Over 100 UE members and staff from across the country attended the 2024 Labor Notes Conference in Chicago in April. Many were featured panelists or workshop facilitators for 14 different program offerings, highlighting UE campaigns and skills. All participated in a rich variety of workshops, panels, and gatherings designed to grow the “trouble-making” wing of the labor movement.
Some panels featured UE leaders reflecting on recent struggles, like Ron Mozdy, Local 506, who shared experiences from the Erie strike last summer in a session called “Getting Strike Ready.” Similarly in “Organizing Against Private Equity,” Anthony Sanchez, Local 115, shared experiences from his local’s collaborations with an outside group that helped pressure the multinational company that owns his employer.
Larry Hopkins, Local 1177, contributed insight on the importance of cleaning up the air pollution in his workplace through UE’s Green Locomotive Project as part of the panel that kicked off a workshop on “Steering Green Transitions.” The workshop encouraged an organizing approach to finding workplace issues for advancing climate justice while also making jobs better.
New UE members featured prominently in conversations on recent organizing among graduate workers, both in panel discussions and in meetups with members of grad workers from other unions. Daniel Shen, Local 256, applied lessons organizing at MIT in a session on “Organizing at Big Workplaces.” Begum Bigol and Wisam Awadallah, Local 197, and Esther Kamm, Local 1122, shared the stage in “Graduate Workers’ Organizing Upsurge,” and Sophie Coppieters 't Wallant, Local 256, worked with UE allies from the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee on “Democracy in New Organizing.” Director of Organization Mark Meinster facilitated a conversation on “Can Worker-led Organizing Restore Labor’s Power?” featuring International Representative Valentina Luketa.
UE’s work organizing the South was also an important part of the program. Robert Brown from the Norfolk City Workers Union in Virginia participated in a session on “Pre-Majority Unionism” since he and his fellow coworkers still don’t have collective bargaining rights. Field Organizer Kass Ottley led a workshop on “Organizing in ‘Right-to-Work’ States,” sharing some UE strategies with those from other organizations.
The war in Gaza was a frequent topic throughout the weekend. In the session “Palestine 101 for Union Members,” Local 696 member Crystal Grabowski spoke about UE’s prompt endorsement of a ceasefire as an extension of the union’s anti-imperialist stance. They also raised work done in the Pittsburgh area to pressure politicians to demand a ceasefire and divestment from Israeli companies.
UE General Counsel Margot Nikitas contributed her expertise in the workshop “New Workplace Rights and Labor Board Rulings You Should Know About.” Education Director Kari Thompson led a workshop on “Building a Better Workplace for Parents,” and co-facilitated a workshop on “Race and Labor.”
UE participants also met with international allies. At a lunchtime exchange with Japanese union Zenroren, members from Locals 506 and 618 shared stories about their strike last summer, and members from Locals 197 and 256 shared experiences of learning from graduate worker organizing. Takeshi Takeshita, Deputy Secretary General of Zenroren, explained the “Spring Struggle” bargaining process that Zenroren uses to bargain new contracts with employers annually. After the conference, the Zenroren delegation toured Chicago with General President Carl Rosen.
Many UE members participated in an exchange with representatives from FIOM in Italy, including their General Secretary, Michele De Palma. He explained the Italian process of sectoral bargaining, coupled with employer-based negotiations to raise standards even higher. Chantal Ide, Vice President of the Montreal Central Council of the CSN, a Quebec-based union, met with UE members to answer questions about the waves of strikes members of her union pursued in the last several months, including the largest strike in North America which saw almost half a million public sector workers out in the streets. Members of the UE delegation also met with union members from Australia, France, Norway, New Zealand and more.
It was a jam-packed weekend where many members expressed enthusiasm for all they learned, and the most frequent regret being a lack of time to learn even more. The conference closed with an exciting speech from UAW President Shawn Fain urging participants to keep organizing.
Women’s Leadership Program Participants at Labor Notes
Among the UE members at Labor Notes were eight rank and file members of the inaugural group of the UE Women’s Leadership Program. UE Local 618 Business Agent Janet Gray most enjoyed the opportunities for international solidarity connections. During a lunchtime exchange on Friday, she spoke to a room full of workers from Zenroren (the Japanese National Confederation of Trade Unions) about the difficulties and triumphs of the 2023 UE Locals 506 and 618 strike/lockout and the importance of building a militant international labor movement. Later in the weekend, other international workers sought out Janet’s experience. She said, “I met a couple organizers from the New Zealand Public Service Association. They tapped on my shoulder because of the UE 506 sweatshirt I was wearing and asked all kinds of questions about UE. In the end they gave me a PSA NZ T-shirt and I'm sending a UE sweatshirt to them. I hope to visit them next year!”
As dozens of workshops ran simultaneously, WLP participants split up at times to take in information relevant to their shops in addition to attending several panels on Women in Labor together. UE Local 1177 Chief Steward Erin Frimpong attended and recorded as many sessions as possible. She said, “My favorite part about Labor Notes was all the new connections with other union members and the variety of panels. It allowed me to bring a lot of information back home for my other stewards that I don't think I could've gotten from anywhere else. I can't wait for the next Labor Notes to see what else I can learn!”
Local 1118 President Delores Phillips (left front) and other UE women at a rally for Portillo's workers.
Not limited to structured discussion, on Saturday the WLP took buses to join a rally at a nearby Portillo’s restaurant (a famous Chicago hot dog and sandwich chain) in support of Portillo’s warehouse food production workers organizing with Iron Workers Local 853. Despite one successful union election and an ongoing organizing drive at another location, the company has engaged in extensive union busting and refuses to come to the table. Chanting “Si se puede” (“yes we can” in Spanish) in front of the UE banner, General Executive Board member and Local 1118 President Delores Phillips said, “I’m proud of who we are and that we stand in solidarity with all workers. These companies need to stop treating us like crap!”
The WLP met Sunday after the conference closed to discuss their experiences and were pleased to see so many women from all unions had participated. Still, the UE difference was apparent. UE Local 1498 President Lindley Hornsby said, “Attending Labor Notes not only inspired me to share new organizing tactics with my local, but also taught me what it means to be a proud member of the UE. Sharing strategies and experiences with women from the UE and other unions was by far the most meaningful part of the conference.”