In today’s News and Commentary, Los Angeles County workers conclude their 48-hour unfair labor practice strike, a NLRB Administrative Law Judge holds that Starbucks committed a series of unfair labor practices at a store in Philadelphia, and AFSCME and UPTE members at the University of California are striking this May Day.

Yesterday evening, 55,000 members of SEIU 721 ended their 48-hour unfair labor practice strike. The Los Angeles County workers began the strike on Monday evening, alleging that the County has committed 44 unfair labor practices. According to SEIU 721, the County refused to bargain with the union in good faith, restricted union organizer access to worksites, contracted out union jobs, and retaliated against members engaged in union activity. 10,000 members rallied Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles. Following the rally, 14 union members were arrested after refusing to disperse. David Green, President of SEIU 721, said, “our fight will continue until the County stops disrespecting us.” The strike is the largest in SEIU 721’s history.

An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), Susannah Merritt, found that Starbucks committed a series of unfair labor practices at a store in Philadelphia. According to the decision, Starbucks failed to provide notice or an opportunity to bargain over the stricter enforcement of its attendance and punctuality policy, which resulted in the termination of two employees. Judge Merritt held that the failure to communicate and the resulting disciplinary actions constituted unfair labor practices, as did the imposition of a new solicitation and distribution policy that instructed employees to notify management if they observed union activity in the workplace. Another ALJ previously held that Starbucks engaged in illegal union busting at the same store prior to a union election. That case is currently pending before the NLRB. Starbucks intends to appeal this decision as well. The decision comes as Starbucks Workers United members overwhelmingly rejected Starbuck’s latest proposal of 2% raises and continues to push back against Starbucks recent dress code changes.

Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299 and the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) Local 9119 are striking in California today. The two unions represent workers at the University of California system including 37,000 service workers, patient care technical workers, and other skilled craft workers, and 20,000 clinical researchers, IT analysts, mental health counselors, and nurse case managers. The unions have struck twice already this year. In January, UPTE filed a charge with the California Public Employees Relations Board alleging that UC has imposed rules against free speech that run counter to state and federal law. In April, UPTE filed a charge arguing that the University’s announcement and implementation of a hiring freeze was an unlawful unilateral change imposed without a notice or an opportunity to bargain. Michael McGlenn, a clinical psychologist at UC San Diego, stated, “the only way we can make sure that our clinics are appropriately staffed and that they have the resources we need is if we do go on strike.”