Local 770 Members’ Shop Floor Campaign Raises Wages, Limits Mandatory Overtime, and Eliminates Two-Tier Pension System

Members of Local 770 at Hendrickson Suspension won big in recent mid-contract bargaining. These 84 members manufacture medium and heavy-duty mechanical vehicle suspensions and components to the global commercial transportation industry. The company approached Local 770 leadership in early 2022 about raising wages for entry-level positions, but the local successfully organized to get fair raises for everyone, eliminate the long-standing inequity in the pension, and address excessive mandatory overtime.

“Overworked and Underpaid,” UNC Housekeepers Rally (Again) for $20 per Hour

“We are rallying for higher pay because UNC has increased our workload due to understaffing,” declared Robin Lee, a housekeeper and UE Local 150 member at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. “We should get paid for the hard work we do, often above our job descriptions, to keep the university clean.” UNC housekeepers rallied on February 22 in both Chapel Hill and Raleigh, where the UNC Board of Governors moved their meeting at the last minute in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid the workers’ protest.

Refresco Workers Press for Action from Private Equity Firm KKR

UE Local 115 members from the Refresco bottling plant in Wharton, NJ attempted to bring their concerns about conditions in their plant to the corporate headquarters of private equity firm KKR on Tuesday, February 28. It was the second attempt the workers have made to meet with KKR, which owns a majority stake in Refresco. For a second time, KKR refused to meet with the workers.

“We went to the building, we tried to talk to someone at KKR, and did it respectfully,” said Refresco worker Pamela Burgos. “All we’re asking for is equal rights and our rights as workers. We just want to be able to have a meeting with them so we can discuss our issues.”

KKR was recently the subject of a glowing profile by CBS news, which touted the company’s commitment to employee ownership. But the experience of Refresco workers tells a different story, as related by journalist Matt Cunningham-Cook in his recent article “At This Jersey Factory, Pension-Backed Private Equity Takes On Union Workers.”

UE Local 610 Endorses Sara Innamorato for Allegheny County Executive

UE Local 610, which represents workers at Wabtec’s production facilities in Wilmerding and Greensburg, PA, has endorsed Sara Innamorato's campaign for County Executive of Allegheny County.“Sara has been an ally of working people in this area for years now,” said Local 610 President Antwon Gibson. “She has earned the endorsement of UE Local 610 for County Executive of Allegheny County. We are proud to support Sara's campaign.” Read more »

Local 150 Founder Featured in Black History Month Article

Angaza Laughinghouse, a founder and past president of UE Local 150, was profiled in “Black workers fueled the NC labor movement’s past — and are guiding its future,” a Black History Month feature in the The News & Observer of Raleigh, NC in February. The article explores the longstanding tie between Black workers and organized labor in the South, and specifically in North Carolina. Read the article »

Labor Law Reform Bill Introduced by Republican and Democratic Leaders

On February 28, U.S. Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) announced the re-introduction of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The bill would rein in employer lawbreaking when workers are organizing a union and negotiating a first contract, with punitive fines for labor law violations. It would streamline union elections, make it harder for an employer to interfere in the election process, and ban “captive audience meetings,” in which employers force workers to listen to anti-union propaganda on work time. Read more »

UE Demand for Public Ownership of Railroads Covered in National Magazines

The UE General Executive Board’s statement demanding public ownership of the railroads was featured in two national magazines in February. Kari Lydersen’s cover story for the February issue of In These Times, “The Case for Nationalizing the Railroads,” quotes the statement extensively. In an article in The Nation published shortly after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, John Nichols asks, “why not listen to the workers who know what’s needed to make the nation’s railroads more reliable, more responsible, and, above all, safer? They have a simple solution: nationalize the rail industry so that the people, not the corporations, are in charge.”