People,

Greetings from an Amtrak train somewhere in the Allegheny Mountains. Donate to help cover our food and travel expenses on our return trip after covering the AFL-CIO convention.

Starbucks Threatens to Remove Transgender-Affirming Care to Break Unions

Earlier this week, Starbucks Workers United successfully celebrated the unionization of its 150th store. However, the union lost elections in 25 stores according to NLRB dataand several stores decided not to go ahead with an election after being exposed to Starbucks union-busting attacks.

Now, according to an NLRB complaint filed by a Starbucks employee in Oklahoma City, Starbucks is warning trans workers that unionizing could compromise the gender-affirming transitional care currently provided by the company’s health care plan.

“I think the company realizes that as trans partners, we feel particularly vulnerable right now,” Oklahoma Starbucks employee Neha Cremin told Bloomberg. “I think in some cases they are ready to take advantage of it.”

For more, see Bloomberg

112,000 railway workers could go on strike in 90 days

Twelve railway unions representing more than 115,000 railway workers gave legal strike notice in 90 days. It comes after two years of negotiations and six months of federally-supervised meditation.

The only way to avoid their strike is for President Joe Biden to use federal authority to block the strike; a tricky proposition for Biden in a congressional election year.

The workers, however, seemed determined to take a stand against overwork and railroad concessions.

“Our members are the essential workers who keep the supply chain safe every day,” National President of the Brotherhood of Engineers and Trainmen Dennis Pierce said in a statement. “But despite Class I Railroads record profits, our people have failed to get an extra penny in contract raises during the pandemic and are struggling to get time off.”

For more, see Railway Age

Lordstown GM joint venture accused of breaking union

In December 2019, Payday Report warned that a new joint venture between GM and LG Energy to produce electric batteries at the closed Lordstown plant was just an attempt to break the union.

These fears appear to have materialized.

A new joint venture between GM and LG Energy called Utlium is refusing to accept union neutrality provisions and a card check union recognition agreement.

“This process has been accepted by many employers for a smooth and peaceful recognition of the UAW,” UAW Vice President Terry Dittes wrote in a letter to union leaders earlier this month. “Ultium flatly rejected the simple basic functionality of a card check recognition that we had proposed.”

For more, check out CNBC

Port truck drivers are declared employees, opening the door to union campaigns

For decades, thousands of port truckers have been unable to unionize as they are classified as independent contractors. This week, however, the NLRB ruled that port truckers are employees, not contractors, making them eligible for unionization.

The NLRB also ordered an election for 250 port truck drivers employed by XPO/STG in Southern California. The news was quickly celebrated by the Teamsters Union, which has been trying for decades to organize port truckers.

“Corrupt companies like XPO/STG have long hidden behind the independent contractor model in order to rob workers in the shadows. This needs to be called out and it needs to stop globally. This decision could finally be the light that exposes such corruption and puts an end to it,” Teamsters General Chairman Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement.

For more information, see the Teamster webpage

News and strikes happening elsewhere

Alright guys, that’s all for now. We’ll have more stories from the AFL-CIO convention in the coming days.

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Love & Solidarity,

Melk