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Worker Wins: Fighting for Better Wages and Working Conditions

Our latest roundup of worker wins includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life.

Firefighters Reach Tentative Agreement with Boeing: Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local I-66 and Boeing have reached a tentative agreement (TA) after months of negotiations and a lockout that the company started on May 4. On Wednesday, the union, which represents 125 firefighters across multiple facilities in Washington state, said it had reached a tentative contract deal in a joint statement released with the multinational aerospace company. Members—who are on-site for fueling, takeoffs and landings, and to respond to any medical emergencies—are expected to vote on the TA Thursday afternoon. This fight for a fair contract has drawn significant attention as members bravely held the line. President Biden posted concerns about the lockout earlier this month on social media and urged both sides to reach a fair contract with the benefits and pay firefighters deserved. On May 14, a solidarity rally was held outside Boeing headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, where IAFF General President Edward Kelly, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, Rep. Val Hoyle and labor allies urged Boeing to make a deal. And just last week, House lawmakers from Washington state urged good-faith negotiations.

CVS Pharmacy Workers at Two Rhode Island Stores Vote to Join Union: Pharmacy professionals at two CVS stores in Rhode Island voted last week to join the Pharmacy Guild, an initiative of IAM Healthcare and an affiliate of the Machinists (IAM). These victories mark the second and third election wins by pharmacists organizing with the union in just four weeks and the first stores in the nation to form a union in CVS’ home state. Workers have cited overwhelming workloads and declining patient safety standards as core motivations for organizing. These organizing successes come as unsafe staffing levels have reached a crisis point for many pharmacies across the country, with CVS Health getting fined just last month by Ohio regulators over understaffing and patient safety issues. “Unionization is the best tool we have to ensure our patients are receiving the care standards they deserve,” said CVS pharmacist Chris Eggeman in a press release. “Our patients aren’t served by an unchecked profit-driven healthcare system; quality patient care needs to come first. There should never be a medication error or a delay in providing healthcare services because of short staffing derived from increasing the bottom line. With our union, we will have a voice to speak for our patients and our profession, and a legally enforceable collective bargaining agreement to ensure that voice is heard.”

Illinois Ban on Anti-Union Mandatory Meetings Headed to Governor: A bill banning mandatory workplace meetings where managers discuss political and religious topics, including union membership, is now headed to the Illinois governor’s desk. S.B. 3649, the Worker Freedom of Speech Act, was approved by state lawmakers on May 26, and if signed by Gov. JB Pritzer, Illinois would join seven other states in enacting legislation banning captive audience meetings. The bill also creates a right of action for individual workers to sue employers if they are punished for refusing to attend these meetings. “Captive audience meetings are a direct violation of workers’ rights. They force our most vulnerable employees to choose between their job and personal values,” said Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea. “Employers are increasingly using the workplace to advance their political and religious interests, and this creates an atmosphere ripe for coercion. The Worker Freedom of Speech Act ensures that workers are protected when choose to walk away from these meetings.”

Academy Foundation Workers Ratify First Union Contract: More than a year and a half after winning voluntary recognition, workers at the Academy Foundation—the nonprofit arm of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that is dedicated to protecting film history—ratified their first collective bargaining agreement. The Academy Foundation Workers Union (AFWU) is an affiliate of AFSCME Local 126, which also represents workers at the Academy Museum. AFWU is composed of 86 archivists, film preservationists, librarians, curators and other staff members who operate outreach and educational initiatives, including the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Margaret Herrick Library and the Academy Film Archive. Members voted last week to accept the new three-year contract that includes a wage increase between 11% and 27% over the next three years and annual wage increases that will be at least 3% minimum. Additional wins include another four weeks of paid parental leave, protections against subcontracting and language that will create more professional development opportunities for workers. “Our first contract signals to our bargaining unit and management that a new era at the Academy Foundation has arrived—an era of a more fair and equitable partnership with management and workers,” said film archivist and AFWU bargaining team member, Jessi Jones. “As we move forward, the bargaining unit will benefit from wage increases, health care and benefits stability and a system of checks and balances. I’m proud to be a member of AFWU and proud of our accomplishments.”

