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What I’ve Been Reading This Week: Labor Law Edition


The other week, I remarked that it has seemed to be the year of labor unions, due in no small part to the successful unionization efforts at several Starbucks around the country.  While we close out the first quarter of 2022, I think it is appropriate to give a nod to several labor law developments around the country.  Even for those readers that are not as intrigued by labor law, union elections, the National Labor Relations Board, etc., I would still encourage you to give the below articles a read.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Aw Nuts! Workers Soundly Vote Against Unionization of Hershey Plant

On March 24th, it was announced that workers at a Hershey plant in Stuart Park, Virginia had overwhelming voted against unionizing.  Of the approximate 1,400 eligible workers that could vote in the election, nearly 80% voted against forming a union.  To call this a strong “No” is an understatement.  While labor advocates had hoped this election would result in this Stuart Park plant becoming the third Hershey plant in the U.S. to unionize, those hopes are (indefinitely) on hold.


Second Mesa, Arizona Starbucks Votes to Unionize

Recently, workers at a second Mesa, Arizona Starbucks voted 11 - 3 in favor of unionizing.  With this unionization, this Mesa location becomes the eighth corporate owned location to unionize in recent months.  As readers might recall, Starbucks has only been able to defeat one unionization effort.  At this time, the successful vs. unsuccessful unionization efforts stand at 8 - 1.  Something tells me this will not be the last Starbucks location to unionize.  Stay tuned.


Google Fiber Contractors Become First Workers Under Alphabet Workers Union With Bargaining Rights

About a week ago, it was announced that with a 9 - 1 vote in favor of unionization, ten Google Fiber contractors in Kansas City, Missouri have become the first Google workers under the Alphabet Workers Union banner to have bargaining rights.  The Alphabet Workers Union, formed about a year ago, aims to provide Google workers with more rights, benefits, and pay from the company.  This development is noteworthy, not just for the fact that the Alphabet Workers Union is starting to gain some notoriety, but also given that unionization efforts at tech companies appears to be the next frontier for labor union fights.


A Closer Look at the Grassroots Unionization Push at a State Island Amazon Warehouse

Josefa Velasquez at The City recently wrote an interesting article about the grassroots unionization push that is ongoing at a Staten Island Amazon warehouse.  In the article, Josefa notes two individuals, Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer, who are literally pounding the pavement and trying to get face time with the workers at the Staten Island warehouse leading into the election.  (Readers might recall Smalls used to work at the warehouse but was fired for violating Covid protocol.  His lawsuit against Amazon was recently thrown out back in February.)  The thought is that with Smalls and Palmer taking several unique steps to talk to workers and get the message out, including taking to Twitter, creating a TikTok account that documents the working conditions in the warehouse, and talking with the warehouse workers at bus stops that bring in and drop off the warehouse workers, this grassroots movement might help sway workers to vote to unionize.  While I am not sure it will achieve the desired result of unionization, it is bringing a lot of eyeballs to the election.

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