
Morgan Sperry is a student at Harvard Law School and also serves as OnLabor's Social Media Director.
In today’s News and Commentary, Starbucks is (yet again) violating the NLRA, Ben & Jerry’s voluntarily recognizes its Scoopers union, and UPS workers prepare to strike for air conditioning and other benefits.
Yesterday, an NLRB judge issued a broad cease-and-desist order prohibiting managers at a Starbucks in Wichita, Kansas, from interfering with workers’ organizing activities. Citing Starbucks’s “extraordinary” proclivity for violating the NLRA, the judge found that Starbucks managers illegally threatened to cut hours, deprive workers of benefits, and close its hiring portal because employees were organizing.
Next, Ben & Jerry’s has voluntarily recognized its “Scoopers United” union after a card check officiated by a Vermont State Representative. In so doing, the ice cream company, which touts itself as socially-conscious, breaks with its facially progressive peers—like Starbucks and Trader Joe’s, who continue to engage in old-school union busting—to actually guarantee its workers a “sweet and collaborative future.”
Finally, UPS workers continue to prepare to strike as we head into the sweltering summer months. Drivers have been raising the issue of lack of air conditioning in delivery trucks—among other safety concerns—for over a year. They also seek pay increases and strive to eliminate existing worker hierarchies, which grant different benefits and pay scales to two separate classes of workers. As delivery services (spurred by the pandemic) proliferate and profits soar, drivers deserve their fair share.
Daily News & Commentary
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September 24
UAW expands strike, files ULP against a Republican senator and hosts Biden on the picket line. NLRB ALJ issues first Cemex bargaining order.
September 22
Biden and Lula announce Partnership for Workers’ Rights; GAO clears Su to serve as acting Secretary of Labor indefinitely.
September 21
DHS policies for Venezuelan migrants; reduced arbitration fees under No Surprises Act; increasing religious objections to workplace DEI policies.
September 19
Canadian autoworkers continue negotiations with Ford’s operations in Canada, Trump announces a rally in Detroit next week with union workers, and talk shows backtrack on plans to return to air without writers.
September 18
UAW enters its fourth day of striking with plans to meet Stellantis at the negotiating table; 13 of the 14 bargaining units representing Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) will negotiate new contracts in the next six months; a Brazilian labor court ordered Uber to pay ~$205 million in fines for irregular working relations with app drivers; unions across many sectors press lawmakers to curb potential threats from artificial intelligence
September 17
Updates from UAW’s strike, Dartmouth College athletes file petition to unionize, visual effects artists at Marvel Studios unanimously vote to unionize, and California’s legislature passes a variety of pro-worker bills.