Factbox: From Detroit Three to healthcare, US labor unions flex muscle

Green Thumb Industries

18/10/2023 15:00

(Updates with details on strike action by Detroit and Las Vegas
casino workers)
    By Mrinalika Roy
       Oct 18 (Reuters) - A tight U.S. labor market, the expiry
of union contracts and high living costs have led to tough
negotiations for pay hikes and benefits, triggering strikes and
protests across industries.
    Nearly 309,700 workers have been involved in work stoppages
and strikes through August this year, according to preliminary
data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, putting 2023 on
track to becoming the busiest year for strikes since 2019.    
    
    Here are some sectors and companies that faced tough
negotiations in 2023:
    
    MEDIA
    Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) approved a new
three-year contract with major studios on Oct. 9. Film and
television writers had walked off the job in May over
compensation, staffing and residual payments, among other
issues. They returned to work on Sept. 27 after negotiators
reached a tentative agreement.
    In July, the SAG-AFTRA actors union joined the writers on
picket lines. Negotiations between Hollywood studios and the
union were suspended on Oct. 11 as the two sides clashed over
streaming revenue. 

    
    AUTOMOTIVE
    United Auto Workers on Oct. 11 shut down Ford's  F.N 
biggest plant globally, in a sharp escalation of the union's
four-week targeted strike against the Detroit Three automakers.
    The coordinated strike against General Motors  GM.N , Ford
Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis  STLAM.MI , which began
after the earlier contracts expired on Sept. 15, initially
targeted three assembly plants. 
    
    Union workers at Volvo Group  VOLVb.ST -owned Mack Trucks
went on strike on Oct. 9 after overwhelmingly rejecting a
proposed five-year contract.
        
    PARCEL DELIVERY
    Teamsters union workers at United Parcel Service  UPS.N  
ratified a new five-year contract in August, a deal that raises
pay, eliminates a two-tier wage system for drivers, provides
another paid holiday and ends forced overtime.
    FedEx  FDX.N  pilots have been involved in a standoff with
the parcel delivery firm over wages and legacy pensions. Pilots
rejected a tentative deal in July and negotiations are expected
to restart.
    
    AIRLINES & AEROSPACE FIRMS
    Pilots at several airlines including American Airlines
 AAL.O , Delta Air Lines  DAL.N , United Airlines Holdings
 UAL.O , Spirit Airlines  SAVE.N  and Jetblue Airways  JBLU.O 
negotiated new job contracts this year.
    Members of some unions like the Southwest Airlines Pilots
Association have voted to authorize a strike if a new contract
is not reached.
    Spirit AeroSystems  SPR.N  negotiated a new contract to end
a strike that led to a week-long work stoppage at its plant in
Wichita, Kansas.
    
    MANUFACTURING
    U.S. steel producer Cleveland-Cliffs  CLF.N  has reached a
tentative agreement with the United Steelworkers union on a new
three-year labor agreement for its Northshore mining operations.
    U.S. Steel  X.N , which is reviewing multiple proposals
ranging from partial acquisition to an entire buyout, is
embroiled in a tussle with the United Steelworkers union. The
company's unionized workers say they essentially have the power
to veto any transaction they do not approve of.
    
    CONSUMER & RETAIL
    In Las Vegas, thousands of workers announced plans in early
October to picket in front of eight MGM Resorts  MGM.N  and
Caesars Entertainment  CZR.O  resort locations. Unions
representing the roughly 53,000 Las Vegas workers have held
talks with MGM, Caesars and Wynn Resorts  WYNN.O  over a new
five-year contract.
       
    Thousands of hospitality workers in Detroit walked off the
job on Oct. 17 after unions called for strikes at three casinos
- MGM Grand Detroit, operated by MGM Resorts International
 MGM.N ; Hollywood Casino at Greektown, operated by Penn
Entertainment  PENN.O ; and MotorCity Casino.
        The Detroit Casino Council (DCC) called the first strike
in its history after negotiations that had begun in the summer
did not yield a new contract. 
  
    
    More than 3,000 workers at more than 150 Starbucks  SBUX.O 
stores in the U.S. held strikes in June, following claims the
company had banned Pride Month decorations at some of its cafes.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N38F1SO  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N38F2Z6
    
    Thousands of Los Angeles-area hotel staffers went on a
three-day strike in July over improved wages, benefits and
working conditions. Union leaders representing the workers have 
threatened further walkouts.
    
    HEALTHCARE
    Kaiser Permanente's healthcare workers' unions reached a
tentative agreement with the company on Oct. 13, settling a
dispute that sparked the largest-ever such labor action in the
medical sector.
    Tens of thousands of nurses and other healthcare workers at
Kaiser Permanente staged a planned three-day strike last week
over pay and staffing issues.  
    
    More than 7,000 nurses went on a three-day strike in New
York City over staffing levels and pay hikes in January.
    
    CANNABIS
    Unions representing cannabis workers have also increased
pressure on companies in the sector this year. 
    Workers at Green Thumb Industries'  GTII.CD  Chicago-area
RISE dispensaries went on a 13-day unfair labor practices (ULP)
strike in April, which was the longest ULP strike at a cannabis
retailer in U.S. history.
    Labor unions secured new contract agreements at multistate
operator-owned cannabis dispensaries in Illinois and in New
Jersey in July.
    
    ENERGY
    Unionized workers at Phillips 66's  PSX.N  refinery in
Roxana, Illinois, ratified a contract with the refiner in
late-stage negotiations, averting a potential strike.
    The union had been in talks with the refiner since summer,
when it rejected a company proposal and sought additional
benefits for holiday and vacation hours and pay, among other
improvements.

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Work Stoppages in U.S.    https://tmsnrt.rs/48n57So
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 (Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila, Eileen Soreng and Pooja Desai)
 ((mrinalika.roy@thomsonreuters.com))