The Local: Mar 7, 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, a historic victory for the Starbucks Workers United as the company agrees to a framework for bargaining and new elections (while also settling its many, many, many unfair labor practice charges), hundreds of contract faculty at NYU vote to join the UAW, and AFSCME takes over the DC 37 Retirees Association in what is possibly a major escalation in the ongoing fight over Medicare privatization for city retirees.
Also, mark your calendars (that is, RSVP on Action Network): the chapter will be holding a town hall in four weeks at the People’s Forum that will be focused on public sector organizing in New York City.
Photo Credit: Alexandra Chan
Organizing
Engineers at Metro Energy LLC voted 5-0 to join the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30 and 30A.
Workers at Care Found Here voted 6-3 to join AFSCME DC 37.
Contract (i.e. full-time non-tenure) faculty at NYU voted 553-27 to join CFU-UAW.
Workers at the Empire Justice Center voted 23-9 to join UAW Local 2325 (Assoc. Of Legal Aid Attorneys).
Technicians at Brooklyn Swedish Cars LLC are organizing with the United Service Workers Union, Local 355 (IUJAT).
After filing for an election instead of voluntarily recognizing a unit of producers organizing with WGA East, CBS Interactive withdrew their election petition after voluntarily recognizing the union.
RWDSU, which is organizing workers at Barnes and Noble, has filed for bargaining unit clarification at Brooklyn and Manhattan B&N locations.
Building service workers at multiple buildings served by Collins Building Services in downtown Brooklyn might be voting to decertify Local 670 Stationary Engineers Firemen Maintenance and Building Services Union (RWDSU) as their bargaining unit representative.
Another decert petition has been filed against 32BJ at Inter-con Security Services.
Workers at axe-throwing bar Live Axe are organizing with Workers United.
Workers at criminal justice news outlet The Marshall Project are organizing with NewsGuild of New York.
Starbucks has ended its scorched-earth campaign against union organizing at its stores and agreed to a framework with SEIU under which it will settle litigation between the union and Starbucks, take a neutral stance on future elections, and begin bargaining for a master contract for its unionized locations (with space for local contracts). While the details are still being worked out, the agreement presents a major shift in the terrain for service sector (and general) worker organizing. [Jacobin]
Bargaining & Action
The Mobilization for Justice Union with UAW 2320 is on indefinite strike after voting down a final offer from management.
PSC-CUNY held an informational picket on Feb 29 as their last contract expired over a year ago.
The 32BJ SEIU workers of FiDi condo 56 Pine Street walked out on strike Feb 28 in protest of staffing cuts as they seek their first contract.
The Law360 Union with NewsGuild NY voted by 96% with 95% participation to authorize a strike.
The AFL-CIO Sports Council including Players Associations of the NFL, MLB, WNBA, released a statement in support of the Sports Illustrated Union-NewsGuild NY as the journalists have been laid off in a licensing dispute.
The American Federation of Musicians reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP on film and television contracts on Feb 23.
Academic student workers at The New School with UAW 7902 walked out on strike Mar 6 after management did not meet demands on healthcare and wages.
Photo Credit: Alexandra Chan
Albany
The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council commissioned a poll that showed a majority of New Yorkers support increasing the state’s unemployment offerings and shortening the amount of time workers must wait to receive it. The current unemployment fund experienced a sharp withdrawal during the pandemic and Kathy Hochul cited the increased drawdown as preventing imposing the increase. [New York Daily News]
City Hall
The New York Court of Appeals – the highest state court in New York – heard oral arguments in a case brought by a city lifeguard against his union Local 461 of DC 37 based on the union’s barring of seasonal lifeguards from leadership elections. [The Chief Leader]
AFSCME has taken over the 25,000-member DC 37 Retirees Association. AFSCME claims it was due to tax filing issues; the Retirees Association suspects it has more to do with opposition to the city plan (backed by DC 37’s elected officers) to switch retirees over to a privatized Medicare Advantage plan. [The Chief Leader]
A Colombo family captain known as “Vinny Unions” has been sentenced to prison for shaking down a Queens construction union. [The Chief Leader]
Photo Credit: Alexandra Chan
Miscellaneous
On March 25th at 11:30am on Washington Place and Greene Street, UAW locals across New York University will hold a commemoration for the 113th anniversary of the Triangle Factory Fire.
In June, Retire Advocate, a long-running group within the United Federation of Teachers, is planning on contesting 300 open seats within the union’s 3,400 delegate assembly. The driving factor is the union's support of pushing retirees into the private Medicare Advantage plan from the public Medicare plan. The group said they received interest from over 300 people for these seats, and the group alongside outside observers viewed this as a potential challenge to Michael Mulgrew’s leadership in the UFT’s 2025 election. [New York Focus]
On February 23rd, the Office of Collective Bargaining released a new number of new rulings on recent labor cases. One ruling declared that the Department of Corrections violated the city’s labor law when an assistant deputy warden intervened during a facility tour down by labor officials; another saw the city lose a challenge to a grievance made by DC37 over missed payments during an appeal of the Covid-19 vaccine requirement.
After being recognized as workers by the NLRB, male college basketball players at Dartmouth College voted to join SEIU Local 560, opening up a new front for higher ed organizing. [NBC News]