Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh, where I feel my energy returning after working on covering the Amazon union drive this weekend. (Check out my coverage from over the weekend.)
Thanks to everyone who donated to my long COVID recovery fund so I could have some time to rest after working this weekend.
Biden Encourages Unionization at Amazon
After the victory by Amazon Labor Union on Staten Island, Amazon hinted publicly they intended to fight the union effort.
However, today in remarks to a national conference of the Building Trades Union in D.C., President Biden warned the company to prepare for unionization.
“…the choice to join a union belongs to workers alone,” Biden proclaimed as the crowd of union activists broke out in cheers. “And by the way, by the way, Amazon here we come. Watch. Watch.”
Help Us Cover Organizing Following the Amazon Victory
Following the victory of workers at Amazon in Staten Island, there is likely to be even more organizing.
Donate to Help Us Cover Organizing in the Wake of Amazon Victory.
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UE Wins MIT Election to Represent 3,800 Workers
Today the nation’s largest independent union, the United Electrical Workers (UE), won big after a union election to represent 3,800 MIT graduate employees passed by a margin of 1785 to 912 students.
In a letter to students, MIT signaled they would immediately recognize the union and begin bargaining with the union in the coming months.
“What started four years ago with a dozen students in an MIT classroom discussing the needs of graduate workers has culminated in this historic victory for student-workers at MIT. Now, we celebrate!” the union wrote on Twitter.
For more on the win, check out MIT’s Twitter page.
Hundreds of Wisconsin Autoworkers Strike Over Two-Tier Wage System
Over 265 autoworkers at Vollrath in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, went on strike Monday. The union called for the elimination of the two-tier wage system.
“We welcome the company coming back to the table with meaningful proposals to address our members’ concerns,” UAW Local 1472 President Rob Kilgore said in a release. “We welcome good-faith proposals and efforts to address our members’ economic issues that are critical to our families.”
For more, check out the Sheboygan Press.
Strikes & News Happening Elsewhere
- After a 3-day strike, tulip workers in Washington State celebrate a victory.
- Increasingly, doctors across the country are unionizing and walking out.
- The St. Louis Labor Council is calling out the Archdiocese for attempting to union bust and unilaterally impose a contract on a teachers’ union.
- Massachusett Senate staffers have moved to form a union after Washington State, and federal legislative staffers have moved to unionize.
- Finally, workers at a Carrboro, North Carolina, restaurant have ended a 3-month long strike without an agreement. However, a long profile for Indy Week argues that the strike provoked discussion and more organizing among restaurant workers in NC.
Alright folks, that’s all for today.
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Thanks yinz for all the support.
Love & Solidarity,
Melk
