Category: Organize

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Richard Bensinger, another former AFL-CIO organizing director, said: “Win or lose they [the RWDSU] already won. The good thing is they jumped in feet first. They took on the most powerful, richest guy in the world. Everyone in labor is inspired by this. When there are these big campaigns, some people in the labor movement are afraid and ask, What if they lose? If you don’t try, you’ll never win.” Richard Bensinger, from The Guardian Read the full story at The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/mar/29/amazon-bessemer-alabama-union-fight

About Union Organizing

The power of the union comes from the workers themselves banding together with co-workers to collectively represent the interests and needs of the workforce. The other power comes from the fact that the right to organize a union is a fundamental human and civil right. When employers, as some do, try to trample on those rights and engage in union busting, Workers United (WU) has proven time and time again throughout its history that the community, other unions, and customers can be mobilized to support workers trying to organize. Recently, when Spot Coffee workers were met with strong anti-union behavior by management, the local unions, progressives, and Spot workers joined together to boycott the company. That resulted in an historic settlement with the employer, reinstatement of fired workers, and one of the strongest union contracts ever negotiated in the service sector. We have a saying in the movement that comes from labor history and the Industrial Workers of the World – “an injury to one is an injury to all.” This generation of the new labor movement intends to enforce those words vigorously. We will work with employers, but any employer who denies a worker this fundamental right to form a union will be met by a collective force for justice. Without a union, workers are “at will”. In US labor law, at-will employment is an employer’s ability to dismiss an employee for any reason (that is, without having to establish “just cause” for termination), and without warning, as long as the reason is not illegal (e.g. firing because of the employee’s race, religion or sexuality). Think how many times your employer has disciplined, bullied or even fired a co-worker. Without a union, bosses are judge and jury of their own case. With a union and a union contract, employers cannot engage in such abusive conduct. We organize to build a working-class movement. We don’t care what political party you are in: Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, or Socialist. We unite to fight for a better world for the working class. We strongly support other struggles: the struggle of transgender people, human rights for people of color, immigrant rights, LGBTQ, and women’s rights. We unite around the rights of the working class to lead our lives with dignity, without discrimination, with fair pay, and without exploitation for our labor. Successful organizing depends on two things: Having a strong representative worker committee, and the ability to pressure an employer who tries to deny workers the right to organize. A committee is a voluntary steering committee of you and your co-workers that guides your new union through the organizing process. Working on a union organizing committee can be a fun and rewarding learning experience. A Workers United union representative can explain how to form a strong and effective committee. The National Labor Relations Act encourages U.S. citizens to form unions and the Act protects that right. It is illegal to interfere with, coerce, or restrain workers in the exercise of these rights. WU has lawyers and experienced organizers to help out with legal issues if they arise. However, the true power of your new union comes from the court of public opinion, rather than the court of law. The public and customers can be mobilized to support any group of workers who are organizing and that can be a much swifter and effective justice than waiting months to win a legal proceeding. Both are needed but the community pressure is most effective. In January, negotiations for an initial collective bargaining agreement began between Workers United’s newest members and the Ithaca Sciencenter which is a nationally recognized children’s museum. Negotiations have been difficult, as they often are, for an initial agreement as we are starting from scratch. The Sciencenter Workers United Union committee is a band of five worker leaders representing their co-workers who dedicate three days a week to winning a good contract. They meet every Sunday evening to prepare for their weekly Monday bargaining sessions and then debrief and draft new proposals. At the heart of these negotiations is the goal of real power-sharing by the workers.  As we know we must demand more power if we want more justice. To this end the workers of the Sciencenter Union are an inspiration to us all. Stay tuned – it will be interesting to see their first contract. All of Workers United and the labor movement will stand with them if they need our support to bring this fight home.

Members of Local 1947 Strike

Union members of Local 1947 on strike and picketing in front of Babbitt Bearings today. Rochester Regional Joint Board Business Agent, Eduaro Jofre, says that this strike is the result of years of deception and unfair treatment by management. “The workers gave-in to concessions to help the company when they were asked. The company is taking advantage of our workers’ cooperative spirit. It was made clear to us that they were not ever planning to pay back the concessions. In the end, the workers voted to strike.”

Barista Magazine Spotlights SPoT Coffee Workers

“Under the new contract, SPoT employees have significant wage increases, paid sick time, fair staffing levels, and protections from unfair discipline and firings. “People are excited to go to work today. Their attitude and outlook towards working has improved dramatically. People are proud to work for SPoT now. We’ve had a lot of people that want to work for SPoT Coffee because they hear we have a union,” Zach says.”

Lukas Weinstein Fundraiser

Link to GoFundMe for Lukas Weinstein Fundraiser. Lukas Weinstein was the manager at Spot Coffee in Williamsville, NY. In June, workers at Spot met with representatives from Workers United about forming a union. Lukas attended that meeting. Spot’s upper management demanded that he turn over the names of workers who attended the union meeting. Lukas refused. Then they demanded one final time and Lukas told his employees who had been at the meeting that it was either his job or theirs. He again refused and was fired a few days later.  The company found out from another source who organized the union meeting and the two workers who hosted the union meeting at their home were also fired. Those two workers have now been reinstated with full back pay after the NLRB investigated and found merit in the union’s charges. Supervisors/managers in the U.S. unfortunately are not protected by the National Labor Relations Act and the regional office of the NLRB, which has grown even more impotent under Trump, has found that Spot Coffee did not commit an unfair labor practice charge in terminating Lukas for refusing to turn in his fellow workers.  Lukas is a true working class hero. He made the ultimate sacrifice for his co-workers. Today he says he has no regrets and is proud to have played a major role in getting the union in across Buffalo at Spot Coffee. He also is encouraging former patrons who supported the Spot boycott to now return to Spot since the workers now have a union. Lukas is a class act, as courageous and principled as a person could be.  And humble. He isn’t asking for this fundraising campaign. Workers United is. We believe that Lukas’ moral leadership should be rewarded, not penalized. Please help support Lukas, who lost thousands of dollars and his job because he stood by the union and by his co-workers. He is a true working class hero. Thank you for the consideration and the solidarity. To donate, click here to the GoFundMe Page. Richard Bensinger, Union Organizer

