MARJB Workers United, an SEIU Affiliate
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Joint Board News
MARJB Quarterly Raffle
The first drawing for the quarterly raffle will be held on Thursday, February 23, 2023. Winners will be posted on our website.
All ticket stubs and money should be returned to the Regional Office on or before Friday, February 17, 2023, in order to be included in the drawing.
1st Prize: 55" Flat Screen TV
2nd Prize: $100 Cash
3rd Prize: $50 Cash
You do not need to be
present to win.
Good Luck!
Delegates attend 2023 AFL-CIO MLK Jr. Conference
Delegates from the MARJB attended the AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human and Civil Rights Conference in Washington DC on January 13-16, 2023. The weekend was filled with activities which included speakers, community service, an interfaith service, Awards Gala, and concluded with the MLK Holiday DC Annual Peace Walk & Parade. This was the first time in several years
that the event was able to
be held in person.
Autoneum Workers On Strike
Workers of Local 1700 employed at the Autoneum plant in Bloomsburg, PA, walked off the job at around 5:00pm on Thursday, December 1, 2022. This came after a series of workers' votes that day resulted in a 244-19 decision to reject the Company's "best, last, and final offer". Workers say the rising cost of health care and a minimal wage increase led to the decision. Workers have been negotiating for a new contract since early this year and their last contract expired on April 4, 2022. Workers feel like they are going backwards instead of moving ahead as what they are gaining in raises is being taken away in insurance costs. The only other strike at the Company was in 1968 and lasted about a week.
UPDATE: On December 7, 2022, the Local 1700 membership accepted an agreement with Autoneum that ended the strike. All workers returned to their jobs with a renewed sense of pride and restored dignity! UNION STRONG!
Want to get more involved in supporting organizing efforts at Starbucks?
Sign the
"No Contract,
No Coffee"
pledge.
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced legislation to address labor concerns and worker's rights in the U.S. garment industry.
The Fashioning Accountability and Building Real Institutional Change (FABRIC) Act was introduced to the Senate on May 12, 2022, with Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) as co-sponsors. People who make our clothes are too often not employed fairly or treated fairly or paid fairly for their work in the industry. This legislation will help ensure American garment workers are fairly paid while revitalizing the entire American garment manufacturing industry.
Workers United is a proud endorser of the FABRIC Act.
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2022 Scholarship Winners
Kamron Hall
received the
Bruce Dunton / Peter Nadash
Award
Kamron's father
is a member of our
Local 9-1 -
MARJB
Frederick, MD
Loren Hertzler
received the
Joe Bock
Award
Loren's father
is a member of our
Local 1398 -
Merck
Elkton, VA
Sarah Bower
received the
William Cannon
Award
Sarah's father
is a member
of our Local 1700 -
Autoneum
Bloomsburg, PA
Cassandra Moats
received the
Joseph Coponi
Award
Cassandra's parents
are members
of our Local 863 -
The Greenbrier
White Sulphur Springs, WV
Workers United mourns with our African American communities; decries all acts of hatred and violence
Starbucks workers across the country are organizing in an effort to get a number of improvements, including higher pay, more hours, and better safety protections. They want more say in what their working lives are like and they want to hold a company that talks progressive values accountable. Starbucks calls its employees "partners" but most employees feel they are not treated that way. Starbucks employees say they are seeing successful union votes at other locations and think they could improve conditions at their own stores by doing the same. Our Union is leading the effort to organize these workers.
Meet OUR new members @ Movement Crystal City
NLRB To Certify First Unionized Climbing Gym At Movement Crystal City
Arlington, VA — Workers at Movement in Crystal City are one step closer to becoming the first unionized rock climbing gym in the US. Currently, there are 20 Movement facilities and nearly 600 total rock climbing gyms operated in the US. Workers voted for a union in November 2021, but Movement filed objections, claiming that organizers interfered with the fairness of the election. The National Labor Relations Board overturned all three charges and recommended that the successful vote be certified. The company has declined to appeal the ruling, meaning the NLRB will certify the vote. Both management and the workers are excited to come to the table and reinstate a cooperative relationship.
“We are proud to be the first unionized gym in the country, and are encouraged by our management’s commitment to dialoguing with workers. We look forward to coming to the table in good faith to bargain for improved working conditions and strengthen our excellent community,” said organizer Wendy Low.
This week, organizers invited the local, regional, and national leadership to a preliminary meeting to determine how the bargaining process will proceed. Workers wrote, “We are very excited and grateful to hear that you’re ready to start working with us to better understand and address the concerns of all of us working at the Crystal City gym! As we all know, partnership and innovation are two of our organization’s core values; we think that coming together to set the stage in good faith is the best way for us to put those values into action.”
