Second Peoria Starbucks voting on unionizing. The Starbucks at 707 W. Pioneer Parkway is now participating in a mail election supervised by the National Labor Relations Board on whether to unionize at that location.
“Those eligible to vote are all full-time and regular part-time baristas and shift supervisors,” reported the NLRB, which noted ballots were sent June 13, and returned ballots will be counted virtually on July 12.
The Starbucks Campustown location in May became the area’s first unionized Starbucks, and the second in Illinois.
Teachers union leads anti-book ban coalition. It’s not yet the book burning of Nazi Germany, but white supremacists are on a crusade to ban books from libraries and schools around the country, and the Teachers (union) is leading an effort to stop them.
The Right’s book censorship campaign, one of several suppression drives it has launched, prompted AFT and the American Libraries Association to launch the Unite Against Book Bans (www.uniteagainstbookbans.org). Dozens of groups joined them, including publishers and the Human Rights Campaign Fund.
The coalition wants to stop censorship that forced school districts serving more than 2 million U.S. students nationwide to ban 1,145 books from school libraries shelves since last July 1.
“While it’s uncomfortable to talk about tough issues like genocide, slavery and racism, reading honest history helps kids learn the good and the bad about our country and emerge as well-informed, engaged citizens of the world,” said Teachers president Randi Weingarten.
House OKs firefighters bill despite GOP opposition. The House on May 24 voted 288-131 (with nine not voting) to approve a bill that automatically qualifies for workers’ comp benefits federal firefighters who develop 14 types of illnesses triggered from fighting blazes.
In the Illinois Congressional delegation, Cheri Bustos (D-Moline) and all Democrats voted for it; Darin LaHood (R-Peoria) and Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) voted against; Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro and Adam Kinzinger of Channahon voted for it; Mary Miller (R-Oakland) did not vote.
The Fire Fighters (IAFF) pushed the bill. It’s the first such legislation in 25 years, IAFF President Edward Kelly said.
“When federal firefighters suffer from health conditions associated with their jobs, they and their families deserve the full array of federal benefits to which they are entitled,” said the Office of Management and Budget, which estimated 15,000 firefighters would qualify.
Gov’t confirms union filings with NLRB up. Union election filings have increased in recent months, according to new data from the NLRB.
Between October 2021 and March 2022, union filings with the NLRB went up 57%, to 1,714 from 748 over the same period last year.
News briefs courtesy of The Labor Paper