southern’s derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio. I hope as we reflect on that disaster and on the need to continually improve rail safety that we also pause to remember Brother Wilson and the family he leaves behind.”

While we are saddened at the news of our brother’s death, we must double our resolve to build a safer workplace where such tragedies are not so commonplace.

The Railroad Workers United Program for Fallen Rails urges you to do the following on behalf of our fallen brother, his friends and family, co-workers and all railroad workers:

Commit yourself to following up on how and why our brother was killed. What is the behind-the-scenes story? What role did unsafe conditions, including short staffing, crew fatigue, inadequate training and/or qualifying, deferred maintenance, or other factors play in this fellow worker’s death?

Get involved in the national movement against blame the worker “behavior-based safety” programs. Help build real union-based safety committees and programs that focus on hazard elimination and do not ignore the underlying causes of accidents, injuries and fatalities sustained on the job. For more information, see the webpage http://railroadworkersunited.org/safety-programs/

Take part in the RWU annual Railroad Workers Memorial Day each April 28th. For more information, see the webpage http://railroadworkersunited.org/railroad-workers-memorial-day/

Join RWU and fight to build solidarity and unity among all railroad workers, and make safer workplaces for all.

Thank you.
Railroad Workers United

The post RWU: NS Engineer Chris Wilson Killed Feb 1st in Alabama appeared first on Labor Today.

DURHAM, NC—Solid waste workers for the city refused to load their work trucks on the morning of Wednesday, September 6. They are demanding that the city make up for the two years their step pay plan was essentially frozen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There should be over 40 trucks on the road right now gathering trash and recycling. As far as I know, we’re all standing in solidarity together, and I don’t think any trucks went out,” said solid waste worker Christopher Benjamin. “We’re going to make a stand until they come and talk to us, and then we can move forward with that process.”

The solid waste workers were joined by workers from other city departments and community supporters.

“We’re under-manned, under-staffed … we can’t get the manpower that we need to facilitate the work that needs to be done for the city,” said storm water maintenance worker Vincent Daniels. “We maintain the sewer system, we make sure that fresh drinking water gets to your home. There’s only four of us doing the entire city of Durham. And it’s killing us.”

For weeks, city workers have been signing a petition which they presented to City Council on Tuesday. The petition calls for an immediate $5,000 bonus, for workers to be paid extra for all work outside of their job descriptions, and for the city to hire all temporary workers as permanent employees.

In June, the city council voted down a raise for city employees which would have made up for the two years workers did not receive step pay increases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers are disappointed with the raise they did receive, which does not keep up with inflation and rising cost-of-living. Since 2019, wages have gone up 15 percent but with inflation, the cost of living has gone up 23 percent — effectively an eight percent pay cut. Workers will receive a total pay increase this year of between six and eight percent.

Increasingly, city workers are forced to work second jobs and still are not able to afford to rent or own a house inside Durham city limits, the city that they help maintain. Vacancy rates are increasingly high, especially in the public works department, where over 120 of the department’s 177 positions are currently empty.

“Safety is always a concern for me,” said public works worker Willie Brown. “When you’re undermanned like that, you’re putting me in a situation where it becomes very hazardous. We run into anything in that sewer system, needles, snakes, all kinds of things. It’s very dangerous.”

Following the stand down, workers and supporters held a community rally on Wednesday afternoon, and plan to speak out at the City Council work session today at 1pm at City Hall.

The post UE: City of Durham Solid Waste Workers Stand Down appeared first on Labor Today.

On June 26, North Carolina Public Service Workers of UE Local 150 kicked off their summer organizing blitz in honor and remembrance of founding organizer of Local 150 and leader of the Black workers’ movement in the South, Saladin Muhammad. The blitz targeted majority-Black workplaces in four cities across the state of North Carolina, with organizers speaking to city workers in Raleigh, Durham, and Greensboro and state workers at Murdoch Developmental Center, a mental health facility in Butner.