In a company-wide email regarding the imminent certification of the union vote, CEO Robert Cohen stated, “We are committed to continuing the dialogue and collaborating to further improve the team member experience for all of us.”
Organizer Sylvain La, said, “We’re excited to give the workers at Crystal City a seat at the table and establish open lines of communication and improved transparency.”
Despite pandemic restrictions, the number of climbing gyms in the US has continued to grow.
Workers hope this union will mark the start of a broader movement to create more inclusion and equity of the voices of climbing gym employees in the growing indoor climbing industry.
Instagram: @movementforequalfooting
Twitter: @mvmt4eqlfooting
Delegates Attend Joint Board Meeting in VA Beach
Delegates of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Joint Board, Workers United, participated in its annual Joint Board Meeting on October 28-29, 2022, at the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel in Virginia Beach, VA.
Delegates met to discuss and approve the business of the Joint Board. Prior meeting minutes were approved and Departmental reports were given by Sara Serafini for the MARJB Health Fund, Mary Delss gave reports on the Financials of the Health Fund and the Joint Board, Chris Roell gave the report on Dues and Membership, and the Audit Committee gave the report on their audit findings for year ended 2021.
Delegates received grievance training from Tony Michael of the WVU Institute of Labor Studies and Research. Guest speakers attended from Amalgamated Life Insurance Company - Roseann Frankl, Ray Moore and Dawn Maahs, who spoke on the various supplemental insurance benefits provided. MARJB Organizing Director Rebecca Hess, gave the Organizing Report and presentation with assistance from Tyler Hofmann and Justin Eastman, both of whom are former employees of Starbucks who were terminated. Workers United International Organizing Director Richard Minter also gave an Organizing Report and spoke about the different campaigns Workers United is involved in across the country.
Presentations were also made by Jennifer Alexandre and Lisa Bond from Humana who spoke about the Medicare open enrollment period and the services and products they provide to bridge the gap for members who are Medicare eligible. We also heard from Lisa Johnson and Jeff Hapke from American Income Life who spoke about the AD&D benefit that all members and retirees of the Joint Board have been given at no-cost to them as well as other products they offer. Leadership Training was provided by Joint Board Representative Ines Vargas who spoke about the importance of listening, communicating, and educating our membership.
Friday night, Delegates gathered in the Ballroom for a reception, Halloween Costume Contest, dinner, karaoke, and dancing. At the conclusion of the meeting on Saturday, the wheel was spun and many delegates won fantastic prizes from cash and gift cards to a custom tailored suit (donated by English American Tailoring), and a large trunk (donated by Mercury Luggage/Advantus).
MARJB Holds Golf Scramble
to benefit the Scholarship Fund
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Joint Board and The Greenbrier Resort co-hosted a golf scramble on Wednesday, October 27, 2021, on the Meadows Golf Course in White Sulphur Springs, WV to raise money to benefit our Scholarship Fund. The event was well attended with 84 golfers making up 21 foursome teams.
Leadership of the Mid-Atlantic Region was represented by Regional Director Patrick Jones Sr., who addressed the attendees and expressed appreciation for everyone's support of the Scholarship Fund. Other leadership of the Executive Board in attendance were Patrick Jones Jr.-Associate Director, Larry Bryant-President, David Bailey-Vice President, Peter Bostic-Secretary, Chad McCroskey-Sergeant-at-Arms, Members at Large-Tommy Fragakis and Mercedes Rivera, and past President Antoinette Brown. In attendance representing Staff were Ines Vargas, Kathy Glover, and Nate Hall.
The Winning Team was the team sponsored by the Malone Funeral Home, 2nd Place was the team sponsored by United Bank, and 3rd Place was the team sponsored by the MARJB Education Fund.
The event raised approximately $12,000 for the Scholarship Fund and will go a long way to support our efforts to offer annual scholarships to our members children and grandchildren.
The MARJB would like to give special recognition and thanks to our Union sister and Executive Board Member Mercedes Rivera. Mercedes made a very generous monetary donation to our Scholarship Fund. Way to go Mercedes! YOUR kind gesture is very much appreciated!!
Do You Know Your Weingarten Rights?
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a worker is entitled to have a union representative present when a supervisor asks for information which could be used as the basis for discipline. Management has no obligation to tell workers their rights. Stewards should make sure all workers know their rights and know that they can request union representation before or during questioning by management.
If called to a meeting with management, read the following statement to management before the meeting starts:
If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, or affect my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my union representative, officer or steward be present at this meeting. Without representation present, I choose not to participate in this discussion.
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Local 4 Officers (Marshalls Distribution Center in Bridgewater, VA) celebrated the retirement of 31-year employee Debra Moore. Debra held many positions while a member of Local 4 and always supported the Union's efforts and offered dedicated service to our members / her co-workers. Enjoy your retirement Debra!
