An update on the Starbucks unionization campaign, which has just organized its 200th store in Cleveland, Ohio. Despite repression and retaliation, the movement continues to grow.
Richmond wins public sector bargaining!
On July 25, Richmond City became the fifth locality in Virginia to adopt a local public sector collective bargaining ordinance.
Interview with a Starbucks union worker
On April 19, workers at five Starbucks coffee shops in the Richmond area voted overwhelmingly to join the Workers United union. We spoke to one of the organizers who are helping to turn Richmond into a union town.
Virginia Beach workers organize for better pay
As we go to press, city workers in Virginia Beach are preparing to hold a press conference and public speak-out before raising job-related demands April 20 at a city council budget hearing.
Augusta County: Union organizing at Hershey plant
Workers at the Hershey Chocolate plant in Stuarts Draft, Va., filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board Jan. 18 to be represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers’ International Union (BCTGM). According to the Staunton News Leader, workers say the main issues are a lack of time off, disrespect on the job and frequent changes that are poorly communicated by management.
D.C.: POLITICS & PROSE UNIONIZES WITH LOCAL 400
Politics and Prose, an independent bookstore with three locations in Washington, D.C., is the first bookstore in the district to unionize. The approximately 100 workers are now represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400. The Virginia Defender spoke to Isa Salazar of the Politics and Prose Workers Union Organizing Committee about the process of getting organized.
FIRST IN STATE, RICHMOND TEACHERS WIN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS!
On Dec. 6, Richmond became the first locality in Virginia to approve collective bargaining for its teachers and other public school employees.
The Virginia Defender 