Workers at Genesis HealthCare Vote to Form Union: Staff at Genesis HealthCare in Millville, New Jersey, voted to join United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 152 last week. Workers at the assisted living facility, who work as certified nursing assistants (CNAs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs), connected with Local 152 last year after seeing how union representation helped protect others in the industry. Genesis launched an aggressive union-busting campaign against CNAs and LPNs—forcing the union to file multiple unfair labor practices charges and delaying the vote as management’s actions were under review by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB later ruled that Genesis did in fact violate labor law, and once the election was able to move forward, workers secured a massive victory. “These essential workers at Genesis HealthCare no longer have to settle for workplace grievances that go unheard. As members of Local 152 they will be treated with respect for the work they perform and empowered to seek the improvements they deserve. These workers fought an uphill battle to unionize, and we’re proud to welcome them into our local,” said Local 152 President Daniel Ross Jr. “We look forward to helping them accomplish their goals and secure a first contract with their employer.”

Blue Bird Workers Ratify First Contract as USW Members: The United Steelworkers (USW) announced on Thursday that members at Blue Bird Corp.’s Fort Valley, Georgia, facility overwhelmingly ratified their first union contract. Blue Bird is the only U.S.-owned and operated school bus manufacturer in the United States and is the No. 1 builder of electric school buses in North America. The company receives federal funding through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus program in order to produce low- and zero-emissions buses. When members voted to form a union in September, it was the largest union organizing win at a manufacturing plant in the region in 15 years. The three-year contract covers more than 1,500 workers; includes significant wage increases and language that ensures respect in the workplace; institutes a profit-sharing system; and establishes critical health and safety provisions. “Federal investments like these must come with a seat at the table for workers,” said USW District 9 Director Daniel Flippo. “Our union has a long history in the South fighting for better wages and working conditions in a variety of industries, but for too long, corporations and their political cronies have tried to characterize the South as a place where they could run away from unions, cut corners and pay workers less.”

Legal Worker Union Ratifies Contract Offer and Calls to End Historic 13-Week Strike: Last week, 72% of participating union members at Mobilization for Justice (MFJ) voted to ratify a new contract, which will end the union’s nearly three-month strike—the longest New York City legal services strike since 1991—upon ratification by the MFJ Board. MFJ Union is part of the Legal Services Staff Association, a unit of the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) and covers attorneys, paralegals, social workers and other staff. The new agreement secured major victories, including many of the unit’s core demands like double-digit raises for MFJ’s lowest paid workers, improved benefits and expanded workplace protections. Members were forced to strike after management responded to their offers with demands for givebacks, antagonistic counter-proposals and repeated violations of their duty to bargain in good faith. Workers held the picket line for months to force the nonprofit legal services and advocacy organization to honor its own mission and values. “It’s disappointing that MFJ Management put its staff and clients through months of unnecessary hardship when it was in their power to meet these demands all along,” said Brenden Ross, a bargaining committee member and staff attorney in MFJ’s Mental Health Law Project. “But they underestimated us. Our members fought hard, had each other’s backs, and we won an incredible contract.”

Western Washington University Student Workers Reach TA After Strike: On Tuesday, 1,100 unionized Educational Student Employees (ESEs) at Western Washington University (WWU) walked off the job in their fight for a fair first contract. After this powerful show of unity, the union reached a historic tentative agreement (TA) in the early hours of Thursday morning. ESEs formed Western Academic Workers United-UAW (WAWU-UAW) two years ago, winning recognition last June. WWU tutors, teaching assistants, peer advisers and other ESEs have been bargaining a first agreement with university administration since September. Core concerns for these student workers include wages that reflect cost of living in Bellingham, partial relief from sky-high tuition and fees, bereavement leave, and strong contractual protections against discrimination and harassment. Despite the union meeting for bargaining sessions 19 times over eight months, the administration continued to stall talks, so workers committed to this escalation to secure the contract they deserve. And their efforts have paid off. On social media, the union announced they had signed an exciting TA that members will be voting on soon. “This is a precedent-setting agreement that puts in place protections we badly need, and changes what it means to be a student worker here,” the WAWU-UAW posted on the social platform X. “Huge shoutout to each and every member, our community supporters, and our allies accross [sic] Washington who stood with us.”