After striking for just a few days, dock workers at Atlantic and Gulf ports suspended their strike action until the end of the year unless negotiations between their union, the International Longshoreman’s Association, and the US Maritime Alliance, representing the shipping industry, reach a contract by then. (See item on Labor News page of this website.) ILA members have been working under a six-year contract that expired Sept 30. During that time they have seen their real income deteriorate during the pandemic when many ports could not operate. The workers unload cargo from ships docked in the ports They are seeking substantial pay increases to make up for their losses and protection from automation severely cutting into their jobs.
In a brazen move to pressure nurses to accept a management offer, the management at Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children in Hawaii locked out 600 nurses indefinitely beginning Sept. 14. The lockout began a day after the nurses held a one-day strike to protest the ongoing bullying tactics of the medical center in retaliation for nurses reporting unsafe staffing conditions and expressing their concern for the safety of patients.
The nurses, members of the Hawaii Nurses Association OPEIU Local 50, have been working without a contract since December 1st, 2023 and they refuse to give up on winning a contract that will hold the hospital accountable for unsafe staffing incidents.
Accusing AT&T of deliberately delaying bargaining on a new contract, over 17,000 workers in nine southeastern states hit the bricks August 16 in a strike that has resulted in a tentative agreement. But the company has continued to stall on a final agreement. The strike involves technicians, customer service representatives, and workers who install and maintain the AT&T network. The union, Communication Workers of America, is seeking improvements in wages that take into account increases in the cost of living, keeping affordable health care, and protections for a younger tier of workers who are subject to forced overtime without notification. This practice by the company make it impossible for them to plan time with their families. The union has filed charges of unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board on AT&T’s delaying tactics.
About 10,000 hotel workers went out on strike over the Labor Day weekend, disrupting services at 25 Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott hotels across the country. The strike by members of Unite Here was set to last for several days during the busy holiday week. It affects hotels in Boston, Seattle, San Diego, Honolulu and San Jose, California and could spread to Oakland, California, Providence, Rhode Island, and New Haven, Connecticut, among other cities. The strikers are demanding reversal of the cuts in staffing that hotels put into place during the Covid pandemic when travel was reduced. But after the pandemic when hotel business recovered, the hotels maintained the cuts to save money, causing an overwhelming work load for current workers. The union is also demanding increases in pay in an industry that is severely underpaid.
After a majority of the 1,000 workers at the Ultium Cells battery plant in Spring Hills, Tennessee, signed union cards to join the United Auto Workers, the company agreed to recognize the union. Ultium manufactures battery cells for GM electric vehicles. The union victory is part of UAW’s plan to insure that it will keep representing workers in places that make auto parts during the transition to electric vehicles. The union finalized a contract with another Ultium plant in June that included a wage increase for workers from $15 to $35 an hour over three years plus a signing bonus and health and safety improvements.
OCTOBER BITS AND PIECES
Labor Briefs, miscDOCK WORKERS SUSPEND STRIKE
After striking for just a few days, dock workers at Atlantic and Gulf ports suspended their strike action until the end of the year unless negotiations between their union, the International Longshoreman’s Association, and the US Maritime Alliance, representing the shipping industry, reach a contract by then. (See item on Labor News page of this website.) ILA members have been working under a six-year contract that expired Sept 30. During that time they have seen their real income deteriorate during the pandemic when many ports could not operate. The workers unload cargo from ships docked in the ports They are seeking substantial pay increases to make up for their losses and protection from automation severely cutting into their jobs.
HAWAII HOSPITAL LOCKS OUT NURSES AFTER ONE-DAY STRIKE
Labor BriefsIn a brazen move to pressure nurses to accept a management offer, the management at Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children in Hawaii locked out 600 nurses indefinitely beginning Sept. 14. The lockout began a day after the nurses held a one-day strike to protest the ongoing bullying tactics of the medical center in retaliation for nurses reporting unsafe staffing conditions and expressing their concern for the safety of patients.
The nurses, members of the Hawaii Nurses Association OPEIU Local 50, have been working without a contract since December 1st, 2023 and they refuse to give up on winning a contract that will hold the hospital accountable for unsafe staffing incidents.
Hawaii Nurses Assn bulletin. 9/14
SEPTEMBER BITS & PIECES
Labor BriefsAT&T WORKERS STRIKE, CITING COMPANY’S STALLING TACTICS
Accusing AT&T of deliberately delaying bargaining on a new contract, over 17,000 workers in nine southeastern states hit the bricks August 16 in a strike that has resulted in a tentative agreement. But the company has continued to stall on a final agreement. The strike involves technicians, customer service representatives, and workers who install and maintain the AT&T network. The union, Communication Workers of America, is seeking improvements in wages that take into account increases in the cost of living, keeping affordable health care, and protections for a younger tier of workers who are subject to forced overtime without notification. This practice by the company make it impossible for them to plan time with their families. The union has filed charges of unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board on AT&T’s delaying tactics.
AT&T strike, 9.10
HOTEL WORKERS STRIKE OVER STAFFING CUTS
Communication Workers of America
About 10,000 hotel workers went out on strike over the Labor Day weekend, disrupting services at 25 Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott hotels across the country. The strike by members of Unite Here was set to last for several days during the busy holiday week. It affects hotels in Boston, Seattle, San Diego, Honolulu and San Jose, California and could spread to Oakland, California, Providence, Rhode Island, and New Haven, Connecticut, among other cities. The strikers are demanding reversal of the cuts in staffing that hotels put into place during the Covid pandemic when travel was reduced. But after the pandemic when hotel business recovered, the hotels maintained the cuts to save money, causing an overwhelming work load for current workers. The union is also demanding increases in pay in an industry that is severely underpaid.
Hotel Workers,9/2
EV BATTERY PLANT WORKERS JOIN UAW
After a majority of the 1,000 workers at the Ultium Cells battery plant in Spring Hills, Tennessee, signed union cards to join the United Auto Workers, the company agreed to recognize the union. Ultium manufactures battery cells for GM electric vehicles. The union victory is part of UAW’s plan to insure that it will keep representing workers in places that make auto parts during the transition to electric vehicles. The union finalized a contract with another Ultium plant in June that included a wage increase for workers from $15 to $35 an hour over three years plus a signing bonus and health and safety improvements.
The Tennessean, 9/4