The Valley Labor Report

Last Week in Southern Labor: 4/5 - 4/12

Updated On: Apr 30, 2024

By JACOB MORRISON | April 16, 2024

Here’s what workers in the US South and the colonies were up to from April 5th to April 12th:

NEW CAMPAIGNS

Union petitions are up 35% in the first half of fiscal year 2024, and unfair labor practice charges are up 7%, after what was already a record year for the NLRB - in FY 2023, more workers joined unions through NLRB elections than in any other year since 2000.
5 workers at Hospital General Castaner in Lares, PR filed a petition to hold a union election with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
70 workers at Local Cannabis in Smithville, MO filed a petition to hold a union election with the Teamsters Local 41
The employer filed a petition to hold a union election after a majority of the 10 workers at the Luther F Carson Four Rivers Center in Paducah, KY demonstrated support for unionization with IATSE Local 421
Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify the National Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 735 as the union representing the 23 workers at Penske Truck Leasing in Nashville, TN
Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify Starbucks Workers United as the union representing the 18 workers at Starbucks in Knoxville, TN
3 workers at Optimum in Logan, WV filed a petition to hold a union election with the Communication Workers of America (CWA)
42 workers at Veolia North America in Beaumont, TX filed a petition to hold a union election with the United Steel Workers (USW) Local 13-243
21 workers at Natural Grocers in Norman, OK filed a petition to hold a union election with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1000
8 workers at ESG Operations in Ft Benning, GA filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 926
The employer filed a petition to hold a union election after a majority of the 80 workers at Pompano Beach, FL demonstrated support for unionization with the Teamsters Local 769
Workers likely pushed by their employer filed a petition to decertify the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) 14th District as the union representing 12 workers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, TN. This petition was withdrawn in the same week.
22 workers at Sightline Media Group in Arlington, VA filed a petition to hold a union election with the Washington Baltimore News Guild. This petition was withdrawn in the same week.
7 workers at Mississippi Power in Gulfport, MS filed a petition to hold a union election with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1211

ELECTION RESULTS

45 workers at Bull Moose Tube in Sinton, TX voted 16 to 26 against unionization with the USW
2 workers at the Cesar Chavez Foundation voted 1 to 1 in an election to unionize with Lone Star Labor Education, meaning the union vote failed
6 workers at Wells Fargo Bank in Apopka, FL voted unanimously in favor of unionization with Wells Fargo Workers United - CWA
13 workers at Starbucks in Christiansburg, VA voted 13 to 2 in favor of unionization with Starbucks Workers United
17 workers at RailCrew Xpress in Thayer, MO voted unanimously in favor of decertifying IAMAW as their union
49 workers at Motors and Armatures in Earth City, MO voted 33 to 14 in favor of decertifying the Teamsters Local 688 as their union

STRIKES & BARGAINING

AFGE reached an interim collective bargaining agreement with the newly constituted Defense Health Agency, which includes some AFGE members here in Huntsville, and covers some 38,000 workers nationwide.
Teamsters ratified the first Sysco contract in Louisville Kentucky after recently winning a union election there. The four year agreement will see raises of as much as 29%, improved safety standards, and more paid time off.

POLITICS & LEGISLATION

A new report is showing that outsourcing at the VA is undermining patient care and wasting taxpayer dollars, exactly what AFGE had been saying for years. The union is calling on the government to reverse course.

After the Republican legislature passed a bill allowing driverless trucks, the Democratic Governor Andy Beshear vetoed it.

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