Luis Feliz Leon

It’s a New Day in the United Auto Workers

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March 17, 2023

The machine will churn no more. Nearly 80 years of top-down one-party rule in the United Auto Workers are coming to an end. Reformer Shawn Fain is set to be the winner in the runoff for the UAW presidency.

As of Thursday night, Fain had a 505-vote edge, 69,386 to 68,881, over incumbent Ray Curry of the Administration Caucus. Curry was appointed by the union’s executive board in 2021. There are around 600 unresolved challenged ballots. (This story will be updated with the final vote tally when we have it.)

Underpaid and Insulted, Maximus Call Center Workers Organize

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Women, mostly Black women, march outdoors in red T-shirts that say "Organize" with a telephone logo. Most prominent in the foreground are three women who have linked elbows and are smiling big. The woman on the left has a yellow round sign that says "Everybody's got a right to live." The woman in the middle has blue hair. The woman on the right is holding a light blue sign we can't see, but it probably matches signs visible behind which say "CWA on strike against Maximus." One woman is smoking.
March 15, 2023

Lakeisha Preston speaks in acronyms. Working the phones at federal contractor Maximus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, she drops them as if they were name brands—MSP (Medicare Secondary Payee), ESRD (End Stage Renal Disease) coverage, and CMN (Certificate of Medical Necessity).

As she patiently explains these terms to callers who want to sign up for Medicare or enroll in the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchange, Preston keeps an eye on the clock to move to the next caller in the queue.

Chicago Grocery Teamsters Face Firing and Retaliation for Exercising Their Rights

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March 09, 2023

Workers couldn’t wear a sticker or button, because what if it fell into the fruits and vegetables they packaged for the Anthony Marano Company, a major distributor of produce in Chicago and the greater Midwest for restaurants and grocery chains including Aldi’s, Sysco, and Pete’s Fresh Market?

They couldn’t do a red T-shirt day; the temperatures are frigid in the warehouse, and workers must cover themselves in layers to keep warm. But they are allowed to wear hats over their hairnets.

Interview: Auto Workers Region 9 Winner on Rebuilding a Fighting Union

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Two men in blue work shirts with nametags "Dan" and "Mohamed" sewn on stand side by side, arms around each other's shoulders, in a machine shop
March 07, 2023

Reform challenger Shawn Fain appears poised to win the presidency of the United Auto Workers, defeating incumbent Ray Curry for the union’s top leadership spot. With more than 137,000 votes counted, Fain has a lead of 645 votes; the counting of the remaining challenged ballots will resume March 16.

If Fain wins, challengers to the ruling caucus will hold not only the presidency but also a majority on the union’s international executive board. UAW Members United ran on a platform of no corruption, no tiers, and no concessions.

Auto Workers Presidential Election a Nail-Biter, Reformers Sweep Regional Races

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Candidate Shawn Fain passes out leaflets to several workers entering parts plant
March 03, 2023

In the first-ever rank-and-file direct election, as opposed to a vote of convention delegates, for the national leadership of the United Auto Workers, the presidential runoff is extremely close, with ballots still being counted. Challenges are expected no matter the outcome.

Restaurant Workers at Rockefeller Center’s Lodi Confront Union-Buster Ahead of Vote

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February 24, 2023

Lodi, an Italian-style fine dining cafe in Rockefeller Center, has what the New York Times calls “a captive audience” given its central location in a Manhattan tourist magnet. Workers at the restaurant say they’re a captive audience of another kind—for the anti-union diatribes of a highly paid consultant.

Non-Compete Agreement Leaves Workers Homeless and Jobless

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A couple stand by a wall with a Hyatt sign
February 02, 2023

Kevin Borowske is still mulling it over after being fired last week—and evicted as of February 28. Was he a scientist with the proprietary recipe for a cleaning solution? Was he the holder of a confidential blueprint concealing the secret rooms in the condo?

Otherwise, he’s at a loss as to why the property management company FirstService Residential had him sign a non-compete agreement when he was hired as a caretaker—a job that blends janitorial and light housekeeping services—at a high-rise building in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Workers at Hooters-Style Restaurant Strike, Protesting Racist Sexist Manager

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A racially diverse group of 21 workers, including women and men, poses outside in front of the Twin Peaks restaurant. Some have a tough and serious pose while others are smiling widely. Two have arms draped over each other's shoulders and fists in the air. The restaurant facade has a woodsy cabin style, with a logo of two mountains that may be meant to suggest breasts, and the slogan: "Twin Peaks: Eats, Drinks, Scenic Views."
January 24, 2023

Latino immigrant kitchen workers and a racially diverse group of women servers are on strike at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Brentwood, Tennessee. They say their employer is serving up of a toxic brew of racism and sexism.

“We went on strike to fire a manager because he is mistreating my co-workers verbally and physically,” Juan Carlos Mendoza, a barback with six years at the restaurant, told the Spanish-language news channel Nashville Noticias. “The manager is a racist… and that’s why we raised our voices.”

Mexican Auto Parts Plant Is Battleground For Independent Union’s First Contract Fight

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Mexican workers with La Liga gathered indoors in a line with their hands linked and raised in the air
January 20, 2023

In the Mexican border city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, auto parts workers are throwing down yet again against their employer, Michigan-based VU Manufacturing, and its chosen union, the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM).

Last August, VU workers voted to form an independent union, the Mexican Workers’ League (la Liga), defeating management’s effort to impose an employer-friendly union affiliated with the CTM.

Ahead of Halloween, Sysco Teamsters Give Corporate Ghouls the Heebie-Jeebies

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A Sysco truck faces off against a crowd of people, backs to the camera. A few wear yellow jackets that say "Police" or "Sheriff" on the backs; most do not. Around them it is still very dark out, but the central paved area is lit from above.
October 25, 2022

Teamsters in Plympton, Massachusetts, won their strike at America's largest wholesale food distributor with an old-fashioned militant tactic: the mass picket line.

The Sysco strike broke out on October 1. At first there were 100 workers, each with a picket sign, walking a little circle in the driveway leading to the warehouse.

But in the early morning of Monday, October 17, a throng of fellow Teamsters swelled the crowd to 400. A dozen positioned their tractor-trailers athwart exits to block scabs from leaving and entering. Thirteen workers got arrested.

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