Fast food is an unlikely union target, due to high workforce turnover and layered franchise ownership. And the path forward is uncertain, say organizers. The only thing that seems sure is that typical union elections won’t work. Nonetheless, the strikes have caught the imagination of fast food workers around the country, who toil in one of the economy’s few growth sectors.
Two unions apparently squared off at the Anaheim office of Local 50 yesterday over who rightfully represents the 5,000 food service workers of the Disneyland Resort. A flyer distributed by Local 50 accuses the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) of attempting to take over the facility as well as bank account funds.
When the votes were tallied at the NLRB regional office in Oakland yesterday, NUHW support in Kaiser’s largest bargaining unit had increased by 15 percent—but SEIU, the vocal opponent of striking, won again with 18,844 votes versus NUHW’s 13,101. (Another 334 workers chose no union.)
A high-stakes fight between one of the nation's largest unions and an upstart, homegrown rival over which one should get to represent thousands of Kaiser Permanente workers in California entered Round 2 this month. NUHW-CNA face off against SEIU. Mail-in voting concludes Monday, and a final tally is expected by Friday.
Which way will 45,000 California healthcare workers swing? The answer has major implications for labor.
Twin Cities SEIU Local 26 uses other groups and individuals to help its organizing drive.
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