Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh where it was strangely snowing earlier this afternoon.
Payday’s Strike Tracker Passes 1,900 Strikes Since March of 2020
Today, Payday recorded its 1900th strike after nearly 8,000 nurses in California went on strike at 18 different Sutter health care facilities in California (see story below).
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8,000 Nurses Strike in California Today
In California today, over 8,000 nurses have gone on a one-day strike at 18 different Sutter healthcare facilities across Northern California.
“Nurses overwhelmingly voted to go out on strike because we see no other option left for us and our patients,” nurse Amy Erb told KCRA. “We have tried repeatedly to address the chronic and widespread problem of short staffing that causes delays in care and potentially puts patients at risk, but hospital administrators continue to ignore us. We have a moral and legal obligation to advocate for our patients. We advocate for them at the bedside, at the bargaining table, and if we have to, on the strike line.”
1,500 Graduate Employees Strike at University of Chicago-Illinois
With final exam season approaching, many graduate employees are going on strike to demand better wages.
Last week, 3,000 graduate employees went on strike at the University of Indiana. Now, 1,500 graduate employees are on strike at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
“We believe that Graduate School is hard work and we are here for it. But it shouldn’t be made harder by financial anxiety,” the union wrote on a GoFundMe for its strike page. “We don’t make a living wage, and the university claws back what little they give us through onerous fees.”
For more on the strike, check out the union’s Twitter page.
Nursing Assistants Strike After Patient Load Jumps to 24
Last week in Massachusetts, nursing assistants went on strike over understaffing at Saugus Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.
According to public records analyzed by SEIU, the facility’s pay is in the bottom 7% in the state. As a result, the facility has seen half of its 60 nursing assistants leave since last September.
“It’s 24 patients for two certified nursing assistants (CNAs) for one shift, and in the night it’s one,” nursing assistant Eddy Perez told The Daily Item.
For more, check out The Daily Item.
Inspired by Starbucks Workers, Verizon Wireless Store Workers Win Rare Union Election
For years, unions have struggled to unionize Verizon’s retail outlets. Now, workers in Everett and Lynnwood, Washington, have successfully unionized in their retail stores after an intense anti-union campaign by Verizon.
Workers there say they were inspired by union organizing success at a nearby Starbucks.
“We are witnessing an inspiring moment of worker power in this country,” Natalia D’aigle, a Specialist at Verizon Wireless, told the Stand. “After seeing the organizing efforts by Seattle Starbucks workers and their ultimate success in forming a union, we felt even more empowered to join together and demand a seat at the table. We’re looking to bargain for better working conditions while also supporting Verizon Wireless workers nationwide in fighting for a union and voice on the job. If Starbucks workers can do it, why not us?”
The workers celebrated the win by having coffee at a recently unionized Starbucks nearby.
For more, check out the Stand.
News & Strikes Happening Elsewhere
- Ithaca Starbucks workers shut down Starbucks over the weekend because of safety conditions.
- Striking Etsy sellers look at forming a union as next step in their organized protest.
- Movement Climbing Gym in Arlington, Virginia, becomes first climbing gym in the country to unionize.
- This Past Thursday, the Chicago Reader Union rallied to demand that co-owner Leonard Goodman authorize the publication’s nonprofit status. Goodman has been blocking the sale since 2021.
- Finally, Congressional workers are urging House leadership to schedule a vote on granting them collective bargaining rights.
Alright, folks, that’s all for today.
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