The United Auto Workers has asked the NLRB to overturn the union’s election loss at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Vance, Ala., in May, and order a rerun election. They contend company labor law-breaking prejudiced the vote results.

“Over 2,000 Mercedes workers voted yes to win their union after an unprecedented, illegal anti-union campaign waged against them by their employer,” UAW said. The unofficial final tally showed UAW losing to “no union,” 2,042-2,645, with 51 challenged ballots and five voided, for a 93% turnout.

The union filed the complaint with the National Labor Relations Board the day after its loss at the “transplant,” one of many foreign automakers’ plants deliberately located in the anti-union, worker-hostile South. The union alleges that the factory disciplined employees for discussing unionization at work, prohibited distribution of union materials and paraphernalia, illegally spied on workers, discharged union supporters, forced employees to attend captive-audience meetings, and made statements suggesting that union activity is futile.

“Let’s get a vote at Mercedes in Alabama where the company isn’t allowed to fire people, isn’t allowed to intimidate people, and isn’t allowed to break the law and their own corporate code, and let the workers decide,” the UAW stated.

NLRB Communications Director Kayla Blado said the board’s Birmingham office will investigate and decide whether and when a hearing should occur on the labor law-breaking charges.

Workers at Portillo’s food production warehouse in Aurora in May voted to unionize with Iron Workers Local 853, the second Portillo’s location to unionize as workers continue to demand living wages, respect on the job, and better working conditions.

“Today’s results show that Portillo’s union busting behavior won’t deter workers from having their voices heard,” said Iron Workers Union General Organizer Hank Hunsell. “Portillo’s leadership, you need to respect your workers’ decision and negotiate their first contract now!”

This victory came shortly after a rally was held in Rosemont to support Portillo’s food service workers at both Aurora and Addison food production warehouses.

Illinois lawmakers OK’d legislation to protect workers from unwanted political and religious speech unrelated to job performance. If signed by Gov. Pritzker, Illinois would be the eighth state to enact legislation with these protections. The bill had the support of a diverse group of stakeholders, including the Illinois AFL-CIO, Chicago Federation of Labor, Equality Illinois, Planned Parenthood, Citizen Action, Women Employed, Shriver Center on Poverty Law, and Raise the Floor Alliance.

“Captive-audience meetings are a direct violation of workers’ rights,” said Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea. “They force our most vulnerable employees to choose between their job and personal values. Employers are increasingly using the workplace to advance their political and religious interests, and this creates an atmosphere ripe for coercion. The Worker Freedom of Speech Act ensures that workers are protected when choosing to walk away from these meetings.”

The Act — SB 3649 — includes a private right of action for individual workers, and enforcement through the Illinois Department of Labor. Employers will be required to post a notice of employee rights where employee notices are customarily placed. Once signed into law, the act will take effect Jan. 1, 2025.

AFSCME Local 370 and Southern Illinois University’s School of Medicine have reached agreement and ratified a new contract, effective through June 30, 2025 — after more than a year of bargaining.

The contract — for more than 600 workers represented by AFSCME — includes wage hikes on top of the 17.2% in increases that the employer made since 2019.The two-year contract provides for 3% increases retroactive to July 1, 2023, and 3.5% raises going into effect this July 1.

Workers at a Quad Cities Starbucks have voted to unionize, joining Peoria’s Campustown location, a Pekin Starbucks, and more than 400 other Starbucks.

“For the past two years we have been discussing in depth why we wanted to unionize and how we wanted to approach it,” said George Strader, shift manager at the location, on 53rd St. in Davenport.

The vote was 15-1 to unionize, according to the National Labor Relations Board.

Barista Alexis Miller said it was a long journey but worth every second. “It’s been a long, two-and-half-year journey to get here we we’re all so excited to join the nationwide movement of Starbucks workers fighting for a better tomorrow,” she said.
More than 400 physicians have filed to unionize at Delaware’s Christiana Hospital, Wilmington Hospital, and Middletown Free-standing Emergency Department — all part of the ChristianaCare health system.

“If successful, this will be the first physician union in Delaware and the first union of any kind at ChristianaCare,” said Doctors Council SEIU Local 10MD, in an announcement of the filing that pointed to the ongoing corporatization of medicine as driving the physicians’ efforts.

Some of the physicians’ issues are understaffing and inadequate resources, the corporate influence on medical decision-making, limited input in matters affecting patient care and physician safety and autonomy, and moral injury caused by pressure to place profit over patients.

Their concerns are increasingly voiced in a nationwide movement of medical doctors as well as nurses.

“We all are experiencing the same things, and as a result, patients are experiencing the same things,” said Roshan Modi, MD, a radiologist at ChristianaCare. “This is a movement that needs to happen in medicine to push back against the corporatization of health care.”

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