Labor News — 9/1/2022
The Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation Weekly Report comes out (nearly) every Thursday with news and updates relevant to the Gulf Coast labor movement. To subscribe, click here.
AFT leaders meet with school administrators to address teacher shortage
The American Federation of Teachers met with Houston-area school leaders on Tuesday to host a roundtable to discuss short- and long-term solutions to address teacher shortages across the State of Texas.
According to the American Federation of Teachers, 43,000 Texas teachers left the education system at the end of last school year.
“We know that work is not going to be accomplished alone, it’s going to take all of us working together, not just the employees and the teachers, and the staff at the schools, but the school districts and their leaders and their school board members,” said AFT President Zeph Capo.
Union members launch Working People PAC GOTV canvass program
Last Saturday, the unions of the Texas Gulf Coast launched our first joint union GOTV program funded entirely by union COPE funds and led by union members — the Working People PAC.
11 members from Teamsters Local 988, Houston Educational Support Personnel, and Communication Workers of America Local 6222 participated in a 3 hour training session, followed by two hours of door knocking to help get out the vote for Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and other COPE endorsed candidates.
Teamsters Local 988 continues organizing push with election at RNDC
Over the last several weeks, Local 988 has worked with CDL & non-CDL drivers and helpers at RNDC to form their union. Ballots for the union election were mailed out today. We’re excited to see workers across the Gulf Coast making their voices heard!
San Antonio Building Trades celebrate new union-built affordable housing project
The San Antonio Building Trades Council gathered this week to rededicate the Granada Senior Living Apartments near the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio, highlighted a great pairing: affordable housing and a renovation done with 100 percent union labor.
The San Antonio Construction & Building Trades Council led the initiative to restore the bones of what was once a luxury hotel. The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, whose leaders attended the event, provided investment for the project, which will result in 265 affordable housing units and ongoing work by union craftspeople who not only preserved distinct architectural features but uncovered and enhanced old ones.
California passes historic fast food ‘sectoral bargaining’ bill
Earlier this week, the California legislature passed a bill to establish a limited version of “sectoral bargaining” for fast food, a major victory for the Fight for $15 campaign led by SEIU.
The new bill will expand on current labor law protections by creating a new form of collective bargaining for workers in the fast food industry. This type of expansion of bargaining rights could be expanded to other states to provide workers with a seat at the table, including Texas.
MLBPA sends out union authorization cards in first step toward unionizing minor leaguers
The Major League Baseball Players Association took an initial step toward unionizing the minor leagues Sunday night, sending out authorization cards that will allow minor league players to vote for an election that could make them MLBPA members.
“Minor leaguers represent our game’s future and deserve wages and working conditions that befit elite athletes who entertain millions of baseball fans nationwide,’’ players’ association executive director Tony Clark said Monday in a statement. “They’re an important part of our fraternity and we want to help them achieve their goals both on and off the field.’’
Columbus educators win big after short strike
After voting to strike last week, members of the Columbus Education Association voted Monday to accept an agreement with the administration. The new agreement represents a big win for students, teachers, and all staff, mandating air conditioning in all school buildings, expanding access to elementary art, music and physical education classes, capping class sizes, and implementing a new paid leave policy.
Harris County OKs possible lawsuit against Texas comptroller, accuse him of ‘fuzzy math’
Harris County Commissioners Court on Wednesday authorized a pair of private law firms to sue Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar, who accused the county of defunding law enforcement last week, forcing a halt to consideration of its $2.2 billion budget.
The move, approved by a 3–1 vote, came a week after Hegar sent a letter to county officials saying the court could not approve its proposed fiscal 2023 budget without approval of voters because of a change in policy that he said would result in the county funding two constable offices at a lower level in violation of a new state law.
“Today in Commissioners Court, we approved legal action against Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar and others whose fake cries of defunding the police are now preventing Harris County from finalizing its budget,” said Judge Lina Hidalgo. “We can’t allow the far-right to hold our County hostage.”
Illegal eviction rise in Harris County as housing crisis continues to threaten working people
Samayah Winston was visiting a pregnant friend in Florida when she received a text from the neighbor watching her apartment. It was a picture of Winston’s front door: Her keypad door lock had been replaced with a deadbolt.
No one had notified her or given her the key. She later found her belongings hurled into a dumpster.
The 32-year-old had paid her rent, but apparently that made no difference. Over the next few days, she was plunged into a Kafkaesque world in which her lease agreement, rent receipts and the lack of any eviction proceeding were insufficient to deter an escalating series of actions that left her homeless and living in her car.
Harris County Bail Reform Reduced Jail Time and Crime, New Study Says
A federally mandated change in the misdemeanor bail policy of Harris County has resulted in fewer low-level offenders in jail and improved public safety, according to a new study.
“This idea that when you release people charged with these low-level crimes you’re going to harm public safety, the data doesn’t support that at all,” said Paul Heaton, academic director at the Quattrone Center and the lead researcher on the study. “You can fix this and you can do it in a way that doesn’t compromise public safety, it doesn’t compromise accountability, it ratchets back the cost of the criminal justice system.”
The study looked at 517,000 cases in the Harris County judicial system between January 2015 and May 2022 to assess the impact of a federal consent decree that eliminated cash bail for most people charged with misdemeanors. The study found a 15% drop in guilty pleas, combined with a 17% reduction in the likelihood of a jail sentence and 15% drop in convictions, which the study’s authors say indicates that fewer innocent people are serving time for crimes they didn’t commit.
Biden DOL launches first-ever organizing resource website to support union efforts
Last week, the Department of Labor launched a first-of-its-kind website with resources for organizing a union at your workplace. The website provides information about unions, collective bargaining, and legal protections for workers. It’s the latest effort by the Biden administration to support organizing efforts and expand worker power.
NLRB official rejects Amazon claims, recommends that union win should stand
A National Labor Relations Board official recommended Thursday that the agency’s Arizona office reject Amazon’s objections to the Amazon Labor Union’s landmark April election win at a Staten Island warehouse and certify the result. Hearing officer Lisa Dunn said Amazon fell short of the NLRB’s high bar for overturning an election. She said prosecutors’ filing of a labor lawsuit against amazon days before the election, among other things, did not render the vote unfair.
NLRB issues rules against Tesla effort to ban wearing union colors at work
Earlier this week, the NLRB issued a decision against Tesla ruling that employer attempts to restrict the wearing of union insignia, including clothing and buttons, are presumptively unlawful, absent special circumstances.
This ruling confirms that the wearing of union material is protected under the National Labor Relations Act and other federal laws.
Saturday, September 3rd (10am — 8pm) For the first time in three years, the Harris County Labor Day Celebration will take place in person at the Pasadena Fairgrounds. You can RSVP here, and sign up to sponsor or enter a barbecue team using the attached form
Saturday, September 3rd (9am — 11am) The annual Harris County Women of Labor Breakfast will also take place at the Pasadena Fairgrounds. You can purchase tickets or sponsorship here.
Friday, September 2nd @ 7pm Insulators Local 22 will be hosting a Labor Day Cornhole Tournament at the Pasadena Fairgrounds. See attached flyer for more information. Please get in touch with Lacy Wolf at lwolf@insulatorslocal22.org or Bekah at rbarron@insulatorslocal22.org to sign up
Friday, September 2nd @ 6pm Pipefitters Local 211 will be hosting a Margarita Contest at the Pasadena Fairgrounds. See attached flyer for more information.
