August 4, 2023

Friend,

#HotLaborSummer continues to heat up with ongoing contract fights, strikes, and rallies. Workers are uniting across industries, calling out the huge discrepancies between wages and corporate profits, and even asking Taylor Swift to join the Solidarity Era.

Catch up on the latest fights and find ways to support organized workers below!

Injuries pile up at the Big Three

"Today, 60 seconds is the deadline managers give each team racing at a dozen stations: to bolt the frame together, lay electronics, add heating and cooling gear, set cushions, and attach trim. Robotic lifting arms help on only one or two steps; handheld tools and elbow grease must do the rest. Each crew is told to clear 680 seats in a 10-hour shift.

That harsh speedup makes it small wonder that repetitive motion injuries are piling up for U.S. auto workers, while the Big 3 auto companies—Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler)—posted $250 billion in profits in just the last four years." Read more from Labor Notes.

Teamster Locals Endorse TA

7/31/23 - "Teamsters local unions representing 340,000 full- and part-time workers at UPS voted 161-1 on Monday to endorse the tentative agreement reached with the delivery giant on July 25 and recommend its passage by the full membership." Read the full statement here.

AUGUST 7: Starbucks Protest!

From Starbucks Workers United: 

On August 7, Starbucks customers and allies will take action at hundreds of future union Starbucks stores across the country to demand Starbucks quits union busting and starts respecting workers' right to organize!

Throughout 2023, Starbucks workers have organized, went on strike, and pressured the company to quit union busting. Now it’s time for Starbucks customers and allies to join the fight. On August 7, we’re asking Starbucks customers and allies to host or attend a flyering event in front of future union Starbucks stores to support workers in their communities. Find a store to adopt at sbworkersunited.org/august-7-action-map.

Trader Joe's Continues Union Busting 

From Trader Joe's United:

On June 8th, Steve Andrade, an 18-year veteran crew member in Hadley, was fired in retaliation for his union support.

Management claims Steve was fired for creating an unsafe work environment by failing to remove a jigsaw from the store. But the tool didn’t belong to Steve, predated his tenure at the store, and was used by management multiple times in the months leading up to Steve’s firing.

The jig is up, Trader Joe’s. We see Steve’s firing for what it is: blatant union busting.

RSVP to the Boston rally at actionnetwork.org/events/rally-to-reinstate-steve. And read about Trader Joe's latest attack on Trader Joe's United here.

Scab Staffing App

"For Bradley, though, the worst was yet to come. He continued picking up hotel shifts until the strike wave hit the Anaheim Hilton, where he was scheduled to work. Again he joined the picket line.

This time, he tried writing to Instawork’s help desk explaining why he wasn’t coming in. He also informed hotel management. Despite these efforts, the app canceled all his upcoming shifts and suspended him, so he couldn’t get any more work." Read more.