Gimme! Coffee Baristas Unanimously Ratify Their First Union Contract

Gimme! Coffee Baristas Unanimously Ratify Their First Union Contract ROCHESTER – February 7, 2018 – Baristas at the Ithaca, NY based coffee chain, Gimme! Coffee, unanimously voted to ratify their first union contract with their employer with the help of Workers United – Rochester Regional Joint Board and the Tompkins County Workers Center. The contract follows a successful union organizing campaign that culminated with an overwhelming union victory this past summer in an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board. The workers at Gimme! Coffee are one of the first coffee chain baristas in the country to organize for union representation. Says Gimme! Coffee Barista Samantha Mason: ” Having a contract that protects me and my co-workers is only one of the benefits to having a union. For me, the most integral part of this has been to see how far my co-workers and I have come in building solidarity, in rebalancing power and having the courage to take action and create a better workplace. It’s important to me that all workers understand that they can change their workplace.” Gary Bonadonna Jr., Manager of Rochester Regional Joint Board, stated: “I would like to salute the Gimme! Coffee baristas for the dedication and hard work they put in to organize their union and negotiate an initial union contract. They are an inspirational group. If as a society we truly want to address the issue of economic inequality, then the Gimme! workers offer part of the solution: work together and organize a union. Too often workers in this country who want to organize a union to make improvements on their job have to walk through a minefield of threats and intimidation by their employer. I want to recognize Gimme! Coffee management for not going down that road.  My hope is that other employers will follow this more ethical path.” Kevin Cuddeback, Owner and CEO of Gimme! Coffee said: “I’m a proponent of people coming together to build a better world, and I look forward to working with the union toward the advancement of the company mission.” A few highlights of the contract are: A union “just cause” clause that protects workers from unfair discipline or discharge A union grievance and arbitration procedure to resolve any workplace problems Wage increases Establishment of a paid sick day program Monthly joint labor/management meetings Pete Meyers, Coordinator of the Tompkins County Workers Center, issued the following statement: “We’re very happy for the Gimme! Coffee baristas of Workers’ United local 2833 for having the wherewithal to stand together and form a union within their workplaces throughout Tompkins County, and congratulate them on negotiating their first contract. We praise the management of Gimme! Coffee and its owner, Kevin Cuddeback, for responsibly being neutral towards the baristas’ desire to organize a union in their workplace, and for their good faith efforts in the negotiation process.” Restaurant and hospitality workers, in general, interested in organizing a union should contact Gary Bonadonna Jr., Rochester Regional Joint Board at (585) 473-3280. ### For Additional Information:  Julie Black Communications Consultant Rochester Regional Joint Board jblack@rrjb.org (585) 730-3915

Gimme! Coffee Baristas Organize Union in Workplace

Gimme! Coffee Baristas Organize Union in Workplace; NLRB Election to Be Held on Thursday, May 31st   (ITHACA) Approximately 22 Gimme! Coffee baristas will have the opportunity to vote in a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election on the question of whether or not to organize a union to negotiate a contract in their workplaces on Thursday, May 31st in Ithaca. The election will be for non-managerial baristas at the W. State/MLK Street location (where the election for all 4 stores will be held); the N. Cayuga Street location; the Gates Hall location at Cornell U.; and the Trumansburg location.   Samantha Mason, a barista at the Cayuga Street Gimme! Coffee location and a member of the Workers United Organizing Committee says: “Democracy doesn’t just happen every four years. At Gimme! Coffee, my co-workers and I hope to set an example by practicing democracy daily in embracing our collective power to organize at the workplace.”   Says Korbin Richards, a barista at the Gates Hall location: “This is important not just for Gimme! Coffee but for the whole working class. We want to prove that you can create a reciprocally transparent and respectful relationship with your employer, which will hopefully redraw what it means to be in the service industry.”   Owner and founder of Gimme! Coffee, Kevin Cuddeback, has this to say about the potential union at Gimme! Coffee: “We respect employees’ right to decide whether to unionize, and we’ll continue working with all our employees to make Gimme the best place it can be for our employees, customers, and coffee suppliers.”   Pete Meyers, Coordinator of the Tompkins County Workers’ Center (TCWC), says: “The excitement the baristas have around the potential unionizing of their workplace is impressive and contagious. It is inspiring how these workers are especially interested in organizing the larger industry of Hospitality Workers throughout our community. The TCWC has, for 15 years, operated a Worker’s Rights Hotline – which the Gimme! Coffee workers engaged with to find resources to start their union effort – through which we’ve received a disproportionate amount of complaints from hospitality workers about their treatment in the workplace. These issues, in the final analysis, will most likely only be resolved collectively by workers organizing together in their joint self-interest.”   Gary Bonadonna, Manager of Workers United/Rochester Regional Joint Board, and the union that is organizing with the Gimme! Coffee baristas had this to say: “We are honored to be working with Gimme! Coffee workers.  They are a dedicated, creative and inspirational group.  Unions, to be relevant in today’s workforce, must assist workers to organize in the growing but low wage service sector economy. Deunionization of our society led by the Walmarts of this world is not a healthy thing. I also want to praise the enlightened management of Gimme! Coffee. Too often employers wage war against their workers who want to organize. Gimme! Coffee management, led by CEO Kevin Cuddeback, brews justice with their great coffee.”   [Photo Credit: Richard Bensinger]