The Local: May 30, 2024 news roundup
Welcome back to The Local, a publication of NYC-DSA Labor Working Group reporting every two weeks. NYC-EWOC will be hosting a two part organizing training on June 8th and 15th at the People’s Forum, sign-up here. Send us any tips, corrections, and other feedback to thenyclocal@substack.com. In this issue, Mercedes-Benz dealership workers joined UAW Local 259, Mobilization for Justice Union approved a contract after a months long strike, and teacher retirees are ramping up for a local UFT election.
Photo Credit: Alexandra Chan
Organizing
Albert Einstein College of Medicine Postdocs voted 152-32 to unionize as Einstein Researchers United-UAW
Mercedes-Benz Manhattan Dealership technicians voted 31-18 to join UAW Local 259.
A professional unit of teachers, social workers, counselors at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School d/b/a Brooklyn Prospect Clinton Hill Middle School voted 19-18 to join UFT Local 2. The union also filed a ULP against the school a week before the election.
A unit of 14 employees at The Winchendon School NYC are also organizing with UFT Local 2.
Superintendents and maintenance workers at an Upper West Side apartment building voted 2-0 to join the League of International Federated Employees' Union Local 1032.
180 workers at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains are organizing with 1199 SEIU.
A decertification petition has been filed for a UNITE HERE Local 100 unit of four workers at Shun Lee Palace restaurant.
Starbucks Workers United won two more shops, at Port Jefferson in Suffolk County and at Hoyt Schermerhorn, making it the fifth SBWU shop in Brooklyn.
Bargaining & Action
UAW Local 259 South Shore KIA workers ratified a new contract after 7 days on strike.
Mobilization for Justice Union UAW 2320 members voted by 72% to ratify a new contract after 13 weeks on strike.
REI Union SoHo RWDSU walked off the job and rallied during the store’s anniversary sale, marking three years since workers formed their union and yet remaining without a contract.
32BJ SEIU rallied at City Hall Park as the union is currently negotiating with city contractor New York City School Support Services for a new contract covering 5000 cleaning and maintenance workers at 1,300 public schools.
NewGuildNY journalists at Lifehacker, Mashable, and PCMag rallied at parent company Ziff Davis headquarters on May 28 as the unit of 60 workers have been working under a contract that expired April 1.
Photo Credit: Alexandra Chan
Albany
Teamster Local 553 workers that fuel planes at JFK saw a strike averted over Memorial Day weekend, due to a last minute intervention by Kathy Hochul to the Port Authority to end a stalemate between the union and Allied Aviation Services, who employ the workers. [The New York Post]
The New York legislature continues to sit on legislation that would require employers to provide more protections for workers from extreme heat. The bill by state senator Jessica Ramos (SD-13) hasn’t made much movement in either the assembly or house and was originally introduced in 2019. [WSKG]
City Hall
The coalition Secure Jobs NYC relaunched its campaign for the Secure Jobs Act, which would help protect workers from unjust firings by forcing employers to provide reasoning for dismissals.
NYC Comptroller Brad Lander announced a proposal with Micah Lasher, a state assembly candidate running in upper Manhattan, that would allow the city’s pension funds to help city workers purchase homes in the city. The idea is floated as a way to help working families stay in an increasingly expensive city and recruit into the city, which has struggled to retain workers. [The Chief Leader]
Eric Adams and the CEO of Health + Hospitals announced the city hired 1,000 new nurses since the fall, which followed a successful contract campaign by New York State Nurses Association against the city that ended with an arbiter granting a 37% pay increase over the length of the contract. [The Chief Leader]
The city council introduced a bill that would require the Department of Consumer and Worker Protections to report worker deaths, the chief medical examiner to review cause of death and to forward incidents that may be criminal to the appropriate district attorney office. [The Chief Leader]
Former Sanitation Commissioner and 2021 mayoral candidate, Kathryn Garcia is reportedly talking to labor unions in the city about a potential 2025 mayoral run. So is disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo. [The Daily News]
Miscellaneous
Right now, retirees in the United Federation of Teachers are voting in elections for the Retired Teacher Chapter. Retiree Advocate, a slate of retirees, are currently running to throw out the Unity Caucus by advocating for more union transparency and fighting to perverse health care and pension benefits. The group previously got 30% of the vote in 2022 and hope to build off that after years of organizing around the city and the union's joint efforts to push retirees to Medicare Advantage. The voting ends on June 14th. [Labor Notes]
After AFSCME took over the DC 37 Retiree Association allegedly due to missed tax filings, current members accused a recent April meeting of violating the constitution by not allowing member input. The next association meeting is this evening. [Work Bites]
The New York state Department of Labor put out its latest employment stats that reveal some consistent post-pandemic employment trends. Most job gains remain in the home health care aids that are buttressed by Medicaid support that is expected to taper, though still grow, in the coming years. There also appears to be softening in entertainment, finance, and tech employment following the SAG-AFTRA strike and a business cycle decline in the other two industries. [The City]
The New York State comptroller office put out a report on NYC tourism revenue is near pre-pandemic levels due to inflation, but that the sector is still down some 30,000 jobs compared to pre-pandemic. However, the overall trajectory along with events like the 2026 World Cup and the 250th anniversary of the United States should see this recovery continue.
Job Listings
Nursing Education and Practice Confidential Administrative Assistant - New York State Nurses Association (Salary: $65,000 - $75,000)
Campaign Coordinator - SEIU Local 32BJ (Salary: $85,000 - $95,000)
Organizer - Community Voices Heard (Salary: $60,000 - $65,000)
A complete list of local union jobs can be found at unionjobs.com, alongside here is the complete list of NYC 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.