Latest news with #unionization
Washington Post
5 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Montgomery officials pressure Marriott over conference center labor agreement
Montgomery County officials are working to pressure the Marriott hotel chain into signing an agreement promising not to retaliate against workers at a county conference center if they choose to unionize — a step taken after the county neglected to include that provision in an operating agreement signed in March. Marriott officials have so far resisted those efforts, despite threats of a boycott on Monday and county legislation introduced earlier this week that would require such commitments in certain contracts with hotel companies as a condition for the county's economic support in the future. The 10-year agreement — an extension of a previous contract that states that the county will continue to own the Montgomery County Conference Center in Bethesda while Marriott will continue to operate the facility — did not include a labor peace agreement that protects workers from retaliation if they try to unionize but choose not to strike or picket, according to County Council member Natali Fani-González (D-District 6), who chairs the Economic Development Committee. Although federal law already prohibits employers from retaliation, labor peace agreements are a more explicit protection for workers. And, with the Trump administration gutting the National Labor Relations Board, which adjudicates labor disputes, they are the most concrete way to force employers to comply with those federal worker protections, said Adam Yalowitz, a research director with Unite Here Local 25, a hospitality union in the D.C. region. The Montgomery County Conference Center employs about 140 people, according to a Marriott spokesperson. It's also a venue frequently used by local lawmakers and political groups for events. The lack of a labor peace agreement under the existing agreement appears to have been the result of some miscommunication. Local 25 reached out to County Executive Marc Elrich (D) last fall and spoke to him and his staff about the upcoming contract and the possibility of including a labor peace agreement, Yalowitz said. Elrich said he discussed the issue with his staff and that they told him there was no legal mechanism to require the agreement. He was under the impression that someone on the council was working on legislation to rectify that, Elrich said, but never heard about any progress on it and that time was running out to get the contract signed. 'I probably should have just followed up after a while when I didn't hear anything, asked the council president if she knew anybody who was working on a bill,' Elrich said. 'All I knew was somebody said a bill is coming over and it just never got there.' Council President Kate Stewart (D-District 4) said she wasn't aware of any such legislation in the works before the contract being signed. Elrich acknowledged that he could have introduced a bill to the council himself, through the council president. But, he said, he chose not to, believing someone on the council was planning to do it and not wanting to appear as though he was 'trying to take credit for something they were trying to do.' 'Both of us probably could have been more proactive about figuring out who was doing what,' Elrich said of the council members and himself. Fani-González said the council members were not kept informed about the negotiations with Marriott. She didn't learn of the lack of a labor peace agreement until after the contract was signed, she said, when Local 25 approached her asking for help. Fani-González soon approached Marriott about adding an addendum to the contract to include the agreement, she said, and began drafting legislation to prevent this from happening in the future. The bill, which she co-led alongside Stewart and council member Sidney Katz (D-District 3), would require labor peace agreements in certain contracts between the county and hotel companies as a condition for the county's economic support. Similar laws exist in nearby jurisdictions including D.C. and Baltimore, Fani-González said. The three members introduced the bill to their colleagues Tuesday, receiving support from several other council members. Fani-González said that, once she learned of the issue, drafting the bill was a no-brainer. 'I'm in a position where I should use every single tool up there for workers to feel they are protected and respected and I think that's part of having a strong workforce in Montgomery County, feeling that you live in a place that values your labor,' she said in an interview. Yalowitz said Local 25, which would represent the conference center workers if they were to unionize, isn't aware of any organizing efforts among the conference center workers happening now. But this kind of agreement would probably make them feel safer doing so in the future, especially in an environment with such weak oversight of federal labor laws, he said. 'We think employers are feeling more emboldened to run aggressive union-busting campaigns and that, unfortunately, leads to more attacks on worker rights and more anti-union campaigns and intimidation tactics,' Yalowitz said. The union launched a boycott of the convention center in late May to apply further pressure on Marriott but later delayed it until Monday in hopes the pause would motivate the company to start discussing a labor peace agreement, Yalowitz said. More than 20 state lawmakers representing parts of Montgomery County have signed a letter agreeing to abide by the boycott. 'We believe every worker deserves a fair process to decide on unionization, free from intimidation and coercion,' the letter read. 'It is our hope that Marriott will engage in good faith and commit to a fair and transparent process that upholds workers' rights and dignity.' Marriott hasn't indicated any plans to add an addendum, according to Elrich and Fani-González, both of whom said they've been in discussion with the company. In a statement, a company spokesperson said that Marriott believes the workers are sufficiently covered under the existing contract's terms. 'The recent 10-year extension agreement with the County includes explicit language requiring us to abide by long-standing laws governing the formation of unions,' the statement said. 'If our associates choose to explore union representation, there is a federally governed process that ensures their right to make that decision freely, with complete information and a secret ballot vote.' Elrich said that, in an effort to protect the workers, the contract included a provision reiterating that the company must follow the National Labor Relations Act. It also opened the possibility of the county helping to absorb any loss of revenue caused by a labor agreement with conference center staff, said Ken Hartman-Espada, an assistant chief administrative officer for Elrich, who led the county in the negotiation. 'We got to the best language for both parties at the time,' Hartman-Espada said. Elrich said he's surprised to see Marriott seeming so unwilling to agree to a labor peace agreement given the economic consequences of a strike or boycott. 'If they have to go to boycotting, Marriott's going to lose business,' Elrich said. 'You're not going to lose any business signing a labor peace agreement.' He and Marriott representatives are planning to meet soon to continue these discussions, he said. 'It's more complicated than I thought,' Elrich said.
