The Local: Aug 8, 2024 news roundup
Welcome back to The Local, a publication of the NYC-DSA Labor Working Group reporting every two weeks. Send any tips, corrections, and other feedback to thenyclocal@substack.com. In this issue, a reform slate wins the leadership election at the Amazon Labor Union, the Taxi Workers Alliance blast a deal between the City and Uber/Lyft to lower the number of driver deactivations, and the state Department of Labor struggles to keep up with all the wage theft cases going on.
The Local apologizes for the delay in today’s issue.
Photo credit: Brandon Tizol
Organizing
Janitorial workers at Nelson Services Systems have voted 22-3 to join the Utility Workers Union of America.
Workers at A Better Balance are organizing with UAW Local 2325 (but their petition for a union election has been withdrawn for now).
Workers at ADAPT Community Schools in Flushing, currently represented by the UFT, have petitioned for clarification of the bargaining unit definition.
Workers at the Starbucks location at 1 Liberty Plaza are organizing with Workers United.
Local 621 of the United Construction Trades and Industrial Employees (UCTIE) appears to be engaging in a raid on a unit of warehouse workers at Kinray LLC in Whitestone – the unit might be currently represented by Teamsters Local 210.
Bargaining & Action
07/23: Actors’ Equity Association reached a new 4-year agreement with the Off-Broadway League.
07/24: Audubon Society workers under CWA 1180-Bird Union held a practice picket.
07/25: 300 members of DC 37 Local 1740 demand a raise from NYC School Construction Authority at rally amid stalled contract negotiations.
07/26: SAG-AFTRA video game workers go on strike over lack of A.I. protections.
07/30: New York Times Tech Guild with NewsGuild NY held a practice picket.
07/31: The Bronx Defenders Union UAW Local 2325 has ratified a new contract by 91%.
08/01: Laborers' Local 79 and Local 78 workers protested Rockrose Development’s use of a notorious demolition firm for a project in Brooklyn.
08/05: Women's Designer Shoes Sales members at Saks Fifth Avenue with RWDSU/UFCW Local 1102 are preparing for contract negotiations.
08/05: Podcast company Crooked Media workers with WGA East walked out after a year of bargaining and a ULP charge the week prior.
08/06: UAW Local 259 (and NYC-DSA) rallied for a worker fired from Baco Ent. for union organizing.
08/06: The New York Daily News Union sent an open letter to the NYPD demanding an apology for intimidation from Deputy Commissioner Daughtry.
Photo credit: Brandon Tizol
Albany
The Workers Justice Project brought to the attention of the state’s Department of Labor potentially $114,000 of stolen wages by numerous construction companies exploiting undocumented women workers. However the DoL continues to face criticism for not acting quick enough on wage theft, potentially denying workers tens of millions of dollars [The Chief Leader]
The NYC Independent Budget Office releases its report on the impact of the latest legislative session in Albany on NYC – noting, among other things, the state has yet to offer a plan forward on public transit after Governor Hochul paused congestion pricing.
City Hall
After NYC’s Taxi and Limousine Commission made a deal with Uber and Lyft to slowly lower the number of driver lockouts on their apps, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance criticized the deal for its lack of compensation for lost earnings and a guarantee that such lockouts would not occur again in the future. The NYTWA threatened a strike over the issue. [The Chief Leader]
A ballot measure going up for a vote this November proposes to expand the Department of Sanitation’s authority to crack down on street vendors in public parks (where street vendors currently deal with law enforcement from the NYPD and the Parks Department). However, the nature of the proposal isn’t clear at all from the language of the ballot measure. [The City]
Meanwhile, another violent encounter between the cops and street vendors in Bushwick. [Hell Gate]
Miscellaneous
The iconic Astor Place Starbucks that recently shutdown may have been over the staff’s decision to unionize, not a rent hike. [Curbed]
Journalists at The Atlantic (represented by New York NewsGuild) warn management that workers must be included in decisions about the use of AI. The magazine signed a deal with OpenAI in May.
The ALU Democratic Reform Caucus swept ALU (now aka Teamsters Local 1) leadership elections last month, defeating the ALU Ma’at slate backed by ALU’s founding president Chris Smalls. [Labor Notes]
Donald Trump recently claimed that migrant workers were taking the jobs of black workers. A New School study finds that, at least in NYC, this is not true. [The City]
Workers join vendors and concertgoers in suing the Electric Zoo Festival over wage theft during last year’s iteration of the festival. [Gothamist]
Job Listings
The city recently updated its civil service exam schedule for FY 2025 that can be found here.
Field Representative - IATSE Local 798 (Salary: $65,000 - $86,000)
Local Representative - The NewsGuild of New York, CWA Local 31003 (Salary: $93,000 - $106,000)
Organizer - Pratt UFCT Local 1460 (Salary: $35/$40hr, 20 hrs a week)
A complete list of local union jobs can be found at unionjobs.com, alongside here is the complete list of New York City’s civil service 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.