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, Alamo Drafthouse workers in Staten Island voted to unionize, digital media workers are walking out, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics gives an update on the continued stagnation of American organized labor.
Photo Credit: Erica Landau
Organizing
The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund voluntarily recognized the wall-to-wall union organizing with UAW Local 2325.
A unit of social workers at St. Joseph Hospital in Bethpage voted 6-0 to join 1199SEIU, joining the unit of physician assistants that also recently voted to join the union.
Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW was decertified as the bargaining unit representative by an 8-7 vote at Lower East Side People’s Mutual Housing.
Workers at the Alamo Drafthouse in Staten Island voted 19-18 to join UAW Local 2179.
Workers at She Wolf Bakery are organizing with RWDSU.
Workers at Caffe Vita are organizing with UFCW Local 1500.
Physician assistants at King County Hospital are organizing with 1199SEIU.
Westmed Medical Group in Yonkers has petitioned for an election for a unit of 500 workers.
Another year, another slight downtick in union density in the United States: the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its annual report on unionization in the American workforce, finding that the proportion of workers represented by unions in 2023 dropped from 11.3% in 2022 to 11.2% and union membership dropped from 10.1% to 10.0%. While there was a small increase in private sector unionization (6.8% to 6.9%), it could not offset the ongoing decline in unionization among state and local government workers. Young workers drove a disproportionate amount of the unionization, with 229,000 workers under the age of 45 newly represented by unions last year, compared with a decline of 38,000 unionized workers over the age of 45. And while New York remains the second-most unionized state in the country (with Hawaii remaining in first place), the states with the biggest increase in unionization were Florida (67,000), New Jersey (63,000), and Texas (58,000).
Bargaining & Action
The Center for Urban Community Services Workers with DC37 have been bargaining for over a year and members are calling out management for stalling.
The Condé Union with NewsGuild NY walked out for 24 hours on Jan. 23 over layoffs and bad faith bargaining, and picketed One World Trade.
97% of workers at The Onion with WGAEast have pledged to strike on Jan. 31 if an agreement is not reached with G/O Media.
CUNY has reached tentative agreements with DC 37, Teamsters Local 237, and SEIU Local 300 representing more than 10,000 workers across the city.
NYSNA members and New York electeds call attention to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital’s decision to close midwifery services.
United University Professions with NYSUT AFT Local 2190 representing SUNY faculty and staff criticize the intended closure of SUNY Downstate University Hospital in Brooklyn after Governor Hochul ordered hospital administrators to transform the facility in the face of major financial losses.
Photo Credit: David Turner
Albany
Queens state senator Jessica Ramos held a rally with the Alliance for a Greater New York, Retail Wholesale & Department Store Union, New York Teamsters, and other unions for $5 million in funding to make warehouses safer and to force the company to provide annual reports on the working conditions.
Kathy Hochul gestured toward supporting a tax on short-term rentals (i.e. AirBnB) that would mirror hotel taxes. This comes from the back of the Hotel Trades Council and hotel industry lobbying offers.
The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board alongside the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is working together to help protect noncitizen workers from poor labor conditions and against employer retaliation.
City Hall
About 1,000 911 operators and supervisors represented by DC 37 and CWA Local 1180 will be able to work three- or four-day weeks in a one-year pilot program as their new contracts with the city go into effect this year.
Miscellaneous
An AFSCME internal oversight panel expelled Local 1549 (of DC 37) president Eddie Rodriguez (along with two vice presidents) after rank-and-file members brought a case alleging corruption and financial improprieties.
Bloomberg Businessweek drops a profile of the UAW under Shawn Fain.
The UAW international has also endorsed Biden in the 2024 presidential election.
Opinion/Analysis
The mayor’s updated January budget for FY 2025 included a couple of interesting notes on NYC’s workforce. Through November 2023, the city added 83,000 jobs in education and health, 12,700 in leisure and hospitality, and over 9,000 in construction. The city did experience job loss within the information (28,000) and trade, transportation, and utilities (15,200) sectors.
The report additionally noted that prior to the pandemic “average hourly wages” typically exceeded inflation by about 1.6%, but in November 2023 that reversed with inflation outpacing wages by about 3%.
Note: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that figures for overall unionization (the proportion of workers represented by unions) were figures for union density (the proportion of workers who are union members).
Excellent publication!
Think globally but
Act Local-Lu!