Despite making similar efforts for decades, the UAW union had never before managed to organize employees of foreign-based automakers in a Southern state like Tennessee.
The case stems from a complaint filed after seven baristas who were attempting to organize a union at a Starbucks shop in Memphis, Tennessee, were fired.
Despite intermittent efforts over the past three decades, the UAW union has been unable to organize employees of foreign-based automakers in states such as Alabama and Tennessee.
On March 7, workers at the Ford Rouge River plant marched for better working conditions, sparking America’s labor movement. Almost a century later, a quiet park honors their memory.
Beyond higher wages and improved benefits, the terms of the Kaiser settlement would ensure better staffing, which the unions have argued is critical for providing quality patient care.
Workers are objecting to staffing levels they say endanger patient care and are refusing their employer’s offer that includes raises that they say are too low due to inflation.
Building an auto industry for the future that serves the needs of workers, companies and consumers alike will require innovative partnerships between the union and management.
A strike would shake up the auto industry, even though both the union’s ranks and the share of the US automotive market controlled by GM, Ford and Stellantis have been shrinking for decades.
Workers have filed the most union petitions since 2015 and the number of strikes have surged, but whether this turns into a sustained increase in membership rates is still unclear.
Starbucks Workers United has already organized 146 locations in about six months. While that’s a fraction of Starbucks’ 9,000 US stores, it’s one of the most successful labor campaigns in decades.
Amazon can become the Earth’s best employer, but this must involve democratizing the workplace, recognizing the legitimate right of employees to organize and cooperating with labour representatives.