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Management Rights: Negotiating Your First Contract

Robert M. Schwartz Labor Notes
First, employers want to take away the union’s statutory right to receive advance notice of any significant changes that might affect employees. Second, they want to take away the union’s legal right to bargain to agreement or impasse before the employer puts the change into effect.

Inside the Supreme Court Case That Could Chill a U.S. Strike Wave

Steve Wishnia Work-Bites
Photo of strike signs on sticks with workers hands leaning on them.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Glacier Northwest v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 174 on Jan. 10. Justices Alito and Thomas might want to use this case to narrow what is considered “protected activity”. That would follow the pattern of the 2018 Janus v. AFSCME decision, which was preceded by another case where Alito disputed the 1977 precedent that public-sector unions may charge nonmembers fees for the costs of representing them.

Video Game Testers Approve the First Union at Microsoft

Ayana Archie NPR
A group of video game testers at Microsoft have formed the tech giant's first union, and Microsoft has signed off on it, according to Communications Workers of America, which represents the employees.

Howard Brown Health Wants To Lay Off 60 New Union Members

Peter Lucas Jacobin
Howard Brown Health Center is well known as an LGBTQ-focused health provider and a stalwart Chicago progressive institution. Workers say that on the heels of their recent unionization, management is laying off 60 workers.

Microsoft Gets Its First Gaming Union, Largest in North America

Shannon Liao The Washington Post
The gaming industry has seen a wave of unionization efforts in recent years. Quality assurance testers at ZeniMax Studios pushed to unionize, saying labor issues such as low wages and long hours drove them to organize.