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

Green Thumb Industries

19/09/2023 12:42

(Repeats to fix media packaging code, update dateline)
       Sept 19 (Reuters) - A tight U.S. labor market,
expiration of cyclical contracts and high living costs have
triggered tough negotiations for pay hikes and other benefits by
workers and strikes and protests across industries.
    Some 295,500 workers have been involved in stoppages through
July this year, as per preliminary U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics data, putting 2023 on track to become the busiest
year for strikes since 2019.
    

    Some sectors and companies that faced tough negotiations in
2023:
    
    MEDIA
    Hollywood is experiencing its first dual work stoppage of
writers and actors in 63 years, halting productions across the
industry and costing the California economy billions of dollars.
The strike is over compensation, staffing and residual payments
among other issues.
    
    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 stand-off 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 Airlines  DAL.N , United Airlines Holdings
 UAL.O , Spirit Airlines  SAVE.N , 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.
    
    AUTOMOTIVE
    United Auto Workers (UAW) union has launched a targeted
strike over pay and benefits against Ford  F.N , GM  GM.N  and
Stellantis  STLAM.MI , targeting one U.S. assembly plant at each
company.
        The union would announce on Friday 
    more U.S. plants to strike
     if no serious progress was made in talks with the Detroit
Three automakers.
  
        Ford also faces a total strike at its smaller Canadian
operations.
  
    
    MANUFACTURING
    U.S. steel producer Cleveland-Cliffs Inc  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 Steel Workers union. The
company's unionized workers say they essentially have the power
to veto any transaction they do not approve of.
    
    CONSUMER & RETAIL
    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
    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/3YS53pg
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 (Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila and Shounak Dasgupta)
 ((mrinalika.roy@thomsonreuters.com))