Ironworkers at G&D Integrated in Morton have voted to unionize, they reported, adding that it’s “just one more example of how collective power can make big change for workers.” At press time, negotiations for a first contract had started.
Legendary United Mine Workers president John L. Lewis died in 1969, but he’s remembered in Illinois, as residents of Panama, Ill., in the heart of coal country dedicated a memorial to the longtime leader of the Mine Workers and Congress of Industrial Organizations in November. Making the UMW an industrial and political force for decades, Lewis was born in Lucas, Iowa, in 1880, and moved with his family to Panama in 1908. Elected to UMW local office and later as its lobbyist in Springfield, Lewis ascended UMW’s ranks to lead it from 1920-60. Funds for the marker came from ULLICO, the Laborers, the Mine Workers and the Illinois Labor History Society.
Two of fall’s biggest strikes settled with big gains for workers. The United Auto Workers at John Deere in mid-November returned to work after weeks on picket lines, accepting an offer of a 10% raise, followed by 5% raises on years three and five of the contract, with lump-sum bonuses on years two and four, plus an $8,500 ratification bonus. Weeks later, the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union reached a tentative agreement with Kellogg’s with 3% raises for cereal plant workers after a strike that started Oct. 5. That five-year deal also included Cost of Living Adjustments in years 2-5, protecting workers’ current health benefits, and limiting the two-tier wage system for newer workers.
Amazon workers to get do-over, says the NLRB, which ordered a new union election for Amazon workers in Bessemer, Ala. The decision stemmed from objections to the corporation’s conduct before the first vote in April, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union lost a vote after Amazon violated workers’ labor law, according to the National Labor Relations Board. That election was 1,798 against and 738 for unionizing, with 505 ballots challenged, an odd result since the proposed bargaining unit was 5,805 and organizers had collected more than 3,000 signatures for an election.
Eleven unions representing American Red Cross workers released digital ads to build public support and put pressure on management to reach an agreement. Issues include healthcare benefits, adequate staffing, and safe working conditions. The unions involved are AFSCME, AFT, CWA, IBEW, Operating Engineers, OPEIU, SEIU, Steelworkers, Teamsters, UAW, and UFCW.
A rank-and-file reform slate won the Teamsters’ internal election. Candidates from Teamsters United easily defeated opponents by a 2-to-1 margin, and the 1.3 million-member Teamsters will be led by Sean O’Brien, head of New England Joint Council 10. He detailed priorities as uniting the rank and file, and withdrawing support from politicians who don’t deliver on union demands. Teamsters United candidates now have a controlling majority on the union’s 27-seat international executive board.
A website called “Union-Busting Tracker” has debuted, and within days listed 180 cases intended to “embolden” workers, says Bob Funk, who founded the LaborLab.us website.
The group’s union-member volunteers comb through LM-20 forms, which union-busting companies are required to file with the U.S. Department of Labor, and share the information.
“A shocking amount of young workers think unions are illegal and don’t know their rights,” Funk said. “The union-busting industry takes advantage of people’s lack of knowledge.”
— News briefs courtesy of The Labor Paper