January 11, 2024 news roundup
Welcome to The Local, a publication of NYC-DSA Labor reporting every two weeks. Send tips, corrections, and other feedback to thenyclocal@substack.com. In this issue, the UFT is suing the mayor over proposed budget cuts, nearly a hundred climbing gym workers are joining Workers United, and Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill that would’ve banned the usage of noncompete clauses.
Photo Credit: Alexandra Chan
Organizing
11 urban beekeepers at Alvéole in Brooklyn are organizing with RWDSU.
55 workers at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Staten Island are organizing with UAW Local 2179; the employer has called for an election.
7 workers at Truly Original Productions are organizing with IATSE Local 161, with the employer calling for an election.
Lincoln Spencer Apartments has called for an election for a unit of 11 building service workers to choose between joining SEIU 32BJ or United Workers of America Local 621.
17 workers at the Gender & Sexuality Therapy Center are organizing with AFSCME DC 37.
855 workers at the Westmed Medical Group are organizing with 1199SEIU.
8 production workers at Iceberg Ahead LLC (Titanique) are organizing with IATSE Moving Picture Technicians Artists and Allied C.
97 workers at the Cliffs at Gowanus climbing gym are organizing with Workers United.
47 workers at Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC are organizing with the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council.
11 workers at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund are organizing with UAW Local 2325.
30 workers at the New York Blood Center are organizing 1199SEIU.
A unit of workers at Parts Authority in Yonkers failed to join IBEW Local 1430, with the vote split 7-7.
Physician assistants at St. Joseph Hospital in Bethpage voted 16-3 to join 1199SEIU.
Workers at board game shop The Brooklyn Strategist voted 17-1 to join Workers United.
Workers at the Plattduetsche Home Society voted 21-2 to join UFCW Local 2013.
Workers at the Queens Botanical Garden voted 12-0 to join AFSCME DC 37 (Local 374).
A unit of workers at Avalon Bay Communities voted 7-2 to decertify IUOE Local 30 as their bargaining unit representative.
Workers at Death & Co in the East Village voted 10-8 against joining Workers United.
A unit of nurse educators at Brookdale Hospital Medical Center voted 4-2 to join 1199SEIU.
Lab workers at Northwell Health Laboratories voted 100-31 to join 1199SEIU.
Mental health and substance abuse workers at Mercy Hospital voted 15-0 to join 1199SEIU.
Workers at solar energy company EmPower CES LLC voted 29-16 to join UAW Local 259.
A unit of A/V technicians at the Museum of the City of New York voted 3-0 to join IATSE Local 306.
Bargaining & Action
The NewsGuild of New York filed an unfair labor practice charge against Condé Nast over the company’s latest layoff proposal, which the union says is regressive bargaining.
Workers at City World Ford went on strike over management refusal to bargain after voting unanimously in July to join UAW Local 259.
Contract Faculty United-UAW 7902 unionizing 950 full-time New York University contract faculty members won an election agreement after seven years of organizing. If successful, the union would be the largest of its kind at a private institution. [The Chief Leader]
Workers at EmPower-Solar in Bethpage rallied last Saturday against the energy company’s union busting tactics. After workers voted overwhelmingly to join UAW Local 259, the company laid off 40% of its workforce at the end of December.
32BJ SEIU representing 17,000 New York commercial building cleaners reached a tentative agreement with the Realty Advisory Board days before the strike deadline.
Montefiore Nyack Hospital nurses with NYSNA voted 99% to ratify their new contract. Mount Vernon and New Rochelle NYSNA nurses also ratified their contracts earlier.
Albany
Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill that would’ve banned the usage of noncompete clauses in New York. Business lobbying groups, including ones representing New York City’s largest private employer JPMorgan, fought against the piece of legislation. [The New York Times]
The State Comptroller, Tom DiNapoli, released a report showing that New York state government employees have shrunk by 8% over the last fifteen years. This echoes national trends, and DiNapoli noted that while some of these numbers are starting to improve a cloud of uncertainty hovers over local governments struggling to provide adequate service. [The Chief Leader]
This Monday, Layota Joyner (AD-77) stepped away from the New York state Assembly and Harry Bronson (AD-138) stepped into her previous role of leading the labor committee.
SEIU 1199 and NYSNA rallied in Albany to push Governor Hochul to support a bill that would provide public health care for kids through the age of 6.
City Hall
The United Federation of Teachers is suing Eric Adams over $550 million cuts to the school system’s budget citing a state law that says the city cannot lower school funding, if revenues aren’t down. (The union states that revenue increased by $5 billion.) [The City]
The UFT is also suing to stop the implementation of congestion pricing. [The City]
A federal appeals court denies restaurant employers’ attempt to strike down just cause protections to fast food workers.
Miscellaneous
Elon Musk’s SpaceX, facing unfair labor practice charges, brings a lawsuit in a Texas federal court to declare the NLRB unconstitutional.
The Insider Union affiliated with NewsGuild NY released a statement pushing back against Axel Springer’s accusations of members’ lack of journalistic integrity in their coverage of Bill Ackman and Neri Oxman.
Opinion/Analysis
The Comptroller and the Independent Budget Office put out reports suggesting New York City might not see strong job gains over the next year due to looming economic unease and the fact most post-pandemic hiring has been concentrated in “Health & Social Assistance, Private Educational Services, Leisure & Hospitality, and Construction”, according to the Comptroller’s research. [The City / NYC Comptroller]
This week, the IBO released a report on the potential economic impact of increasing the number of street vendor permits. The actual economic impact would be fairly negligible, the revenue would be roughly 0.0012% of the city budget, but the report stresses how this would help thousands of small businesses and come with little economic burden or personnel strain on the city. [Independent Budget Office]