November 2, 2023 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 a new Starbucks union was formed in Brooklyn, city workers continue to reach tentative agreements with the city, and SAG-AFTRA hosted a Halloween-themed picket as their strike stretches past 100 days.
Photo Credit: Alexandra Chan
Organizing
19 workers at a Clinton Hill Starbucks announced a union campaign with Workers United.
14 officers and security supervisors are looking to join the Federal Contract Guards of America.
10 workers for the contemporary artist Daniel Arsham are unionizing with RWDSU Local 338.
Workers at Brooklyn Strategist, a Cobble Hill board game cafe, are organizing with Workers United.
4 projectionists at Quad Cinema are organizing with IATSE Local 306.
Bargaining & Action
The Astor Place Wegmans grocery store opening was met with protesting union grocery workers from RWDSU/UFCW, because the new store is non union, and Wegmans has a history of union busting activity. [LaborPress]
The Council of School Administrators and Supervisors covering 6,400 workers reached a tentative agreement with the city, spanning five years retroactive from this January.
The city and 7,100 sanitation workers represented by Teamsters Local 831, the Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association, have reached a five-year tentative agreement. [The Chief Leader]
The Association of Legal Aid Attorneys UAW 2325 at the Children’s Law Center announced a strike deadline of Nov. 1 after two and a half years of unproductive bargaining.
Hex Workers United rallied on Oct. 28 as employers Hex & Co. Board Game Cafe have not yet agreed to recognize the union after 80% of workers requested voluntary recognition in September.
Distinguished Concerts International New York orchestral musicians affiliated with Local 802 AFM ratified their first union contract spanning five years.
Flight attendants affiliated with AFA-CWA held a Day of Action on Oct. 26 at airports across the country, including LaGuardia, as bargaining continues with United Airlines.
Supporters of International Flavor & Fragrances’ Memphis, Tennessee plant workers rallied outside the company headquarters in midtown. The workers, affiliated with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union, are on their fifth month of the strike.
Teamsters Amazon drivers from Palmdale, California picketed DYY9 warehouse on Long Island on Saturday and DAB5 warehouse in Red Hook on Monday, continuing their four-month strike over the company's unfair labor practices.
The NYT Tech Guild representing 700 workers walked out of work Monday afternoon in protest of threats and intimidation from management over return-to-office policies.
SAG-AFTRA held a special “Solidarity Screamfest” picket outside Netflix and WB/Discovery offices by Union Square on Halloween as the union marked 110 days on strike.
Starbucks Workers United encourages customers and allies to take part in Red Cup Rebellion actions nationwide alongside their ULP strike on Red Cup Day Nov. 16. Downtown Brooklyn’s flyering action will start at 8 a.m., 50 Court St, NY 11201.
On Oct.12th, REI laid off 275 workers, including three at the unionized SoHo store, as part of their “restructuring” plan in hiring 1,300 seasonal workers instead. Unionized REI stores nationwide held a Day of Action Oct. 28 in support of the workers.
On Oct. 26, NYU Researchers United-UAW delivered a letter signed by more than 210 workers calling on the administration to remain neutral and agree to a fair process for recognizing majority support for the union.
On Oct. 26, Starbucks Workers United members at the Westbury, New York store led a march on the boss and work stoppage to demand increased staffing. The store manager announced scheduled hours increases five days later.
Home health-care aides with the No More 24 Act, Ain’t I A Woman campaign protested at City Hall on Oct. 18, pushing Speaker Adrienne Adams to bring the bill to a vote before the City Council session ends. The next rally will be held Nov. 16.
Columbia Postdoctoral Workers-UAW ratified a new contract on Oct. 31 with 89.4% voting yes. The union previously announced a strike deadline of Nov. 1 if an agreement was not reached.
Over 1,000 WGA East members and media workers call for employers to protect workers from exploitation by artificial intelligence.
Unionized Scholastic publishing workers affiliated with the NewsGuild held a work stoppage and picket on Nov. 1 over demands for fair pay outside the corporate offices in downtown Manhattan.
Brooklyn employees affiliated with the Professional Staff Congress-CUNY held a rally for a just contract on Nov. 1 at Brooklyn Borough Hall.
Photo Credit: Alexandra Chan
Albany
A bill introduced by Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas would establish a workplace readiness week in New York high schools where students would learn about their workplace rights. A similar bill was passed in California earlier.
New York employers can no longer access private social media of workers and applicants under a law signed by Gov. Hochul on Sept. 14, which goes into effect now. [Staten Island Advance]
City Hall
Taxi, Lyft, and Uber drivers continue to organize asking the city council to pass a couple new bills including one that would require companies to pay riders a minimum, if the trip was costed according to the traditional meter system. [The Chief Leader]
New York City reportedly gained 23,000 new jobs in September, which would mean the city’s recovered all the jobs lost since the pandemic; but this may likely be statistical news. Unfortunately, other data shows that inequality in the city’s increased since the pandemic, unlike every other American city where it remains the same or decreased. [The City]
Laundry workers for FDR Services Corp. at NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, alongside DSA-elected Alexa Avilés and Marcela Mitaynes, rallied for the hospital to stop contracting with the firm, due to complaints about unsafe working conditions. [The Chief Leader]
Photo Credit: Alexandra Chan
Miscellaneous
Rank-and-file UAW members call on the UAW International to endorse calls for Palestinian liberation and end Israel's genocide, and to join the BDS movement.
The New York State Nurses Association participated in a field hearing in New Brunswick, NJ, hosted by the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions committee on the national hospital staffing crisis.
Starbucks Workers United is hosting a mass call Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. EST to mobilize on school campuses for Red Cup Day.
Photo Credit: Alexandra Chan