Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List.
U.S. Labor Board Says Union Representation Petitions Soar 53% in a Year: “The U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said on Thursday that union representation petitions increased 53% in fiscal year 2022 when compared with 2021 and were at the highest since 2016. ‘Given the spike in case intake we are seeing in the field, we can expect even more cases to come before the Board in fiscal year 2023,’ NLRB Chairman Lauren McFerran said in a statement. The NLRB said 2,510 union petitions were filed in fiscal year 2022 ended September, up from 1,638 petitions in the same period a year ago. Unfair labor practice charges filed with NLRB field offices increased 19%, the agency added.”
Cedar Rapids BCTGM 100G Workers Take Strike 200 Miles to Ingredion Headquarters: “A fight that began in Cedar Rapids on August 1 made its way more than 200 miles east Thursday. BCTGM Local 100G members who work at Ingredion have been striking outside the facility on 1st Street for three months now. ‘We have had no member cross the line in 67 days of sacrifice,’ says Jason Davis, International Rep., BCTGM. ‘That is solidarity.’”
New Supreme Court Case Could Weaken Unions' Ability To Strike: “‘Congress chose to protect strikes as the motor of the collective bargaining system that broadly preserves labor peace,’ Becker said. ‘The Supreme Court should not use this case to narrow that fundamental protection.’”
NLRB GC Says ExxonMobil's 10-Month Lockout Was Illegal: “National Labor Relations Board prosecutors in the agency's Fort Worth, Texas, office have alleged that ExxonMobil unlawfully locked out more than 650 United Steelworkers members at one of the oil giant's refineries, according to an announcement from the union. The USW said Tuesday that NLRB attorneys lodged a complaint against ExxonMobil based on the union's charges over a 10-month lockout of workers at the company's Beaumont, Texas, refinery. The workers, who are members of USW Local 13-243, were locked out starting in May 2021 until they were permitted to return to work in March, according to the union.”
More Than 600 Nurses in Wichita Could Form a Union: “Nurses at St. Francis hospital in Wichita have filed for a union election. If successful in their union drive, about 625 nurses will form a new bargaining unit with the National Nurses United (NNU). The NNU is the largest nurses union in the country, with more than 175,000 members. Overall, about 20% of registered nurses in the U.S. are union members. The Kansas State Nurses Association says there are more than 50,000 registered nurses in the state. St. Francis is one of the biggest hospitals in the state and is a part of the Ascension Via Christi network.”
FAA Sets 10-Hour Rest Break Rule For Flight Attendants: “The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday finalized a long-awaited rule requiring U.S. flight attendants to have at least 10 consecutive hours of rest between shifts, a bump up from the current nine-hour rest break rule. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO, which represents approximately 50,000 flight attendants at 19 airlines, lauded the Biden administration for delivering the final rule Tuesday. ‘Five years ago, after decades of action by AFA members, science to back up our alarm on flight attendant fatigue, and relentless efforts with lawmakers, we achieved an overwhelming bipartisan vote to equalize minimum rest with commercial airline pilots,’ AFA-CWA President Sara Nelson said in a statement.”
Striketober Is Back As Workers Fight To Close The Wage Gap: “Workers across the country are joining picket lines to secure higher wages, affordable healthcare and better working conditions at a rate that might outpace last year’s explosion of strike activity. In 2021, the wave of workers who walked off the job during October inspired the term ‘Striketober,’ and since then strike activity has grown. Since the start of 2022, there have been more than 280 strikes or protests—up from 158 during the same period last year, according to Cornell University’s Labor Action Tracker. Strike activity is cutting through industries and geography. In the past weeks, 15,000 nurses throughout Minnesota, 6,000 educators in Seattle, 4,500 teachers in Columbus, Ohio, 1,000 food workers in San Francisco and over 1,000 mill workers in Lebanon, Oregon were among the workers who went on strike.”
SFO Workers Earn Raises After Strike, Union Says: “Some fast food workers at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) earned raises of up to $5 per hour after a three-day strike at the airport, UNITE Here Local 2 said in a press release. UNITE Here is a union that represents many SFO workers.”
The Best Solution to Fixing Your Crappy Job Is a Union: “It’s no mystery why millions of workers are quitting their jobs: pay is low, conditions are terrible, and on-the-job disrespect is rampant. But the best way to transform a terrible job isn’t to leave it—it’s to organize a union.”