Rolling Labor Action Thread

Also, Wil Wheaton's IG post here is pretty sharp.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CvFzWyCPiN8/?hl=en

Great post and he and spacemom are cuet.

Good piece on the UPS tentative agreement here:

https://www.tempestmag.org/2023/07/what-happened-to-the-big-ups-strike/

What would a historic victory have looked like? Well, among other demands, it would be ending two-tier wage structures between part-timers and full-timers, and installing air conditioning for all delivery vehicles now. The current TA, despite threats from O’Brien and Zuckerman to “pulverize” UPS, has the feel of being underwhelming. But, underwhelming in an era of growing threats to the livelihood and health of UPS Teamsters are actually major concessions.

Given the historic moment of low unemployment, record profits, and public sympathy for UPS workers, it feels like a moment has been missed for real historic victories.

And I’m seeing on social media some locals organizing for a “no” vote.

https://deadline.com/2023/08/writers-strike-meeting-union-studios-no-new-talks-1235455349/amp/

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/steven-soderbergh-interview-command-z-christopher-nolan-hollywood-strike-streaming-1234799431/amp/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna98755

From nbc dot com

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-08-10/wga-to-meet-with-amptp-friday-as-writers-strike-stretches-on

Skip ahead to about the 20 minute point

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/tvs-top-5-podcast-chris-keyser-writers-strike-100-days-1235561162/amp/

UPS contract approved:

https://teamster.org/2023/08/teamsters-ratify-historic-ups-contract/

Meantime word out of Duke that their grad workers have organized, pretty cool:

Live from our watch party, we are thrilled to join a historic wave of organizing #UnionsForAll in higher ed, and so excited for Duke grad workers. Today, we’ve formed the first recognized grad student union at a private university in the South, and 1 of the largest unions in NC! pic.twitter.com/ADWxqq9iPr

— Duke Grad Union (@dukegradunion) August 22, 2023

Bandcamp United begins contract negotiations tomorrow!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CwTSiOsyPmx/

👍🏽

“People close to the studios who were not authorized to speak publicly also acknowledged the decision to make deal points public was designed to circumvent WGA leadership to spur writer-producers and legions of workers who are struggling financially to begin to apply pressure to WGA’s leadership to accept a deal.”

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-08-23/writers-strike-studios-wga-talks-amptp-actors-strike

UAW membership votes 97% for strike authorization in mid-September if needed

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/25/uaw-strike-vote-to-authorize.html

“A former senior studio executive called me from his car. “Everyone is feeling down on all sides,” he said. “It really does feel like the business is in a lot of upheaval. People are talking about how linear television is declining faster than anybody thought, which means that the twenty-two-episode scripted network show is becoming a rarer and rarer thing. And the six-to-eight-to-ten-episode series on a streamer—the economics of that turns out to be much harder for everybody. If you look at all the legacy studios, it seems like their profit margins are going down. And, obviously, talent—writers and directors and actors—are feeling like they’re getting squeezed.”

He went on, “So the mood is tough for everybody. There’s a lot of mistrust and animosity between the studios and the guilds. In the past, there has been more empathy across the aisles. Right now, it just feels like everybody’s sort of frustrated with everybody, almost like everybody’s fighting for a bigger piece of a shrinking pie.””

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/notes-on-hollywood/scenes-from-hollywoods-hot-labor-summer

lol the pie isn't shrinking dog

"it seems like their profit margins are going down"

*citation needed

Today, @AmericanAir Flight Attendants returned a 99.47% ‘yes’ vote to authorize a #strike. Our 26,000+ Members have sent a clear message: we are ready to strike. #1u #SolidaritySummer pic.twitter.com/JwEnHcFzne

— Association of Professional Flight Attendants (@APFAunity) August 30, 2023

salute

Dang, a SECOND SAG strike

https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/sag-aftra-seeks-video-game-strike-approval-1235711251/amp/

Happy Labor Day!

I enjoyed listening to this today:

https://www.wnyc.org/story/witness-history-labor-movement/

Workers at Powells Books in Portland are holding a one-day strike rally Im heading downtown for

Alright, y’all, let’s do this! 🪧✊📣

On Monday, September 4, workers at Powell’s Books will be going on a one-day Unfair Labor Practice Strike. This will be the first strike for Powell’s workers in 20 years! Come join us on the picket line!

