News & Commentary April 9, 2023

[Omaha Steve]

https://onlabor.org/april-9-2023/

By Will Ebeler

Will Ebeler is a student at Harvard Law School.

In this weekend’s news and commentary, Barnes & Noble Education workers start a unionizing campaign; Congressional Democrats raise new concerns about last year’s Warner Bros. Discovery merger; workers at a Ford plant in Mexico reach a tentative deal; and a 2019 plan to improve labor practices at cocoa farms struggles to achieve its goals.

On Thursday, employees at a Barnes & Noble Education Inc. store in New Jersey announced a unionizing campaign. The workers at the Rutgers University bookstore—one of 785 campus bookstores run by the spin-off of Barnes & Noble Inc.—planned to submit an election petition to the NLRB. Organizers say that most of the roughly 70 employees at the store support unionizing. They hope to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and achieve improvements in pay, job security, and work hours.

On Friday, four Congressional Democrats asked the Department of Justice to review last year’s Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representatives Joaquin Castro, Pramila Jayapal, and David Cicilline asked DOJ “to investigate the state of competition in affected labor and consumer markets following the consummation of this merger.” After the merger, the company laid off thousands of employees; the four lawmakers raised concerns that it led to reduced opportunities for artists, particularly Latino artists. In the wake of the merger, the company canceled or downsized several high-profile shows, several of which featured Latino stars. Although it would be unusual for DOJ to unwind an already-completed merger, the lawmakers pointed to “somewhat unprecedented” actions by WarnerBros. Discovery, including its decision to cancel the movie “Batgirl” after shooting had already been completed. The LA times described such a decision as “exceedingly rare.” The lawmakers noted that even if the WarnerBros. Discovery merger isn’t revisited, DOJ should consider the merger as an example of the risks of some deals.

On Tuesday, a union representing workers at a Ford plant in Chihuahua, Mexico reached a tentative agreement with the company to raise wages by 8.2% this year. The National Union of Ford Motor Company Workers represents the 2,000 workers at the plant. The union had been pushing for wage increases above inflation; in February, the inflation rate in Mexico was 7.6%. The agreement will now go to a vote.

FULL story at link above.