Esther Ritchin is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News and Commentary; Starbucks and Workers United resume bargaining talks, Amazon is ordered to disclose records, and Alabama voters support UAW’s unionization efforts.
After almost a year, Starbucks and Workers United resumed bargaining talks. Their initial meeting took place on Wednesday, April 24, in Atlanta. Around 250 union members intended to attend the meeting virtually, though it’s unclear how many did, and 150 union delegates attended in person. The past year has been tumultuous for the relationship between the union and the company; the former Starbucks CEO stated a union was fundamentally incompatible with Starbucks, and the company sued the union over their logo. Workers have staged strikes and fought, unsuccessfully, to put workers on the Starbucks Board. The return to the bargaining table accompanies other signs of goodwill, including Starbucks extending benefits it had previously denied to unionized stores, such as credit card tipping.
A federal judge in Seattle ruled against Amazon on Wednesday, saying the company must produce records to the Department of Labor. The records documented payments for executives’ travel in order to dissuade employees from unionization. The order was granted as the information was relevant to determining whether employees were acting within the scope of their normal duties or specifically in an anti-union capacity, and ordered disclosed pursuant to the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.
A new poll conducted by More Perfect found that 52% of the 500 Alabamians surveyed supported workers unionizing with United Auto Workers (UAW), and just 21% were opposed, with the rest of respondents unsure or undecided. The poll comes in the wake of the successful UAW union drive at a Tennessee Volkswagen plant and in advance of a UAW vote in Alabama. The group most in favor was Black men, among whom 82% of respondents supported the workers, while white men were only 42% in favor. The vote, at the plant in Vance, Alabama, will take place in May.
Daily News & Commentary
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October 29
9th Circuit rejects challenge to NLRB's constitutional structure; preemption challenges to state labor peace statutes
October 28
Two federal unions oppose CBA cancellations, another federal union urges Democrats to end the government shut down, and Paramount plans for mass layoffs
October 27
GM and Rivian announce layoffs; Boeing workers reject contract offer.
October 26
California labor unions back Proposition 50; Harvard University officials challenge a union rally; and workers at Boeing prepare to vote on the company’s fifth contract proposal.
October 24
Amazon Labor Union intervenes in NYS PERB lawsuit; a union engages in shareholder activism; and Meta lays off hundreds of risk auditing workers.
October 23
Ninth Circuit reaffirms Thryv remedies; unions oppose Elon Musk pay package; more federal workers protected from shutdown-related layoffs.