UE Locals Settle First Contracts at Stanford, University of Minnesota
Over the past month, UE locals have settled first contracts covering thousands of graduate workers at Stanford University and the University of Minnesota, bringing the total number of graduate workers brought under first contract in 2024 to approximately 15,000.
On November 22, UE Local 1043-Stanford Graduate Workers Union ratified a historic contract, containing strong protections against discrimination, harassment, and power abuse, wage increases of 13-16 percent over the life of the contract, and unprecedented protections against on-campus rent increases. The contract was settled after a protracted fight with the university, with the tentative agreement being reached only 12 hours before the union was set to go on strike.
On December 6, UE Local 1105 (University of Minnesota Graduate Labor Union) ratified its first contract, containing raises of over 20 percent for the lowest-paid workers, average immediate raises of 5 percent, and guaranteed 3.5 percent minimum annual raises. The contract includes a comprehensive grievance procedure, protections against health and safety violations, new targeted fee subsidies that will reduce fees by 50 percent for the most vulnerable workers, and 85 percent dependent healthcare premium coverage. It also includes time off for immigration and visa related proceedings, clear job descriptions, the ability to grieve non-reappointment decisions, and protection against overworking. This victory comes after nearly 15 months of negotiations with the university, with the tentative agreement being reached at 3 AM, only hours before the local’s strike authorization vote was to take place.
More detailed coverage will be published in the next issue of the UE NEWS Bulletin. (Photo: UE Local 1043-Stanford Graduate Workers Union launching their strike pledge campaign with a rally in October 2024.)
Preparation, Unanimous Strike Vote Win New Three-Year Contract for Local 625
UE Local 625 ratified a three-year contract on November 16 following a contract campaign which directly confronted the greed of their employer, Hitachi Energy. The vote was held in a crowded room of union members at the Kosciuszko Club in Mt. Pleasant. The workers, who build high-quality circuit breakers and high-voltage equipment at locations in Greensburg and Mt. Pleasant, had been working without a contract for over two weeks. Read more on ueunion.org »
-
Also: Local 625 recently won an important grievance after their employer attempted to deny a life insurance benefit to a deceased member's beneficiaries. Read more »
Chasen Workers Force Boss to Pay Severance After Surprise Plant Shutdown
Four hours after beginning the process for negotiating a new union contract with their employer, members of UE Local 155 at Chasen Fiber Technologies were notified that their parent company, Integreon Global, intended to shut down their plant on November 1.
A New Jersey law requires that companies pay severance when they shut down a plant, but the Chasen facility’s small size exempts it from the law. Integreon attempted to take advantage of that loophole to avoid providing any severance to its workers. Read more on ueunion.org »
UE is now on BlueSky and Threads! 🎉 Follow us to stay up-to-date on union news, worker victories, and solidarity campaigns:
FOLLOW US ON BLUESKY
FOLLOW US ON THREADS
Join the conversation and help us spread the word about fighting for workers’ rights!
UE Leaders Demand Federal Action for Clean Rail, Green Jobs
On December 17, UE participated in two events in our nation’s capital that highlighted the urgent need for federal action on rail pollution. UE General President Carl Rosen delivered the keynote address at the White House’s Sustainable Freight workshop. Rosen spoke to the need for industry to step up and do more to clean up over-polluted rail yards and create good, union jobs in green locomotive manufacturing. Read more »
Local 1498 Sees Impact of Member Involvement at the Bargaining Table
UE Local 1498 ratified a three-and-a-half year contract on November 22, following seven grueling weeks at the bargaining table with their employer, New Mexico State University. The contract fight included management stalling and stonewalling in the bargaining room, imposing deadlines to finish bargaining, calling police to a peaceful action by the membership, and changing bargaining locations multiple times to restrict members’ access and attempt to isolate the bargaining committee. Despite the tough negotiations, members were able to win their top priority — more tuition coverage. Read more »
Tinius Olsen Workers Force Management to Address Health Hazards
Workers at Tinius Olsen, members of UE Local 155, recently demonstrated the power of collective action by compelling management to address hazardous working conditions that jeopardized their health. Read more »
Korean Unions Help Defeat Martial Law, Strike to Demand Impeachment of President
On the evening of December 3, South Korea’s right-wing president Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, citing threats from “anti-state forces.” Following the announcement, hundreds of Korean citizens, including many members of the 1.2 million member Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, defied the ban on political activity, gathering at the parliament building where 190 lawmakers were able to enter the building and pass a unanimous motion rejecting Yoon’s imposition of martial law. Yoon rescinded his order several hours later and was impeached on December 14, following strikes by KCTU-affiliated unions demanding his removal. Read more »
Senate Hands Control of Labor Board to Big Business Interests
The nominally Democratic-controlled Senate failed to reconfirm Lauren McFerran as Chair of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on December 11. Two Democrats-turned-Independents, Joe Manchin (I-West Virginia) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Arizona), joined 48 of the 49 Republican Senators in voting no. Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas did not vote, and Independents Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine joined the 47 Democrats in voting yes. Read more »
Unions Launch New Push to Halt U.S. Military Aid to Israel
The National Labor Network for Ceasefire, made up of unions representing over half of all U.S. union members, is calling on local unions and individuals to join UE, UAW, and other national unions in demanding that the President and Congress end lethal military aid to the Israeli government, in order to secure an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages. Read more »
Vote to Block Offensive Arms to Israel Fails, but “Proves That Movement to End War Is Growing”
On November 20, the U.S. Senate considered three “joint resolutions of disapproval,” proposed by long-time UE ally Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), which would have blocked U.S. sales of offensive weaponry to the Israeli military. The resolutions, in Sanders’ words, “are aimed at offensive weapons that have been used to devastating effect against civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. They would not affect any of the systems Israel uses to defend itself from incoming attacks.” Read more »
Job Openings at UE
Explore current job opportunities with UE! Click each title for full details:
|
Field Organizer/Union Representative for Rail Crew Locals
|
|
Location: Required to live near a UE rail crew base area (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas, Colorado or California.)
|
| -
|
|
Field Organizer for Higher Education
|
|
Location: Baltimore, MD
|
| -
|
Field Organizer for Higher Education
|
|
Location: Boston, MA
|
| -
|
|
Membership Coordinator
|
|
Location:
Pittsburgh, PA
|
| -
|
Field Organizer for Higher Education
|
|
Location: Chicago, IL
|
-
|
|
Field Organizer/Union Representative
|
|
Location: Iowa
|
| -
|
|
Finance Director
|
|
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
|
| -
|
|
Human Resources Manager
|
|
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
|
|
Bulletin
