Unions

Rosemary Batt, the Alice Hanson Cook Professor of Women and Work, explains the misperceptions many people have about how unions work.

According to Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of The Worker Institute, President Biden’s worker organizing task force, on a broad level, serves as a recognition of issues raised by workers and their advocates, ranging from income inequality to the declining influence of labor unions.

Lawmakers, labor unions and tech companies are nearing a deal on a bill to allow workers for app-based outfits to unionize. María Figueroa, who heads the Worker Institute, says the bill could be “a step in the right direction.”

In this extended Q&A, BRINK spoke to professor Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research, and asked if she thinks a shift is occurring in the U.S. in the relationship between capital and labor.

Labor peace pacts generally call on employers to stay neutral during Union organizing campaigns, while unions agree not to engage in economic interference with the employer’s business. According to Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research, that removes the ability for unions to strike and negates their bargaining power.

Even though Amazon workers decided against unionization, Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of The Worker Institute, says it’s only a matter of time before the e-commerce giant is forced to do better.

In this piece, also syndicated to MSN, Dean Alexander Colvin says that the strategies used in the Amazon unionization battle were “pretty typical of what we see in organizing campaigns in other industries.”

The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union intends to file Unfair Labor Practice charges against Amazon. According to Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research, even if violations are affirmed by the NLRB, there aren’t necessarily consequential penalties.

Despite a wage of $15 per hour, more than 1,000 Amazon employees have contacted the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union about organizing efforts. According to Ileen Devault, professor of labor history, this is because unions aren’t just about wages and benefits.

The outcome of the vote to determine if workers in Alabama will form the first-ever labor union at an Amazon warehouse in the U.S., ILR Dean Alex Colvin discusses how the outcome could impact labor.

Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research, says the fact that President Biden wants OSHA to implement new workplace rules for dealing with short-term challenges like the coronavirus is a big step in prioritizing worker safety.

Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research, says the Amazon union vote in Bessemer, Alabama is a “historical pivot point” for labor unions.