UE in the News

When 250 Refresco workers at a bottling plant in Wharton, New Jersey, won a union election at the end of June, organizer Anthony Diaz thought he and his co-workers would soon start negotiating their contract.

But that hasn’t happened. Instead, Refresco, known as the world’s largest independent bottler, launched an aggressive legal operation, employing a former high-ranking official with the National Labor Relations Board to delay certification.

“Things are going to slow because of Refresco’s tricks,” referring to aggressive legal tactics used by the firm “to delay the process for us to get certification of the union and to start negotiating a contract,” said Diaz, who led the union campaign and has worked at the plant since 2006. “They lost the election and they’re playing games with appealing the decision to delay the process.”

Indiana University graduate students are taking the next steps to unionize, as the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition is organizing an attempt to join United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America.

Building on the impact of its past fee strikes, the IGWC members hope joining a union might bolster their fight for increased compensation, lower fees and improved communication with IU leadership.

"At this point we are seeking more than just a guarantee of dialogue," said Cole Nelson, an IU graduate worker and one of the IGWC organizers. "We're not looking for administrators to be advocates for graduate workers. Rather, we're looking for a permanent resolution to the fact that graduate workers, time and time again, are being charged increasingly by the university while receiving substandard compensation."

Hollis and Purvis helped drum up support from several groups, including UE Local 150, the union that represents many public employees across the state, and last May formed the Valley Proteins Blue Collar Workers Organizing Committee. For Hollis, who left his job at Valley Proteins last summer but remains active with the committee, the effort was a direct response to what he calls the company's "exploitation of workers."

"My coworkers and I are incredibly happy and I’m grateful for all of them and the work everyone put in," says Grabowski. "I’m excited to collaborate together on our shared goals of our workplace and affiliate being the best it can be for staff, patients, and the community."

As shoppers crowded into the McAllen, Texas, branch of Sprouts Farmers Market in mid-March to stockpile food, store clerk Josh Cano grew alarmed at the lack of safety precautions in place.