John,

Over the last several weeks, workers at the Starbucks store on Power and Baseline in Mesa have been voting in an NLRB election, in the hopes of becoming the third corporate Starbucks store in the United States to unionize. If successful, the workers would join hundreds of unionized Arizona Starbucks workers at Fry’s Food Stores, Safeway Grocery Stores, and Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

As you may have heard, votes were scheduled to be counted in the election this Wednesday at 11 AM. However, just as the votes were set to be reviewed and announced, the NLRB impounded the ballots and indefinitely delayed counting.

This is because on January 24th, Starbucks asked the NLRB to review a previous decision that allowed workers at the single store to unionize, in an attempt to make the effort more difficult by expanding the election to include 14 other stores in the East Valley. The NLRB had previously dismissed a similar request made by Starbucks for its Buffalo stores, however, since it had not yet issued a ruling by the time ballots were set to be counted Wednesday, the ballots were impounded.

Our Arizona AFL-CIO staff joined Mesa Starbucks workers on Wednesday and were in the room when the disappointing news was announced. As one can imagine, the Starbucks workers were disappointed, but said during a press conference that afternoon that they are “fired up and ready to go,” in supporting their fellow Starbucks workers in organizing for better working conditions. They know, as we all do, that Starbucks’ union-busting delay tactics cannot stop the growing momentum of the Starbucks Workers United movement.

Although Mesa Starbucks workers will eventually get their new election date, we cannot allow anti-union corporations like Starbucks to threaten, intimidate, and impede the efforts of organizing workers without consequence. Now more than ever, working people need our leaders in the United States Senate to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and allow the NLRB to penalize bad-faith employers and empower workers to exercise our freedom to bargain collectively.

In solidarity,

Fred Yamashita.

Fred Yamashita
Executive Director
Arizona AFL-CIO

2nd Annual MALF Cornhole Tournament Fundraiser
 
After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Maricopa Area Labor Federation Cornhole Tournament Fundraiser is back!

Join MALF on March 19th from 10am to 2pm for cornhole, food, live music, and raffle prizes. All 2022 sponsors will receive a custom cornhole board, which will come painted with a logo of their choosing. For tournament participation, sponsorship information, and more, click the button below.

Add Your Name: Pass H.R. 3076, the Postal Service Reform Act, in the Senate
 
Following years of debate to build consensus, it is time to pass this vital and carefully constructed legislation, a bipartisan compromise bill that will bring financial stability to the Postal Service.

PALF & AEA Host Tucson Area School Board Candidate Training

Are you a union member or family member thinking of running for School board? Then this is for you! Join the Pima Area Labor Federation & the Arizona Education Association on Saturday, February 19th to learn how to build a successful school board campaign as an exciting list of guest speakers discuss union values in public service, how to build your campaign team, and building your campaign platform.

Biden pro-union panel’s recommendations: Boost organizing, hit union-busters

"Not waiting for a gridlocked Congress to act on worker rights, the special Biden administration commission on increasing unionization issued 70 recommendations on how the administration could do so on its own. Measures range from making organizing easier within government agencies to—in the general workforce—forcing more disclosure by union-busters, among other plans. The report also recommends using the 'power of the purse,' in deciding which businesses get the $600 billion the feds dole out yearly in contracts, to promote unionizing and union-friendly firms..."

Judge Orders State Of Iowa To Pay Union $2 Million In Dues It Refused To Deduct From Paychecks

“A state court judge has ordered the state of Iowa to pay a labor union representing state workers nearly $2 million in a five-year legal dispute centered on whether the state could continue to deduct union dues from state worker paychecks after a state law change in 2017..."

Amazon agrees to NYC union election terms, setting stage for two votes in March

"The U.S. National Labor Relations Board said Wednesday that Amazon.com Inc and a group of New York workers have agreed tentatively on terms for a union election, and an organizer said the vote would take place late next month. The agreement lays out the election's timing and how to vote, the NLRB said, without providing details. According to labor organizer Christian Smalls, workers at Amazon's "JFK8" warehouse in Staten Island will vote in person March 25-30..."

Business Booms at Kroger-Owned Grocery Stores, but Workers Are Left Behind

"When Enrique Romero Jr. finishes his shift fulfilling online orders at a Fred Meyer grocery store in Bellingham, Washington, he often walks to a nearby plasma donation center. There, he has his blood drained, and a hydrating solution is pumped into his veins, which leaves him tired and cold. Romero, 30, said selling his plasma made him feel 'like cattle.' But the income he earns from it — roughly $500 a month — is more reliable than his wages at Fred Meyer, which is owned by grocery giant Kroger..."

NEW ARIZONA AFL-CIO OP-ED:
This special interest group is rewriting Arizona’s laws

"A secretive network of billionaire investors, corporate lobbyists, and conservative lawmakers is working behind closed doors to rewrite our laws and limit our freedoms. As lawmakers consider dozens of cookie-cutter, special-interest legislation manufactured through the American Legislative Exchange Council, it’s time for Arizonans to know who is really writing our laws...."

Why the Mesa Starbucks Workers Union Vote Results are on Hold for Now

"...the National Labor Relations Board impounded the workers' ballots for further review to determine whether the Seattle coffee giant's legal arguments would bar such a vote and force a consolidated union drive — something organizers claim is a tactic to stop the movement. Neither the company nor the workers will have control over exactly what happens next because the process is overseen by the federal labor board which is still reviewing the case...."

Arizona House OKs school spending cap waiver; Senate delays vote

"The Arizona House voted on Feb. 15 to avert a shutdown of the state’s K-12 public school system by approving a waiver of a constitutional cap on spending that would be exceeded by March 1. But the Senate president says she does not yet have the votes. The 45-14 vote provided the required two-thirds majority to give schools the ability to spend $1.54 billion lawmakers appropriated last year that would have put them over the constitutional spending limit. All 28 Democrats present voted for the waiver, but 14 of 31 Republican House members voted no...."

Rising wages could not keep pace with rising prices in Arizona in 2021

"Wages rose 5.3% in the Phoenix metro area last year, but prices rose almost twice as fast, with rising fuel and food prices eroding workers’ buying power despite a surging economy. The situation in Arizona mirrored the U.S., where an average 5% increase in salary and wages was outstripped by a 7% rise in the consumer price index. But the increases in the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area were bigger in both instances, and the gap between income and price growth was wider, with the Valley seeing a 9.7% rise in the cost of goods and services...'"

Graphics

Thank you for reading the Arizona Labor Dispatch! Can you help us grow our readership by sharing our sign-up form?

If you'd like to promote an event for your union in our weekly newsletter, fill out our submission form or email AZ AFL-CIO Communications & Operations Director Drake Ridge at [email protected]