• 1,722 PHD students providing instructional and research services at the private Emory University in Atlanta, GA filed for a union election with Workers United. They are holding a rally on Monday, 8/28 from 10-11am on the Quad outside the administration building.

• In what appears to be a raid of a unit of employees currently represented by the Office of Professional Employees International Union, 45 workers at Transdev in Lorton, VA filed for a union election with the Independent Supervisors Union

• 9 workers at Allegiance Crane and Equipment in Beaumont, TX filed for a union election with the International Union of Operating Engineers.

• 10 workers at Crescent Hotels and Resorts in Washington, DC filed for a union election with UNITE HERE Local 25.

• 5 workers at Trident military services doing work on flight simulation projects at Lackland AFB, TX filed for a union election with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

• 33 security guards at Allied Universal Security Services in Washington, DC filed for a union election with the Fraternity of American Protective Officers

• 7 workers at Mid America Conversion Services LLC in Kevil, KY filed to be included in the existing United Steel Workers bargaining unit

• 95 workers at Sysco in Louisville, KY filed for a union election with the General Drivers, Warehousemen, and Helpers Local Union No. 89 (an affiliate of the Teamsters)

• 13 workers at PSA doing clerk work in Norfolk, VA filed for a union election with the Teamsters Local 822

• 50 workers for Ocean Point Terminal in Christiansted in the Virgin Islands filed for a union election with the United Steel Workers Local 8526

• 300 workers at Coca Cola Southwest Beverages in Fort Worth, TX filed for a union election with the Teamsters Local 997

• 7 Workers at t47 International in Abilene, TX filed for a union election with the Laborers International Union of North America Local 154

• Election withdrawals:

  • Blue Krewe in New Orleans, LA

  • NOVO Health Services in Atlanta, GA

  • Bourbon Dog Inc. in Burlington, NC

  • Root 66 in St. Louis, MO

  • Trident Military Systems in San Antonio, TX

  • Hospital Damas in Ponce, PR

  • Hand and Stone Massage in Gainesville, FL

• 23 workers at a Starbucks in Washington DC voted in favor of unionization 13 to 9 with Starbucks Workers United

• 83 workers at Pepsico in Houston, TX voted in favor of unionization with the Teamsters Local 988 52 to 25. 

• 20 workers at Championship Enterprises in Fort Hood, TX voted against unionization with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers 8 to 12

• 13 workers at Gladius in San Juan, PR voted UNANIMOUSLY in favor of unionization with the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees Local 839

• 8 workers at Brass Tacks Coffee in Jacksonville, FL voted in favor of unionization with the Teamsters Local 947 6 to 2

• 17 workers at Swissport Fueling in Fort Myers, FL voted in favor of unionization with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers 16 to 1

• A committee of the State Employee Insurance Board (SEIB) Tuesday proposed a combination of increases in state employees’ premiums and a decrease in benefits to address a deficit

• UAW members at the Big 3 auto makers have authorized a strike by a whopping 97%. The contracts expire on 14 September.

• Teamsters at UPS overwhelmingly ratified their tentative agreement with UPS. More people voted in the referendum than ever voted in a UPS contract referendum, and the percentage in favor was higher than ever. Teamsters at UPS will immediately get a raise of at least $2.75/hour, a minimum wage of $21/hour, and full time package car drivers will see their wage rise to $49/hour by 2028. 

• The collective bargaining agreement between members of the Communications Workers of America in West Virginia and Ashburn, Va., and their employer, Frontier Communications, expired last night at 11:59 p.m. on August 19. Members have agreed to continue to report to work and maintain the status quo as they continue negotiations on a new agreement. Workers have authorized the bargaining committee to call a strike if necessary.

• Long time listeners of the show will remember our discussions about the resurrection of the Joy Silk doctrine - and last week we saw something quite close to it. In a decision on the Cemex case, the NLRB put forward a new standard for certification of union representation. Going forward, the NLRB has stated that if an employer commits any ULP over the course of a union election, and workers had already shown that a majority of employees support a union through union authorization cards, then the NLRB will automatically certify the union and order the employer to bargain

• The new Cemex standard is not the only change to union election procedures that the NLRB made last week - a new rule was issued aimed at expediting union election to decrease the time available to employers to interfere with their workers right to organization. Changes include:

  • Allowing pre-election hearings to begin more quickly;

  • Ensuring that important election information is disseminated to employees more quickly;

  • Making pre- and post-election hearings more efficient; and

  • Ensuring that elections are held more quickly. 

• The American Federation of Government Employees has endorsed Biden’s nominee to head up the Social Security Administration - Martin O Malley. Last week’s guest - Rich Couture, president of AFGE’s Council 215 said in a statement: SSA deserves a leader with full authority to implement a positive vision that will simultaneously improve public service and employee working conditions. Gov. O’Malley is that leader.

• From the American Prospect: Over the past two years, Georgia has been the beneficiary of 22 clean-energy projects and almost 17,000 cleantech jobs, the second-highest for both totals of any state. Gov. Kemp’s administration secured economic development deals with these companies that award lucrative contracts for building out the factories to non-union construction firms. The selected companies are also donors to Republicans in the state, including the governor—the former owner of a non-union construction company himself. No union contractor has benefitted from any of these federally subsidized projects, despite Biden’s assurances that these subsidies would fund good paying union jobs.

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