The Local: Apr 4, 2024 news roundup
Welcome back 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, Staten Island University nurses repped by NYSNA reach a deal with Northwell Health and avert a strike, UAW Local 2325 resists a congressional subpoena prying into its pro-Palestine resolution, and city council staffers reach their first-ever tentative agreement after almost a decade of organizing.
Photo Credit: Alexandra Chan
Organizing
Workers at Parsons-Meares are organizing with IATSE Local 764 (Theatrical Wardrobe Union)
Ushers at National Sawdust are organizing with IATSE Local 306.
HarperCollins has filed a petition to clarify the bargaining unit represented by UAW Local 2110.
Some kind of turf battle is brewing at JFK Airport, as the United Security Officers of America Local 1013 file a petition to represent security guards at contractor Inter Con Security Systems; 32BJ, Eastern States Joint Board Amalgamated Local 298 AFL-CIO, and Security, Police & Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) are all listed as intervenors.
Workers at the Cliffs at Gowanus are organizing with Workers United.
Art auction house Bonhams has filed a petition for an election for its art handlers to decide whether they will join Teamsters Local 814.
A decert petition has been filed for a unit represented by Teamsters Local 810 at A. Esteban and Company.
Workers at Live Axe in Manhattan voted 13-9 against joining Workers United.
Starbucks Workers United swept three elections in Westbury (6-5), Garden City (7-3), and Brooklyn (12-2).
A unit of firearms detection canine handlers at MSA Security voted 14-1 to join SPFPA.
DC37 won a petition with Office of Collective Bargaining (OCB) to expand a bargaining unit across the five district attorneys’ offices in the city to include senior account investigators and supervising account investigators.
Bargaining & Action
The Association of Legislative Employees union representing city council staffers reached a tentative agreement with the NYC City Council.
The New School academic student workers represented by SENS-UAW 7902 have ratified a new contract by 93%.
Staten Island University Hospital nurses represented by NYSNA reached a tentative agreement with Northwell Health, averting a strike.
PSC-CUNY pledges to fight against the latest proposal from management threatening job security, where adjuncts would have to teach 24 consecutive semesters to qualify for 2-year appointments, increased from the prior 10 consecutive semesters for 3-year appointments.
Mobilization for Justice Union UAW 2320 has been on strike for six weeks as workers say management has begun to hire scab labor.
Albany
The Real Estate Board of New York and the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York are currently negotiating over a housing package that Governor Kathy Hochul sought to pass over the last two legislative sessions. Up for debate are Good Cause Eviction, reviving the developer tax subsidy 421-A, and the wages of the work being done on these projects. [City and State]
In the run up to the state budget being finalized, a number of unions are spending to advocate for various issues. 1199SEIU alongside the Greater New York Hospital Association, a hopital lobbyist group, are demanding increased medicaid spending by the state; while the United University Professionals are trying to prevent the closure of SUNY Downstate, a teaching hospital. [Times Union]
City Hall
The reform slate at DC 37’s Local 461 has made inroads into the executive board, with one member winning the secretary-treasurer position, and another winning an at-large position. [The Chief Leader]
The minimum pay for food delivery workers in NYC goes up to $19.56 per hour. [Gothamist]
The city goes to a contentious hearing at a state appellate court over the privatization of its retiree health plans. [The Chief Leader]
Miscellaneous
UAW Local 2325 (the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys) is fighting a subpoena issued by the Republican-controlled U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce into its pro-Palestine resolution. [Hell Gate]
The Chief Leader has more on that raid by the Teamsters (and Laborers) on the “independent” union at Cogent Waste Solutions. [The Chief Leader]
D. Taylor, national president of UNITE-HERE, who helped build Local 226 (aka the Culinary) into a political powerhouse in Nevada, is stepping down. [The Nevada Independent]
Job Listings
Database and Application Administrator - New York State Nurses Association (Salary: $95,000 - $115,000)
Organizer - 32BJ SEIU (Salary: $54,789 to $77,975.15)
Business Representative for Scene Shops and Safety - IATSE Local 829 (Salary: $90,000 - $105,000)
A full list of local union jobs can be found at unionjobs.com, alongside here is the complete list of NYC civil service exams. (April isn’t a great month for exams.) Additionally if you’re interested in taking a job in a strategic industry and want to be connected through the Labor Working Group, check out this form here.
Corrections
Last issue we wrote: “Workers at the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House are organizing with Local 1707 of DC 37.” Local 1707 in fact merged with DC 37 in 2019, and created six distinct locals covering non-profit and private sector work.