Members from four of UE’s newly organized graduate worker locals traveled to North Carolina to join the blitz and support Local 150’s efforts. Graduate workers from the University of Minnesota, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, and Northwestern worked with Local 150 rank-and-file members and staff throughout the week to have conversations with workers about their conditions and the importance of building a strong union.

In Raleigh, workers from locals in Baltimore and Palo Alto worked with UE project staff organizer Charles Brown and local leaders to talk to workers at Raleigh municipal job sites, including Solid Waste, Water Utilities, and Parks and Recreation. The resulting conversations included discussions of unequal treatment of workers in and across job sites, systemic disrespect by management for workers’ dignity and safety, and the need for wages that actually exceed inflation. Multiple workers in the Solid Waste department described an especially egregious example of management mistreatment: they are only provided with recycled drinking water, while management has a separate system connected to the regular city water system. Many Raleigh workers were particularly inspired by the significant progress in wages and job protection accomplished by the UE Local 150 city workers in Charlotte. The week culminated in a meeting at a local community space to discuss building power to put pressure on Raleigh city officials.

UE members and community allies in Durham met workers at several facilities throughout the week. The week prior, the Durham City Council released its annual budget, allotting a six to eight percent raise for firefighters and police but only two percent for the vast majority of city workers, including workers in solid waste management, public works, water maintenance, and parks and recreation. Workers were frustrated with this lack of prioritization from the Council; a common refrain during organizing conversations was that picking up trash and maintaining infrastructure were just as essential as the work of police and firefighters. A connected issue that emerged through conversations was the severe understaffing throughout city facilities. At the end of the week, 15 Durham city workers, including several new members who had just signed their union cards, met to discuss how to rectify this pay inequity and understaffing, launching a petition for a $5,000 bonus, reduced reliance on temps, and an end to the understaffing.

Local 150 organizers and UE staff in Greensboro visited Solid Waste, Water Resources, Parks and Recreation, and Building Maintenance. The workers in all four locations have been fighting for an increase in wages and access to grievance procedures to ensure protections on the job, as they currently do not have access to any kind of grievance procedures. In each location, workers were eager to talk to UE organizers about the issues they cared about and expressed their support for the union, many joining Local 150 by signing cards. In parallel with Raleigh and Durham, 14 Greensboro workers came together to discuss how to recruit new members and stewards, strengthen the union in Greensboro, and organize to pressure the city to give Greensboro city workers the wages and workplace rights they deserve.

Graduate workers from Baltimore worked alongside Local 150 worker leaders to flyer and speak with a variety of state workers at Murdoch Developmental Center, from kitchen and grounds staff to nurses. Many brought up the state’s planned raises of five percent over two years, saying that this is not nearly enough to make up for the increasing cost of living. Murdoch workers also cited widespread understaffing resulting in last-minute forced overtime, hiring of non-union contract workers who are paid twice the salary of state workers, and the complete closure of a wing in the Newport Cottage, one of the buildings that houses patients. On June 28, Local 150 workers held a rally outside of the Murdoch facility, demanding a $20 per hour minimum wage, a 20 percent raise, and safe staffing conditions. Workers both at the rally and in conversations throughout the week expressed enthusiasm around these demands, many signing up to join the union on the spot. 

“Workers left this blitz ready to organize and build their union,” said Local 150 President Sekia Royall in a video the local made about the blitz. The Saladin Muhammad Blitz engaged over 2000 workers, resulting in 305 new phone numbers and 67 new members. Through this engagement, Local 150 was able to grow and reinvigorate their organizing. UE International Representative Dante Strobino described their progress a few weeks after the blitz: “More importantly it was the qualitative advances we made, especially with Durham City workers and also with Greensboro. Folks in Durham have been demobilized a few years but are now on fire, had 18 workers at another follow-up meeting today, and elected six stewards in Solid Waste and Public Works who are going to be going through training in August.”