CTV News
21 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Workers at gaming company Ubisoft Halifax file to unionize
The logo of French video game publisher Ubisoft is pictured at the Paris games week in Paris, Nov. 4, 2017. Dozens of video game workers with Ubisoft Halifax have filed to unionize, according to the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Canada. A majority of the nearly 60 staff workers at Ubisoft Halifax, which has an office on Barrington Street, filed with the Nova Scotia Labour Board on Wednesday, according to a news release from CWA. 'Unionizing with my coworkers at Ubisoft Halifax is important to me so that we have the strength needed to protect what we have today and to fight for our tomorrow,' said senior server programmer Thomas Gillis in the release. 'With no end in sight to the industry-wide turbulence that sees studios shutter on releasing games fans love, it is up to us, the workers, to organize and demand a say in our labour, art and future.' Following certification, the union will include producers, designers, programmers, artists, researchers and development testers. According to its website, the gaming studio was founded in 2010 and became Ubisoft Halifax in 2015. Some of its games include Rainbow Six Mobile and Assassin's Creed Rebellion. Ubisoft was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in France with studios around the world. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
Reuters
02-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US judge blocks Trump from nixing union bargaining for TSA officers
June 2 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday said the administration of President Donald Trump likely broke the law by stripping 50,000 transportation security officers of the ability to unionize and bargain over their working conditions. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman in Seattle, Washington, blocked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from canceling a union contract covering TSA officers pending the outcome of a lawsuit by four unions challenging the move. The lawsuit claims the Trump administration ended collective bargaining for TSA officers, who staff checkpoints at U.S. airports and other transportation hubs, as retaliation against the unions for suing over administration policies. Trump, a Republican, has moved to curb union bargaining for wide swaths of the federal workforce. A U.S. appeals court in May allowed those efforts to proceed, pausing a lower court ruling that had blocked seven agencies from canceling union contracts while it considers an appeal. Because of the sensitive nature of their jobs, TSA officers are not governed by the civil service system and do not have the same rights to unionize and collectively bargain over working conditions as most other federal employees. During former President Barack Obama's administration, the TSA granted officers the ability to bargain over certain subjects. Former President Joe Biden's administration expanded the scope of bargaining in 2021. The agency last year reached a seven-year labor deal with the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal worker union. Workers received enhanced shift trade options, increased allowance for uniforms and additional paid leave as part of the agreement. On February 27, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem rescinded the directives that had allowed TSA officers to unionize and directed the agency to cancel the bargaining agreement within 90 days. Noem said the union contract guarantees benefits such as paid leave that are abused by a small number of officers and shields poor performers from being fired, burdening the entire agency. Noem also said she had asked lawyers at DHS to adopt policies barring any future administration from granting TSA workers the right to bargain without action from Congress. AFGE and the other unions that sued said Noem failed in her memo to provide a reasoned explanation for her decision, and that TSA lacks the power to set aside the bargaining agreement. The other plaintiffs include a Washington-based AFGE affiliate that represents TSA officers and unions for flight attendants and airport workers. Those unions say their members rely on TSA officers to keep them safe while working. Pechman is an appointee of Democratic President Bill Clinton.
Bloomberg
02-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Grindr's Abrupt Return to Office Was 'Union Busting,' NLRB Lawyer Tells Judge
Grindr Inc. changed its remote-work policy 'out of the blue,' demanding employees return to the office in retaliation for a union drive after previously telling them they could keep teleworking, US labor board prosecutors told an agency judge. 'Grindr told its employees many, many times in spring and summer 2023, that the remote work benefits were secure,' Joseph Meeker, an attorney for the US National Labor Relations Board, said at a May 13 hearing, according to a transcript obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. 'Then employees announced they were unionizing, and only two weeks later, Grindr changed its mind.'
Bloomberg
23-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Whole Foods Union Certified by Labor Board First for Amazon's Grocer
A union has been certified at a Whole Foods Market store in Philadelphia, marking a US first for the Inc. grocery chain. The regional director of the National Labor Relations Board backed the union, overruling objections from Whole Foods, which, like other parts of Amazon, has campaigned against unionization among its staff. The decision tees up a legal battle.
