
Travis Lavenski is a student at Harvard Law School.
In Today’s News & Commentary: Starbucks shuts down the first store in Seattle to unionize; and the nation’s largest rail union rejects labor deal.
In Starbucks news, allegations of the coffee chain’s union-busting continue as the chain shuts down another unionized store in Seattle. The store, located at Broadway and Denny in Capitol Hill, is the fourth unionized store in Seattle to shut down since the union push began. Starbucks has cited “safety and security concerns” as the reason for the closure. Starbucks Workers United, the union that represents Starbucks workers, called the move “unacceptable” and “the most clear-cut case of retaliation this company has shown closing a union store yet” on Twitter, noting that the store is set to close on the anniversary of the first union victory in Buffalo last winter. The more than 260 unionized Starbucks stores still remain without a contract.
Members of SMART-TD, the nation’s largest rail union representing more than 37,000 workers, narrowly rejected a proposed labor deal on Monday, raising the likelihood of a national pre-Christmas rail strike. The BLET, another large rail union representing nearly 24,000 workers, voted to approve the deal. As it currently stands, 4 rail unions have rejected the proposed labor deal, while 7 rail unions have approved. A strike may nevertheless occur if just one union does not come to approve of the deal. Some experts have indicated that a looming strike before Christmas might pressure Congress into forcing unions to accept a deal; Republicans in the Senate already drafted a resolution earlier this term that would have forced unions to agree to the Presidential Emergency Board recommendations. The exclusion of paid sick days in the proposed deal has been a major source of pushback from rail workers, as this video from More Perfect Union explains.
Daily News & Commentary
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March 22
NLRB's General Counsel issues two memos clarifying priorities and a recent Board decision, LA teachers go on strike, and Bloomberg Law reports higher pay raises from labor contracts
March 20
Residents and fellows at Mass General Brigham hospitals prepare to unionize; divisions in the New York Times NewsGuild union deepens as contract negotiations remain ongoing; the six-month Pittsburgh Post-Gazette strike turned violent on Saturday; Los Angeles schools prepare to close this week as workers plan to strike
March 19
Ninth Circuit reinstates Uber's Equal Protection challenge to California's AB5; reduction in SNAP benefits could lead to "hunger cliff" for low-wage workers; Amazon workers start unionizing campaign at Kentucky facility; ex-Google employees ask company to honor parental leave.
March 17
Texas committee considers sweeping legislation limiting municipal power; University of Chicago graduate students unionize; Tennessee Nissan technicians reject a unionizing effort; and protestors in France take to the streets after President Macron activates nuclear option to raise retirement age.
March 16
Florida's anti-union bills advance, questions remain about collective bargaining measures in California ballot initiatives, and a GAO report highlights gender disparities.
March 15
California court finds Proposition 22 legal; Michigan Senate votes to repeal right to work laws; American Airlines pilots authorize strike vote.