Amazon resorted to many different tactics to defeat this unionization effort and judging by the vote result, it unfortunately worked incredibly well. Amazon hosted daily meetings with workers and had TV screens with anti-union messages. Amazon fired Ryan Brown who was a leading figure in the effort appropriately for using “inappropriate language” while three C.AU.S.E. members were arrested while distributing food outside the RDU1 warehouse. C.AU.S.E. members also accused Amazon of removing workers from the lobby who were attempting to share updates online. This in addition to other efforts of Amazon to defeat this drive shows the importance for the workers to fight for better conditions.

North Carolina is, along with many of its Southern neighbors, an incredibly difficult state to organize in and this vote showed many examples of the tactics used by large corporations to defeat any organizing work. North Carolina is a “right to work” state which means that the job is always going to be incredibly difficult work to do, but that it is a job that must be done. North Carolina has a long history of fighting for better conditions and unions but has come up short many times before.

Garner is a suburb of Raleigh a city that is very unaffordable for many of its residents and the efforts of these and other workers to organize and demand better conditions and wages is not only important but necessary. We must join together to support our fellow workers and fight back against any anti-union efforts both here and worldwide.

The post Amazon Repression Defeats Organizing Campaign in North Carolina first appeared on Labor Today.

The reason for the walkout is a 2% increase in wages while other school employees are receiving a 4% increase. The walkout was successful in getting the county to agree to a 4% raise, although they did not win everything that they fought for. Guilford County Association of Educators President Joanna Pendleton praised the workers for their bravery, achievements and the solidarity that was built over the walkout. “I am inspired by the actions of our cafeteria coworkers,” she said. “Their powerful message to the district is also a powerful message to all workers that when we stand together, we win. Our cafeteria coworkers did not win everything they asked for, but they won a lot more than they had before this action.” The success of the SNS workers in Guilford County should serve as a powerful lesson to us all and encourage all school employees who are dealing with underfunding and overworked conditions to stand up and fight for more rights and mass solidarity.

This walkout comes at a time of school staff frustration boiling over into action across North Carolina. In Durham County, hundreds of teachers and school staff called out of work causing several schools to close. The January walkout was done to support school staff when the county indicated it would cut pay for school staff. The Durham County Association of Educators stated that they asked to county school system to, “1) not introduce pay cuts; 2) reverse the policy to erase years of experience from over 1,300 workers’ salary steps and 3) commit to regular meetings with union members to discuss how to create excellent working conditions and most of all, the learning conditions that our students deserve.” The DAE has also stated that they are pushing for a “Meet and Confer policy” in which union members will sit down and negotiate contracts and salary decisions at the county level.

In February, the county voted to create a committee to investigate the “Meet and Confer” policy and see if the county will implement it. Let’s hope the teachers and staff keep the fight going for our schools and our children.

The post Successful Strikes of School Staff in North Carolina Lead to Review of Labor Policies first appeared on Labor Today.