Catherwood Library

Over 55 strikes in 17 states in recent months have occurred as Starbucks workers strike back against an increasingly anti-union atmosphere at work that has allegedly led to the terminations of employees most closely aligned with unionization efforts. Workers believe that at least 75 workers have been terminated this year due to their work in organizing unions at their stores. One prominent example this week was the termination of Sam Amato on August 5th; Amato had worked for Starbucks for 13 years and was part of the unionization effort that led to his store winning a union election in Buffalo, New York, in early 2022. Amato and his coworkers were transferred to other stores in June, and faced heavy scrutiny while on the job. Amato says there has been high turnover of store managers in the Buffalo area, and many firings and resignations that have led to chronic understaffing, resulting in the incident where Amato closed the lobby in favor of the drive-thru, which then led to his termination. Once Amato was terminated, his coworkers proceeded to strike, leading to an indefinite closing of the store.

The summer of numerous delayed and cancelled flights, and the decision by many airlines to cancel routes or not reinstate them after the pandemic, has been primarily blamed on continuing staff shortages, especially pilots. Whether it's mainline carriers like Delta, United and American, or the regional airlines who support mainline carriers connecting to smaller cities and rural areas, the airline industry continues to struggle to meet the needs of pent up travel demand. Instead, many of the major carriers have dropped routes to many smaller cities; Chicago O'Hare, for example, has 25% fewer departures than it did in 2019, due to the loss of service to smaller airports. It's estimated that there are 500 fewer regional airplanes in the air, due to the shortage of approximately 5000 pilots. Some in the industry, with support from congressional members, are proposing to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67, as well as decreasing the number of flight hours required before a pilot can be certified. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that U.S. airlines will need to hire about 14,500 pilots each year over the next 10 years. Further, 5,000 pilots will be forced to retire over the next two years due to the mandatory retirement age, leading to the retirement of 14,000 pilots by 2026.

UPS drivers will be focusing on better workplace conditions and safety protocols as contract negotiations with their Teamsters union approach next year. As brutally hot summers have become more common, drivers have sought ways to deal with dangerous temperatures in jobs that require moving hundreds of pounds of cargo in trucks that are neither air-conditioned nor ventilated well. One driver was recently denied his request to have a fan in his truck, in a summer where one UPS driver died in early July due to excessive heat in California, and in that same month a video went viral that showed a driver collapsing from heat on someone's porch. Drivers will be seeking air-conditioned trucks, better heat-related protections, decreased overtime, and elimination of driver surveillance cameras. Workers are under pressure to deliver increasing numbers of packages while a software program gauges how long a delivery route should take, facing discipline if they take too long even in extreme temperatures.

The National Labor Relations Board's current general counsel is being widely seen by labor supporters as the most pro-union labor attorney the NLRB has had in decades, while others feel Jennifer Abruzzo has not been radical enough. Abruzzo has repeatedly urged for policies that make it easier to unionize, for employers to stop captive audience meetings, and for employers to be required to recognize unions once a major of union election cards have been filled out. While President Biden's attempt to introduce union-friendly legislation has been blocked by Senate filibuster, many are looking towards the NLRB to fill the need instead. The current board has been particularly forceful with Starbucks, so far filing 19 complaints alleging 81 unfair labor practices. The union for Starbucks workers feels however that the NLRB has not gone after the strongest union-busting tactic by the company, which is to offer raises and improved benefits to the stores who have not unionized, but not to the workers who already have.

Massive crowds at rush hour on Wednesday lined both sides of the New York City harbor as crew shortages for the Staten Island ferry resulted in reduced service, with Mayor Eric Adams hinting that the significant labor call-ins on that day were the result of stalled union contract negotiations. Normally the Staten Island Ferry runs across the harbor every 15-20 minutes during peak periods, and on that day, service was reduced to hourly between 3:30pm Wednesday and 5am on Thursday, resulting in stranded commuters. City officials offered smaller ferries from a different company to take people home, as well as suggesting the city's express buses, but some commuters opted to take an expensive Uber home. Union officials denied that there was a concerted effort to disrupt essential service between Staten Island and Manhattan, but noted that crew shortages stemmed from overworked crews who have not received a raise in 12 years.