RSVP: https://t.co/G8UK7fYazR pic.twitter.com/Wy1PcfVGuM

— ILWU Local 5 (@ILWULocal5) August 22, 2023

This is not a labor action but I would like to suggest several actions against this asshole. (Same dude who went viral for telling millennials to stop buying avocado toast.)

Gurner Group founder Tim Gurner tells the Financial Review Property Summit workers have become "arrogant" since COVID and "We've got to kill that attitude." https://t.co/lcX3CCxGuj pic.twitter.com/f9HK2YZRRE

— Financial Review (@FinancialReview) September 12, 2023

there's a face in need of a fist

another Tim Heidecker persona?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/sep/11/tuc-agrees-non-compliance-strategy-against-anti-strike-laws

Meeting at the Trades Union Congress’s annual meeting in Liverpool, delegates unanimously agreed to seek to resist the new law, which allows public sector employers to establish “minimum service levels” on strike days.

“That’s what we have to do – that’s the message,” the RMT leader, Mick Lynch, told union activists at the conference. “We are a fighting union movement and we are going to turn this legislation over.”

The motion says: “We have no choice but to build mass opposition to the minimum service levels laws, up to and including a strategy of non-compliance and non-cooperation to make them unworkable, including industrial action.”

The Fire Brigades Union leader, Matt Wrack, described it as a “message of defiance” to the government, signalling that “this government’s nasty, authoritarian agenda will be vigorously opposed by the trade union movement”.

Worthwhile interview with Sam Gindin here about the UPS Teamster bargaining and its shortcomings

https://shows.acast.com/jacobin-radio/episodes/behind-the-news-cold-war-liberalism-ups-teamsters

Announcement via More Perfect Union:

BREAKING: Marvel VFX workers have just won a historic first union in the visual effects industry.

The workers who power the biggest superhero movies on the planet voted unanimously to unionize with vfxunion.

This is a major first step for the industry, and Disney is next.

YES!!!!!!

let's go

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/detroit-three-strike-deadline-nears-sides-remain-far-apart-2023-09-14/

Bring it

It’s already broughten

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/15/business/auto-workers-strike/index.html

✊

Hmmm

https://deadline.com/2023/09/authors-openai-lawsuit-john-grisham-george-rr-martin-1235551400/?fbclid=IwAR0M4ucuTIo2ajqI0TWxyjY_b2OOpN4IvenGukPPqluE64XtuimH32U2CB0

https://www.npr.org/2023/09/24/1200770450/writers-strike-ends

Tentative deal reached

👍🏽

Back to work

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/09/26/business/wga-back-to-work/index.html

Another good thing!

https://variety.com/2023/artisans/news/walt-disney-pictures-vfx-workers-unionize-1235730179/

Also this!

Student Assistants are making history by forming a union with @CSUEU. This is the largest non-academic student worker campaign in U.S. history. Next stop, a UNION YES election. @CalState administration needs to accept PERB decision & let Student Assistants Vote! #CSUStudentsWork pic.twitter.com/JcYTz64v5I

— CSUEU (@CSUEU) October 3, 2023

Looking good...

https://apnews.com/article/auto-workers-strike-general-motors-battery-plants-a6ad7d6b9c3f42c24f3c7dbe21f4b694

walgreens pharmacy workers (who are not yet unionized) have organized a walkout mostly on reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/WalgreensStores/) and facebook afaict

some local labour action: https://jacobin.com/2023/10/public-sector-workers-quebec-canada-general-strike-common-front

https://deadline.com/2023/10/levar-burton-drew-barrymore-national-book-awards-1235572952/

On we go

https://www.thewrap.com/why-sag-studio-talks-ended-fran-drescher/?fbclid=IwAR0sgKE4qvLo2P7Iz1M-FCGkzvJsZLUpgPp2IGybBxFF5rCXBlCPQPQlC_c

https://www.thewrap.com/studios-sag-strike-one-week-deadline/

yessss

https://archive.ph/2023.10.30-192803/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-30/uaw-strike-why-elon-musk-tesla-could-be-union-s-next-target

oh please

new boss unlocked

Tesla workers should be unionized. Driving Elon absolutely nuts and to the point he commits multiple unfair labor practice violations is just the sweetener.