UE NEWS Updates

UE’s Western Region met on September 28 and 29 just across the Ohio river from Cincinnati. This meeting marked the first time that the Western Region held a council meeting in the eastern part of the region since Ohio joined the Western Region in 2020.

The first UE Women’s Leadership Program, designed to promote the leadership of women and gender non-conforming members of the union, wrapped up in September. The six-month program launched in April with an in-person meet-up at the Labor Notes conference, and continued with online meetings in May, August and September.

UE Local 300-Cornell Graduate Students United (CGSU-UE), which represents graduate workers at Cornell University, are currently fighting against the unjust discipline of one of our members. On September 23, Cornell’s administration suspended international graduate worker Momodou Taal, citing his alleged participation in protest activity. This suspension fired Taal from his job and de-enrolled him as a student. He would have had to leave the country immediately once the University notified the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of their choice to de-enroll him.

After five months of negotiations, UE Local 203, which represents grocery workers at two City Market co-op locations, won a new contract that guarantees $2 increases in wages to every member and $2.25 increases for a quarter of membership. They also won a five percent wage increase for all workers in year two of the contract. Overall, the contract is worth 2.7 million dollars, the largest financial gains in the history of the local.