Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List.
Starbucks Will Have at Least One Unionized Cafe in Buffalo, New York—A U.S. First for the Chain: “After a months-long battle, Starbucks workers in Buffalo, New York, supported efforts to unionize at least one cafe. The result marks the first successful attempt in the U.S. at unionizing within the giant coffee chain since Starbucks went public nearly three decades ago and could send ripples through the restaurant industry. Workers at the Elmwood Avenue location voted 19 to eight in favor of unionizing under Workers United New York, a branch of the Service Employees International Union.”
AFL-CIO’s Redmond Visits Teamsters Picket: “As a group of 330 Teamsters who transport sand/gravel and concrete for six different construction companies remain on strike, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond joined Teamsters Local 174 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks, Washington State Labor Council President Larry Brown and Secretary-Treasurer April Sims, and other Washington labor leaders on the picket line Tuesday outside Stoneway Concrete to express their solidarity. They urged the striking Teamsters to keep fighting ‘one day longer’ than their employers until they get a fair contract.”
Black Women See Unemployment Rate Fall Sharply in November, but Are Still Left Behind in Overall Labor Market Recovery: “The unemployment rate for Black women fell sharply in November, but labor market recovery from pre-pandemic levels remains uneven across race and gender lines. ‘This is the first time where Black labor force participation got rewarded with actual job growth,’ said William Spriggs, chief economist to the AFL-CIO and a Howard University professor. ‘The fact that Black workers are now showing greater success in their searches—that’s good news.’”
U.S. Labor Movement’s Next Frontier Is the Tech Industry, AFL-CIO’s Shuler Says: “The U.S. tech sector is the next frontier for labor organizing, and its workers are starting to understand the collective power unions have, President of the AFL-CIO Liz Shuler said on Friday at the Reuters Next Conference. Shuler said the labor federation—which comprises 56 affiliated unions and 12.5 million workers—wants to enable more organizing in the tech industry under her leadership. ‘What we are seeing in the tech sector is workers rising up. You look at companies like YouTube, Google, Apple. Their workers have been speaking out. They have been staging walkouts on issues like racial justice and sexual harassment,’ Shuler said. ‘You don't have the collective power that you have when you have a union, and I think tech workers are starting to connect the dots,’ she said.”
Union Leaders Shuler, Henry Join V.P. Harris in Big Push for Build Back Better: “AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Service Employees President Mary Kay Henry joined Democratic