Workers at Starbucks location at Court and Veterans have voted 14-2 to become members of Starbucks Workers United, becoming the 24th location in Illinois to join the SEIU-affiliated organizing drive. The Starbucks in Peoria’s Campustown voted to unionize in April 2022. More than 400 U.S. Starbucks stores have unionized.
Illinois lawmaker proposes making union dues tax-deductible. An Illinois legislator wants the General Assembly to ensure that taxpayers’ expenditures on union dues would be tax deductible, between federal and state income taxes. State Rep. Harry Benton (D-Oswego) introduced House Bill 4088, which would create a state income tax deduction for any union dues not covered by a federal income tax deduction.
Judge could decide Alabama Amazon workers get a third vote. A weeks-long hearing began last month to decide the fate of the unionization campaign at Amazon’s facility in Bessemer, Ala. An Administrative Law Judge at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will review the parties’ conduct in the last election, which has remained too close to call since 2022. Before, in 2021, workers voted more than 2-to-1 against joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Later, U.S. labor officials ruled that Amazon improperly influenced the vote, and the remedy was a do-over. A year later, Bessemer workers voted again but too many ballots were challenged, so that election remains unresolved.
The NLRB judge will review hundreds of ballots that are still uncounted and also consider an order issued last year by a regional NLRB director alleging Amazon violated labor laws.
The process is expected to continue into July, when the judge could either decide the outcome of the last election or set it aside to order another do-over.
Labor, racial justice and environmental groups convened on Earth Day April 22, to stress unity. “Never before in this building have these three movements all come together in this way,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler.
“Our workers are ground zero of this crisis.”
UAW reaches deal with Daimler, gets 25% wage hike. In late April, the United Auto Workers reached an agreement with Daimler Truck that includes historic gains, including raises of more than 25%, the end of wage tiers, and the introduction of profit-sharing and Cost-of-Living (COLA), “and no concessions,” the union said.
AFL-CIO releases ‘Death on The Job’ report. The newest data released by the labor federation is alarming: 344 U.S. workers died on the job each day in 2022 due to hazardous working conditions.
“We remain committed to holding corporations accountable so that all jobs are safe jobs — where every worker can return home safely at the end of the day,” the AFL-CIO said. “Injuries on the job also increased. Employers self-reported nearly 3.5 million work-related injuries and illnesses, an increase from the previous year. But these injury numbers are vastly underreported. The true toll of work-related injuries and illnesses is 5.6 million to 8.4 million each year in private industry.”
Union petitions up 35% this year: NLRB. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) says that the number of union-election petitions rose 35% during the first six months of Fiscal Year 2024 compared to the same period last year.
White House finalizes rule expanding overtime for salaried workers. The Biden administration has finalized a new rule set to make some 4 million additional workers eligible for overtime pay. Starting July 1, employers will be required to pay overtime to salaried workers who make less than $43,888 a year in certain executive, administrative and professional roles. That cap will then rise to $58,656 by the start of 2025.
“Too often, lower-paid salaried workers are doing the same job as their hourly counterparts but are spending more time away from their families for no additional pay,” said acting Secretary of the Department of Labor Julie Su. “That is unacceptable.”
Unions join movement to make millionaires pay fair share into Social Security. March 2 was the day millionaires finished paying into Social Security for the year while everyone else continues to pay throughout 2024. The disparity stems from the income cap shielding millionaires from paying on any income above $168,600.
“Elon Musk made $168,600 four minutes into 2024,” according to the American Federation of Government Employees. “It’s time to change that and Scrap The Cap!”
U.S. Rep. John Larson (D-Ct.), has introduced the Social Security 2100 Act, which would change the Social Security payroll tax on earnings to $400,000.
‘Fight for 15 and A Union’ becomes ’Fight for A Union.’ Reflecting success for its original cause, the “Fight for $15 and a union” movement has converted to “Fight for a Union.” Many states and cities enacted minimum wages so most U.S. workers earn that much. However, $15 an hour is now too low.
“As workers we were striking for equity, community, dignity, protections against AI and automation, dignified retirement, safety on the job and time with our families,” organizers added, “— justice in all its forms. And so many other things that a union provides. The union is how we fight for the lives we want to live and the world we want to see.”
The campaign’s new website is FightForAUnion.org.
News briefs courtesy of The Labor Paper: “Like” us — www.facebook.com/The-Labor-Paper