April 1 (Reuters) – The COVID-19 pandemic, labor scarcity, Black Lives Matter motion and different social and financial forces have contributed to an uptick in high-profile union organizing throughout the USA together with a victory on Friday at an Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) warehouse in New York Metropolis. learn extra
Amongst U.S. wage and wage employees final 12 months, 10.3% have been in a union – half of the 1983 share – and union membership within the personal sector together with Amazon and Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) was simply 6.1% final 12 months. There have been 149 union elections in January and February of this 12 months, in comparison with 103 in the identical two months final 12 months.
Here’s a take a look at some notable latest union victories.
AMAZON
Staff at an Amazon.com facility in New York Metropolis’s Staten Island on Friday voted in favor of forming a union, making it the web retailer’s first U.S. facility to prepare. learn extra
The victory by a brand new, unbiased union on the No. 2 U.S. personal employer provides to latest successes by labor activists pushing into new industries. Not all labor drives are profitable, together with the preliminary results of a poll depend at Amazon warehouse employees in Alabama. learn extra
STARBUCKS
Staff at 10 U.S. Starbucks areas have voted in latest months to affix Staff United, an affiliate of the Service Staff Worldwide Union. The cafes embody 5 in Buffalo, New York; two in Mesa, Arizona; one every in Seattle and Knoxville, Tennessee; and a Starbucks Reserve Roastery in New York Metropolis.
No less than 170 others had petitioned for elections as of Friday. Poll counts are scheduled for greater than a dozen different cafes within the subsequent couple weeks. learn extra
Starbucks beat again the union in a single Buffalo retailer.
NEW YORK TIMES
About 600 designers, software program engineers, information analysts and different tech staff on the New York Instances (NYT.N) voted in March to affix the NewsGuild of New York, which has received plenty of different elections previously two years.
The March outcomes created the most important union of tech employees in the USA with bargaining rights. The NewsGuild additionally represents Reuters’ U.S. journalists.
GOOGLE FIBER
Contractors for the high-speed web supplier Google Fiber, a part of Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), in Kansas Metropolis, Missouri voted final week to unionize. Whereas solely 10 employees are concerned, it was the primary group of Alphabet Staff Union (AWU) with bargaining rights.
AWU mentioned it has 800 members since launching simply over a 12 months in the past, however these members would not have the appropriate to collectively cut price.
CANNABIS INDUSTRY
In June, the United Meals and Business Staff reached agreements with hashish lab Sonoma Lab Works and hashish producer CannaCraft Manufacturing to unionize their employees in California.
Because the variety of hashish growers and dispensaries have grown, so too have union drives within the trade. UFCW mentioned it’s now the most important hashish employees union in the USA with greater than 10,000 members.
SILICON VALLEY
In 2020, the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter’s staff voted to affix a union, the primary large tech firm to take action. Staff at location information startup Mapbox in August misplaced their bid to type a union. learn extra
Compiled by Hilary Russ in New York; Enhancing by Peter Henderson, Nick Zieminski and Will Dunham
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