Organizing Update

New Flyer

Workers at the New Flyer facility in Shepherdsville, Ky., have overwhelmingly chosen to join IUE-CWA. Their union of 283 workers was certified after an arbitrator confirmed that a majority of the workers had signed union representation cards. Member-organizers from IUE-CWA Locals 84755, 83761, 84901, 81495, 81500, and CWA Local 7304 supported the organizing effort in Kentucky.

"This is a historic campaign for IUE-CWA," said IUE-CWA President Carl Kennebrew. "Workers across this country are organizing and growing their power, and IUE-CWA is committed to building momentum in manufacturing organizing across this country."

"Being on the organizing committee to unionize our facility has been both exciting and educational," said Michelle Hopwood, a router room machine operator at the plant. "I'm looking forward to the changes we are making not just for today's employees but for the future ones also."

Our partners at Jobs to Move America (JMA) joined IUE-CWA in this historic organizing campaign, which comes on the heels of another successful campaign at the New Flyer plant in Jamestown, N.Y., last summer.

 
Workers at the New Flyer facility in Shepherdsville, Ky., joined IUE-CWA after an overwhelming majority signed union representation cards.

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Alphabet (Google)

Last week, Alphabet Workers Union-CWA (CWA Local 1400) members and other workers at Google and YouTube joined together in a series of actions to draw attention to layoffs and unfair working conditions at the company.

On Wednesday, dozens of Google “raters,” who train, test, and evaluate search algorithms, delivered a petition and held a press conference at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., calling on Google executives to pay workers the fair wages and benefits they are owed. Raters are currently excluded from Google’s own minimum standards and benefits that the company has set for its extended workforce.

On Thursday, workers rallied at a Google store in New York City to protest the recent layoffs of 12,000 workers. Workers read anonymous testimonials from their laid off colleagues, while current workers spoke out against the company’s recent layoffs. Additionally, workers of the New York Tech Guild (TNG-CWA Local 31003) and other labor allies spoke in solidarity with Google workers.

On Friday, over 40 YouTube Music workers with Cognizant, a subcontractor of Alphabet, went on a historic unfair labor practice strike. This is believed to be the first time a group of Google workers have gone on strike. The workers filed a union recognition petition with the National Labor Relations Board last year. They are demanding that Cognizant and Google management meet with workers to establish a new return to office policy that is fair, flexible, and does not threaten the safety and livelihoods of workers. The workers were inspired by the actions of Google Maps workers at Cognizant, who successfully pushed back against an unfair return to office policy last year by threatening to strike with the support of AWU-CWA. A strike fund has been set up to offer additional support to striking YouTube Music workers.

 
As part of a series of actions to draw attention to layoffs and unfair working conditions at Google, Alphabet Workers Union-CWA (CWA Local 1400) members organized a rally and petition delivery at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.

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Lake Michigan Credit Union

CWA has filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Lake Michigan Credit Union (LMCU) for illegally firing Ivan Diaz, a member services representative who worked at LMCU’s South Division branch and served as a lead organizer of the LMCU Workers Alliance. South Division branch workers at LMCU in Grand Rapids, Mich., voted last month in favor of forming a union with CWA in an official NLRB election. The ULP charges LMCU with terminating Ivan for his participation in the labor union “in order to discourage union activities and/or membership.” Workers at the South Branch are demanding that LMCU branch management revoke Diaz’s termination and ensure other employees won’t be fired for their involvement in union organizing. “My termination proves just how critical a union is for LMCU workers. LMCU’s move to terminate me was a weak attempt at a scare tactic targeting my colleagues and comes right out of the union-busting playbook. This is not the first time LMCU has singled me out for union organizing, and I am confident that the NLRB will recognize that and hold the credit union accountable for its illegal action,” said Diaz.

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TCGPlayer (eBay)

The organizing committee for TCGunion-CWA, representing workers at TCGPlayer, an online marketplace for trading card games and subsidiary of eBay, delivered a letter to eBay's Board of Directors this week demanding the company commit to a labor neutrality agreement. The union urged the company to adhere to its Human Rights Policy which states eBay “...respects workers’ rights to unionize, and commits to bargain in good faith with any relevant associations or labor unions” by encouraging CEO Chedy Hampson to respect the rights of the workers by recognizing their union. CWA has also filed a second unfair labor practice charge against TCGPlayer for illegally forcing employees to attend mandatory anti-union meetings to influence their decision about whether or not to join a union. Last month, TCGunion-CWA became the first group of eBay workers to file for a union representation election with CWA.