The US Department of Labor is asking: “What has organizing a union meant for you? We want to hear your story.
“We’re gathering stories from workers for a new U.S. Department of Labor worker organizing resource website about how successful union organizing campaigns made their jobs better.”
Tell us:
What made you decide you wanted to organize a union at your job?
How has having a union improved your life?
What does being part of a union mean to you and your family?
Or anything else you’d like to share about your experience organizing a union!
Being familiar with others’ attempts at unionization, I find this a potentially helpful resource.
On the ground
I don’t know how I got on the email list for Union City, the Metro Washington Council News, AFL-CIO. But I’m glad I do. From August 15, “After a nine-day strike, ATU Local 689 MetroAccess workers have approved a new contract with private contractor Transdev. The more than 200 paratransit drivers, utility workers, dispatchers, maintenance workers, and road supervisors, who walked off the job on August 1 after months of intense negotiations, overwhelmingly (91%) ratified the contract.”
It reminds me that organized labor is not dead.
From Nation Of Change, July 29: ‘This victory is historic’: Massachusetts Trader Joe’s becomes first to unionize
“Our worker-led union ensures that we are protected and properly compensated—on our terms,” explained a crew member at the Hadley store.
From Truthout, June 23: Maine Chipotle Workers File to Form Company’s First-Ever Union. The workers recently staged a walkout over understaffing and safety concerns.
On the other hand, from Daily Koss, July 28: “We are looking for volunteers”: Local Chick-fil-A looks for volunteers instead of hiring people. As a result of the pushback, “A spokesperson for the company Chick-fil-A, which is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, told The Washington Post… that the Hendersonville [NC] store had “decided to end this program.”
Take this job…
Check out the State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report. Among other finds, Employee wellbeing is the new workplace imperative. See the Axios article, America’s workers are up for grabs. “Stress and burnout are rising in the U.S., but jobs are plentiful, and Americans are willing to move to new places for work.”