Our latest roundup of worker wins includes numerous examples of working people organizing, bargaining and mobilizing for a better life.
Westchester County Airport Workers Join TWU: Ramp agents at Westchester County Airport in New York state overwhelmingly voted on Tuesday to form a union with Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 504. These newly minted union members are trained on the unique procedures for the six major airlines they work for and additionally perform critical overnight maintenance work. Despite the fact that workers have been forced to work one to two days of overtime every week and struggle to take time off, the contractor that operates the airport—AvPorts—has refused to hire more staff. “These workers have been mistreated for years and getting a solid TWU contract that addresses these staffing issues is our top priority,” said TWU Organizing Director Angelo Cucuzza. “Management asks for ‘volunteers’ to work extra shifts every week, and if you don’t volunteer, you’re forced to work anyway. This is unacceptable, and we will work to rectify these quality-of-life issues.”
Signal Ohio Staff Secure Voluntary Recognition: Days after Signal Ohio staff staged a powerful walkout, leadership at the nonprofit newsroom voluntarily recognized the Northeast Ohio NewsGuild, Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 34001, as the bargaining representative for workers at its Akron, Columbus and Cleveland sites. Newsroom staff announced their intention to form the Signal Ohio News Workers Guild (SONWG) in late August and, much to their disappointment, management responded by hiring a notorious union-busting law firm. But workers prevailed and are now turning their attention toward bargaining a contract that will ensure a long, sustainable future for the news outlet. “We’re ecstatic to share [that] Signal Ohio’s leadership chose to voluntarily recognize us as one union,” workers said in a social media post. “We appreciate our board hearing our message about the strength of the SONWG. We look forward to working with them on our mission to provide Ohio with free, high-quality journalism.”
Kaman’s Art Shoppes Employees at San Diego Zoo Join IATSE: Workers at Kaman’s Art Shoppes—who bring magic to the San Diego Zoo experience through creating caricatures, letter brush art and body art for guests—voted overwhelmingly to form a union with Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 122. The 30-person bargaining unit began organizing in May of this year and faced an aggressive anti-union campaign from management, which included harassing emails, one-on-one conversations and even a visit from their Ohio-based CEO. But workers persisted and are now looking forward to bargaining a contract that raises wages, establishes paid time off and provides fairer scheduling protocols. “Everyone deserves a union, whether it’s a stagehand, a rigger or a body artist—we all deserve to have a voice on the job,” said Taylor Resenbeck, Local 122’s business agent.
UMWA Members at ACNR and Iron Senergy Ratify New Contracts: The Mine Workers (UMWA) announced on Tuesday that union members who work at American Consolidated Natural Resources Inc. (ACNR) and Iron Senergy have ratified new, hard-fought contracts. Union members at ACNR operations in West Virginia and Ohio and at Iron Senergy’s Cumberland mine in Pennsylvania secured a number of major victories, including higher wages and retention of current benefits. “This is a critical win for our members and their families,” said International President Cecil E. Roberts. “At a time of growing uncertainty in the coal industry, these agreements are the result of hard-fought negotiations that protect the rights and futures of UMWA miners. I want to congratulate Secretary-Treasurer Brian Sanson, his Executive Assistant Mike Phillippi, and the rest of the UMWA negotiating team for their outstanding work in securing these contracts. Their persistence and dedication made all the difference.”
IAM Members at Greyhound Ratify Powerful New Contract: IAM Union recently announced the successful ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement covering members who work for Greyhound nationwide, calling it the “strongest contract yet.” The three-year deal includes major victories such as wage increases of more than 3% every year, a new vacation schedule, boosted tool allowance and more. “This was a challenging negotiation due to Greyhound’s transition to its new parent company Flix SE, but our team secured the best contract to date for our members,” said IAM Automotive Director Craig Hughes. “I want to thank IAM leadership for expanding our department and bringing on Special Representative Heather Hildebrand. Heather did an outstanding job leading these negotiations for the first time.” “Our members stood strong, and we delivered real gains in pay, benefits, and career opportunities,” Hildebrand added. “It was an honor to lead this negotiation alongside such a committed bargaining committee. This agreement reflects the strength of IAM members at Greyhound and the value they bring to the company every day.”