Beyond the opportunity to build the union, graduate workers canvassing in North Carolina learned firsthand from the experience of Local 150 members, including longtime UE organizer Angaza Laughinghouse. Laughinghouse spoke to the graduate workers about the importance and struggles of Black workers in the labor movement historically and the more than 25-year-long history of Local 150, including its beginnings in Black Workers for Justice, an organization of Black workers dedicated to fighting for self-determination and human rights for working-class people. The graduate workers who participated in the blitz expressed gratitude and excitement at working alongside and learning from Local 150. They are taking what they have learned back to their own locals and are looking forward to participating in efforts to organize the South in the future.

The post The Saladin Muhammad Organizing Blitz: Building Power with UE Local 150 appeared first on Labor Today.

To close a major paper mill that has been operating since 1908 in such a short notice seems pretty drastic. What is behind this closure? The plant started to scale back in February. According to Troy Dill, the shop steward for the United Steelworkers Smokey Mountain 507, “The company is stating that the core cause of the curtailment is a drop in demand. We don’t have anything to contradict that, but it would make sense to me that if a buyer is seeing that our labor agreement has been expired going on a year now, they might look for another avenue, just to maintain assurances that their orders will be fulfilled.” Dills stated that mill-workers have been working without a contract since May of 2022 after turning down two contracts on the basis that stagnating wages and inflation after the Covid-19 epidemic is leading to hardship for the workers. Dills was quoted, “We have presented the company reasonable terms in good faith that are proportionate to the changes in the economy. The company needs to acknowledge that inflation is real and also acknowledge the contributions of these employees, who got them through the COVID crisis. They deserve a fair contract. The request that’s been made is reasonable. We’re hopeful that they will come back to the table with that understanding.” Labor Today reached out to United Steel Workers for a statement but did not receive a response. According to a former employee, Mandy West, “During every labor contract dispute, Evergreen would threaten to shut down the mill.”

From 2015 to 2022, the plant has had two major accidents which resulted in the deaths of 2 workers and more injured. This all happened despite Pactiv-Evergreen being awarded a generous $12 million contract in 2015 to maintain employment at a minimum of 800 employees for 10 years. With the contract ending in 2025, the North Carolina Governor, sent a letter to Pactiv-Evergreen CEO Mike King on March 16^th 2023 to return the $12 million incentive.

The closure of the plant means the loss of 1,100 jobs. All done in the greedy interests of the boss. On March 2, 2023, hundreds of thousands of dollars of shares were sold by the Plant’s executives just days before the plant’s announcement of closure. Some employees were able to secure lower paying jobs outside of the town but for the other workers and for the town as a whole, the future looks uncertain.

The post Pactiv-Evergreen Closes Paper Mill to Spite Dissatisfied Workers appeared first on Labor Today.

The feud began in 2015 when the previous company, Walter Energy went bankrupt and laid off most of the miners. Warrior Met Coal, a subsidiary of the Wall Street giant, Blackrock, bought the company and hired back most of the laid off workers. Warrior Met Coal claimed that it could not afford to pay the workers the pay and benefits they were afforded under Walter Energy but promised that after the 5 year contract expired, the company would be in a more financially stable position to increase pay and benefits.  Five years later, the company is reporting record profits while offering a contract that does not address their promise in 2015. In April 2021, the workers walked out with a vote to reject the tentative agreement at 1006 to 45.

With the unconditional offer to return to work, the workers would be mandated to take a refreshment course on mine safety physicals to determine eligibility, as well as drug trusts in order for Warrior Met Coal to consider the workers’ suitability. The return to work would require that the workers receive the pay and benefits from the previous contract until a new tentative agreement can be drafted and voted on by members.

