Representatives of locals from Ohio to California gathered for the first-ever UE regional council meeting in New Mexico, “The Land of Enchantment,” from April 13-14. Unity of workers and of the working class was a recurring theme as delegates, guests, and regional and national UE leaders discussed the victories and struggles in the union’s Western Region over the past half a year.
Members of UE Local 1186 overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year agreement on Monday, March 15, which secured structural changes in the contract that ensure pay equity and will allow the union to build on gains for years to come.
The local prioritized getting to a $20/hour starting wage, equity raises based on seniority, and protecting members from rising inflation and skyrocketing housing costs in Madison.
Despite being a non-bargaining year, UE Local 896, also known as the Campaign to Organize Graduate Students (COGS), is in the midst of a fight to win concessions from the boss. Since October 2023, COGS — which represents close to 2,000 graduate teaching and research assistants at the University of Iowa (UI) - has been organizing a campaign to end the University's practice of charging graduate workers hundreds of dollars in fees every year to work.
After 2,000 graduate workers committed to strike, UE local 1103 (GSU-UE) won a strong and historic contract with the University of Chicago (UChicago). Membership ratified the contract on March 28, after 10 months of negotiations with UChicago’s administration.
On Monday, March 18, the members of the Durham City Workers Union chapter of UE Local 150 rallied for $25 per hour and fair pay before the city's budget hearing, demanding that the city finally prioritize its lowest paid workers.
On March 19, graduate student research assistants (RAs) at the University of Chicago Law School voted 59–29 to join UE Local 1103-Graduate Students United (GSU). This election victory represents the first expansion of one of the newly-established UE grad locals. The vote was the culmination of a swift and thorough worker-led campaign.
UE rail crew drivers and leaders from California gave testimony at a virtual hearing hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 20. They encouraged the federal government to approve a new regulation from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that will reduce air pollution from train yards.
Last Saturday, UE Eastern Region President George Waksmunski traveled to East Palestine, Ohio to hear from residents affected by the February, 2023 train derailment and toxic chemical spill. They told their stories to a group of about 80 union leaders, environmental activists, and concerned community members, some of whom had come from as far away as Iowa, Texas and California.
“Look at East Palestine and you see the effects of capitalism and greed and profit and devastation in its wake,” Waksmunski said, after hearing the testimony.
More than a dozen members from six UE locals gathered on Friday, March 22 for a subregional education event to exchange ideas and plan for next steps in member mobilization. For most of the participants, many of them newly-elected stewards or local officers, it was their first UE event outside of their own local.
UE Local 667, whose members work at Pittsburgh’s East End Co-op grocery store, ratified a new three-year agreement on March 7.
“We told the employer from day one at the [bargaining] table that our membership demanded a radical change in how our labor was compensated,” said UE Local 667 President Fritz Geist. “The local made it very clear through our actions that we were organized and stood collectively prepared to take all steps necessary to win a great contract.”
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