Delta flight attendants are working on getting enough union authorization cards to vote on whether to join the Association of Flight Attendants; they will face a battle as the airline has traditionally employed union busting tactics in the past. It is the only one of the major airlines whose flight attendants are not unionized. Overall, the percentage of unionized workers, at 20%, is quite low at Delta compared to other airlines. 86% of the workforce at American Airlines, 85% at United, 82% at Southwest, 86% at Alaska and 48% at JetBlue are unionized. The last union campaign at Delta occurred in 2010, where the airline spent $38 million to oppose the effort, and consequently, the FA's narrowly voted against it after their merger with Northwest, where the employees were unionized. The president of the union feels the flight attendants this time around are more comfortable in supporting the idea of unionization, given the popularity surge in recent years for unions. Delta is asking that any workers who do not submit votes to be counted as "no" votes, and has set up an anti-union website encouraging workers not to unionize, along with introducing boarding pay for flight attendants earlier this year. Typically FA's are not paid until the aircraft's doors are closed.

InnerCity Weightlifting in Boston is example of a gym that does more than provide exercise machines; it's an example of an entity whose founding mission was to create social mobility bridges between people at opposite ends of the socio-economic spectrum. It provides employment to the poor and often ex-incarcerated and gives them the opportunity to interact and forge friendships with wealthy clients. This gives the economically disadvantaged networking opportunities, to prove the truism that it's who you know who may help you reach better opportunities. Two recent studies in Nature show that this helps the disadvantaged achieve upward mobility. The studies used data from 70 million Facebook users with 81 billion friendships to make observations about social relationships across America, which is that places that have more bridges between lower income and higher income people are places where the disadvantaged are more likely to climb the economic ladder. The studies began as a research project years ago that used IRS tax records to create a map of zip codes where children were most likely to exit the poverty level - also known as the "Opportunity Atlas". The study then began researching the reasons why some communities were better off, and social capital - who you're friends with- was speculated to be a factor.

A revitalized union movement over the last few years - seen in increases in successful organizing activity, the number of unfair labor practice suits filed, as well as President Biden asking for increased funding for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) - has not gone unnoticed by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. Some Democratic senators introduced bills in May that would protect union elections from employer interference, as well as preventing tax breaks for those engaging in union busting. And just as some companies have aggressively fought back against union activity, some members of Congress have introduced bills over the last year that would, in favorable election years, make it difficult for unions to maintain their momentum. Some of the bills seek to weaken the NLRB by taking away the ability to prosecute unfair labor practices; other bills seek a national "right-to-work" policy, as well as helping employers discriminate against job applicants who may seek to cause the employer "economic harm" by seeking to unionize.

The employees at the Apple store in Towson, Maryland, who successfully voted to unionize last month in a first for the tech behemoth, are working to share their experiences of Apple's anti-union tactics, as while they are happy their election was a success, the negative effects of Apple's union-busting behavior continue to linger. Workers say that managers who worked on anti-union campaigns during the election attempt have continued to hold a grudge against union supporters, and that the lengths Apple went to fight the attempt caused a great deal of mistrust towards their employer. The employees posted a petition on Change.org shortly after the election, asking Apple to stop creating a hostile environment for other stores who seek to unionize. While large workplaces such as Amazon typically use consultants and outside managers to lead anti-union drives, in smaller workplaces - such as Apple and Starbucks stores - local managers are often used to deliver talking points to employees, which can lead to uncomfortable working relationships for years to come. Managers at the Towson store, for example, have been said to ask for an apology for the words used against them during the campaign. Workers now know that if a company hires Littler Mendelson, the country's largest anti-union law firm, that their employer means serious business in preventing a union election from occurring, and that an atmosphere of fear and unease would result for any store that wants to unionize.

The resurgence and interest in the U.S. labor movement can be seen in the 58% increase of union election petitions, up from 1,197 to 1,892 in the last year alone, but companies have not been taking kindly to the trend, employing aggressive union busting tactics to discourage further elections from occurring. After the hundreds of union elections seen at Starbucks, followed by historical elections at Amazon and Apple, unionization attempts have started to occur at REI, Trader Joe's, Chipotle, and Lululemon - where, if successful, they would also be the first unions for those retailers. Companies have fought back aggressively, often by using union-busting law firms to teach managers how to bring up negative aspects of union contracts at the workplace - by implying that unionization doesn't always bring higher pay and benefits, that lower wages might occur. At worst, terminations have occurred after locations have unionized, and dozens of Starbucks workers have filed suit with the National Labor Relations Board for unfair labor practices. The NLRB is seeking increased funding to handle the surge in labor activity.