On April 13^th 2021, UMWA President Cecil Roberts put out a video statement where he ended with “…we don’t strike at the UMWA to lose, we strike at the UMWA to win!” After almost two years of striking and President Roberts calls for an unconditional return to work is in direct contradiction to this statement. If this tactic leads to a return of the pre-2021 status quo, all the effort, pain, loss of pay and benefits, and 2 years of struggle will be for nothing. Not only is this move a stab in the back to the UMWA mineworkers, but Roberts demonstrated to this Wall Street giant that the union under his leadership is weak. UMWA leadership says that they are waging the war on a new front but this move is nothing more than surrender to their enemies. The mine workers who did not decide themselves to return to work are confused. While they still wanted to fight, the union leadership turned over and exposed their belly. If the Warrior Met Coal are to maintain their prestige of strength, the workers will need to remind leadership where the union power comes from: the rank and file workers! Labor Today and Labor United Educational League will continue to stand firmly in solidarity with the workers. An injury to one, is an injury to all!

The post UMWA Leadership Ends Warrior Met Coal Strike to the Dismay of the Workers appeared first on Labor Today.

“HART has been in a downward spiral under the leadership of Adelee Le Grand,” said the Local’s Trustees Ismael Rivera and Brenda Moore. “The departure of 57 employees by unjust firings and resignations, and numerous scandals including the hiring of double dipping Teri Wright have created a hostile workplace and toxic culture. Ms. Le Grand is ruling with an iron fist, it’s her way or the highway. Unfortunately, her highway leads to a dysfunctional transit system. It’s time for the HART Board to remove Ms. Le Grand from her position as CEO.”

The Union says it’s gotten so bad at HART with the firings of management and resignations of key employees that its members have no idea who to contact about basic issues including payroll, health care, safety, training, and other matters and concerns. In addition, the Union has heard rumors of many other managers actively looking for new work.

Tomorrow’s HART hearing is on Le Grand’s hiring of Teri Wright as HART chief customer experience officer on Feb. 1, 2021, with an annual starting salary of $200,271.75. Wright had previously worked at the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority as director of customer experience from August 2017 until leaving Feb. 5, 2021. But, records show, Wright began working for the New Orleans agency again 14 months after her start date with HART, as the agency’s senior director of communications double dipping with another salary of $155,000. Wright has since resigned from HART.

“Ms. Le Grand must be held accountable for her abhorrent leadership and continued disrespect and intimidation of our members and all HART workers,” said ATU International President John Costa. “To negligently allow one of your trusted senior employees to double dip by working for another transit agency at the same, is shameful, appalling, and an insult to your employees, your riders, and the community you were hired to serve. We call on the HART Board to remove Ms. Le Grand from her position immediately.”

The post HART Transit Workers Call for Ouster of CEO Adelee Le Grand Amidst Mismanagement, Scandals, and Toxic Work Environment appeared first on Labor Today.

[TRIANGLE, VA.] Commenting on a revised damages calculation issued by Region 10 of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that conforms to the initial amount the Region had indicated would be assessed, United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) International President Cecil E. Roberts issued the following statement today:

“We appreciate that NLRB Region 10 took another look at the damages it had initially assessed and recognized that the number should be in line with what Region 10 had initially indicated would be charged. This recalculation, which comes to about $435,000 plus interest, conforms to the number we had been told we would be charged.

“We are ready to pay that amount, put this behind us and negotiate a fair and reasonable contract with Warrior Met Coal that will settle this strike. Let’s get this done.”

###

Search

The post NLRB revises damages calculations in Warrior Met strike appeared first on Labor Today.

These damages are more than 33 times the estimated amount lawyers had initially assessed, and these exorbitant costs are a clear threat against any and all workers who feel they need to take to the picket lines to defend themselves. 

UMWA President Cecil E. Roberts has stated, “The right to strike in America must be preserved.  We will fight this at every level, in every court.  We will spend every penny of our resources rather than give in to something like this from the NLRB, Warrior Met, or any other entity.” 

We at LUEL stand in solidarity with this statement and with the workers of the UMWA against this attack on labor rights.  These demands for reimbursement are unreasonable and we believe in protecting American worker’s right to strike.

The post LUEL Statement on Draconian Fines Levied Against United Mine Workers by NLRB appeared first on Labor Today.