UE NEWS Updates

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Local 203 Members Win Historic Raises, Pay Equality, and More

October 8, 2024
Burlington, Vermont

After five months of negotiations, UE Local 203, which represents grocery workers at two City Market co-op locations, won a new contract that guarantees $2 increases in wages to every member and $2.25 increases for a quarter of membership. They also won a five percent wage increase for all workers in year two of the contract. Overall, the contract is worth 2.7 million dollars, the largest financial gains in the history of the local.

Local 222 Settles Contracts at Library, Board of Education

October 8, 2024
Rocky Hill and Woodbridge, Connecticut

Two sublocals of UE Local 222, a statewide amalgamated public-sector local, settled new contracts this fall.

Librarians in Rocky Hill, members of Sublocal 39, ratified and signed their contract in late August. Their main issues were gaining extra personal time and a reorganization of the pay scale to make it equitable to new hires, as well as being placed in alignment with other union wages within the town. The union also discussed with the town problems with overtime pay caused by the former library director, which had just recently been brought to the union’s attention.

Member-Led Trainings at OH-IN-KY Subregional Event

October 1, 2024
Covington, Kentucky

On September 27, twelve members from UE Locals 704, 728, 741, 777 and 799 participated in the 2024 Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky subregional educational event. This training took a new format, with member-leaders Janet Gray, business agent of Local 618 and a participant in the recent UE Women’s Leadership Program, and Kevin White, president of Local 728, presenting the majority of the materials and leading roundtable discussions about solving workplace and organizational issues based on their own experiences.

Local 1107 Members March on Boss to Protest Unjust Termination

September 20, 2024
Necedah, Wisconsin

On Monday, September 16, UE Local 1107 members at Freudenberg marched on the boss during management's pre-shift meeting to protest the unjust termination of Jackie Beccera.

Members voted overwhelmingly to arbitrate Beccera’s termination at the membership meeting the day before. They also voted to use tools brought back from a recent subregion education event to mobilize the membership, instead of just waiting on the painfully slow arbitration process.

Rail Crew Drivers and Environmental Justice Organizations Win Passage of Clean Air Rule

September 13, 2024
Diamond Bar, California

Rail crew drivers from UE Local 1077 joined environmental justice organizations in persuading the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) board to pass a life-saving regulation for rail yards in the Inland Empire, Los Angeles County, and Orange County. In response to overwhelming public support, including a letter signed by the UE local and its allies, the rule passed unanimously at the board’s meeting in August.

Members of Congress Support UE Members Fighting to Save Union Jobs

September 5, 2024
Laguna Niguel, California

The members of UE Locals 208, 808, and 1008 fighting to save their jobs from union-busting layoffs received some powerful help last month. Four Members of Congress and an Orange County Supervisor have sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary and the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to urge them to stop union busting. (Update, September 6: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has also sent a letter to USCIS.)

UE Local 625 Fightback Restores Right to Wear Union Shirts at Work

August 23, 2024
Mount Pleasant and Greensburg, PA

UE Local 625, whose members build high-quality circuit breakers and high-voltage equipment at two locations, have successfully restored their right to wear union shirts on the shop floor. The conflict began in 2022 when their employer, Hitachi Energy, unilaterally imposed a new dress code which prohibited members from their wearing union shirts at work.

Organizing the South Theme of Local 150 Convention

August 16, 2024
Whitakers, North Carolina

With the slogan “Resist, Restore and Revitalize!” the 13th Biennial Convention of statewide UE Local 150 convened at the Franklinton Center at Bricks on August 10 and 11. Local 150 members from across North Carolina shared their experiences fighting for fair wages and dignity, and building their union, in one of the least unionized states in the country.

Attacks on UAW and Other Unions Seek to Curb Union Power, not “Anti-Semitism”

August 11, 2024
Pittsburgh
Statement of the UE officers

Statement of the UE officers.

In the face of rising working-class militancy, anti-union forces have launched various legal attacks on the labor movement, using the false claim that union involvement in protests demanding a ceasefire in Gaza is somehow “anti-Semitic.” Most prominently, the federal monitor charged with rooting out corruption in the United Auto Workers has engaged in wildly inappropriate behavior, in a clear attempt to use his immense legal power over the union to shut down their criticism of Israel. The National Right to Work Committee and union-busting law firms like Jones Day have also launched a series of legal cases, including some against UE locals, aimed at undermining union shop and exclusive representation.

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