| 2020 Alabama aluminum plant strike | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | December 15, 2020 – January 12, 2021 (28 days) | ||
| Location | |||
| Parties to the civil conflict | |||
| |||
The 2020 Alabama aluminum plant strike is a labor strike that occurred in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States from December 2020 to January 2021. The strike involved approximately 400 members of the United Steelworkers Local 200, over alleged unfair labor practices by Constellium, a multinational producer of aluminum products who operate a manufacturing plant.
In January 2015, [1] the company Wise Metals was acquired by French-based multinational aluminum products manufacturer Constellium. As part of the acquisition, Constellium gained ownership of an aluminum sheet metal manufacturing plant in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The plant primarily produces sheet metal for use in drink cans and has contracts with several major companies, including Budweiser. [2] In 2020, the plant was one of 25 operated by Constellium across China, Europe, and North America, with 13,000 employees worldwide. [2] [3] A previous labor strike against Constellium involved 700 workers and took place at an aluminum plant in Ravenswood, West Virginia in 2012. [2] In 2020, the Muscle Shoals plant employed 1,200 workers, [4] making the plant the city's largest employer. Many of the workers are union members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 200. [5] On November 1, 2020, after months of failed labor contract negotiations between the union and Constellium, the contract expired. According to the union's district director, safety and seniority were the primary points of dispute, with the director alleging that the contract proposed by Constellium would have given management "unchecked authority" over scheduling. [3]
On December 15, 2020, Constellium was notified by USW that local members had voted to reject the most recent collective bargaining proposal, and on midnight, the local members officially went on strike. [5] Strikers are alleging unfair labor practices by Constellium and have picketed the plant. [3] USW President Tom Conway stated that the strike would continue until Constellium "comes to their senses" and, speaking about concessions requested by the company, said "there's no need for what they're asking for." [4] The strike is occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic. [5] On December 16, strikers began picketing in the parking lot outside of the plant. [6]
On January 1, 2021, a mediator held discussions between union and company representatives. [7] On January 12, union members ended the strike and returned to work following the ratification of a five-year contract with the company. [8]
The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, the United Steelworkers represents workers in Canada, the Caribbean, and the United States. The United Steelworkers represent workers in a diverse range of industries, including primary and fabricated metals, paper, chemicals, glass, rubber, heavy-duty conveyor belting, tires, transportation, utilities, container industries, pharmaceuticals, call centers, museums, and health care.
In the Memorial Day massacre of 1937, the Chicago Police Department shot and killed ten unarmed demonstrators in Chicago, on May 30, 1937. The incident took place during the Little Steel strike in the United States.
Crown Holdings, Inc., formerly Crown Cork & Seal Company, is an American company that makes metal beverage and food cans, metal aerosol containers, metal closures and specialty packing. Founded in 1892, it is headquartered in Yardley, Pennsylvania. As of their annual report for 2020, Crown employs 33,264 people at 192 plants in 39 countries. It claims to manufacture one out of every five beverage cans used in the world, and one out of every three food cans used in North America and Europe. The company is ranked No. 286 in the Fortune 500 list for 2022 and is number one in the packaging and container industry for the same list.
George Becker was a steelworker, American labor leader and president of the United Steelworkers (USW) from 1993 to 2001. During his tenure as president of the Steelworkers, Becker also served as a vice president of the AFL-CIO.
Leo W. Gerard is a retired steelworker and Canadian and American labor leader. He was elected president of the United Steelworkers (USW) in 2001, becoming the second Canadian to head the union. He served in the role until July 2019. He also served on the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO.
Bernard Kleiman (1928-2006) was an American lawyer.
On February 1, 2015, United Steelworkers (USW) announced that "more than 5,200 USW oil workers at 11 refineries in California, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Texas and Washington are on strike against the industry’s unfair labor practices". The list of charges alleged by NSW filed with the NLRB included: bad-faith bargaining over the companies’ refusal to negotiate over mandatory subjects, impeded bargaining for the companies’ undue delays in providing information, threatening workers if they join the ULP strike and others. As of March 3, 2015, about 6,550 workers were on strike at 15 plants, including 12 refineries with a fifth of U.S. capacity. It was the first time since 1982 that U.S. oil workers have walked off their jobs to protest working conditions. The National Oil Bargaining talks began in 1965 and are part of the U.S. oil industry's Pattern bargaining process.
The 2020 Bath shipbuilders strike was a labor strike involving shipbuilders at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, United States. The strike, which started June 22, involved 4,300 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The strike ended on August 23 with the approval of a new labor contract.
The 2020 University of Illinois Hospital strikes were the result of a breakdown in contract negotiations between labor unions and hospital management over salaries, staffing levels, and access to personal protective equipment.
The 2021 St. Paul Park refinery strike was a labor dispute in St. Paul Park, Minnesota, United States. The strike, involving approximately 200 workers, took place at an oil refinery owned by Marathon Petroleum and began on January 21, 2021, with members of Local 120 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters alleging unfair labor practices and unsafe working conditions. According to union representatives, the strike was originally intended to last for one day, but that the company performed a lockout on the workers. While the company denies that the dispute is a lockout, multiple sources, including the Star Tribune and the news agency Reuters, describe the dispute as a lockout.
The 2021–22 Saint Vincent Hospital strike was a labor strike involving nurses at the Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. The strike began on March 8, 2021, following disputes between the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents about 800 nurses at the hospital, and the hospital regarding staffing levels, and ended on January 3, 2022, after the nurses ratified an agreement with the hospital.
The 2021–2022 Columbia University strike was a labor strike involving graduate student workers at Columbia University in New York City. The strike began on March 15, 2021, and ended on May 13, 2021. However, additional strike action commenced on November 3 and lasted until January 7, 2022, when a tentative agreement with the university was reached. The strike was organized by the Graduate Workers of Columbia–United Auto Workers Local 2110 (SWC–UAW), a labor union representing student workers at the university. The goals of the strike were an increase in wages, increased healthcare and childcare coverage, and third-party arbitration in cases of discrimination and sexual harassment.
The 2021–2023 Warrior Met Coal strike is an ongoing labor strike in Alabama, United States. The strike began on April 1, 2021 and involves members of the United Mine Workers of America striking against Warrior Met Coal Inc. Warrior Met was formed after the bankruptcy of Walter Energy and operates coal mining facilities in the state. The strike is over the failure of the union and company to agree to a labor contract for the approximately 1,100 union members who work for Warrior Met.
The 2021 Nabisco strike was a labor strike involving workers for the American snack manufacturer Nabisco, a subsidiary of Mondelez International. The strike began at a Nabisco facility in Portland, Oregon on August 10 and over the next few days spread to several more Nabisco facilities throughout the United States.
The 2021 Allegheny Technologies strike was a labor strike involving about 1,300 workers for metals manufacturing company Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI), all unionized with the United Steelworkers (USW). The strike began on March 30 and ended on July 13 with the ratification of a new labor contract. Strikers returned to work by July 19. According to the Northwest Labor Press, the strike was among the country's largest for 2021 by number of strikers involved.
The 2021 Virginia Volvo Trucks strike was a labor strike involving workers at a Volvo Trucks production facility in Dublin, Virginia, United States. The strike began in April and ended in July with the ratification of a new labor contract.
The 2021 Kellogg's strike was a labor strike started on October 5, 2021 and ended December 21, 2021 involving about 1,400 workers for food manufacturer Kellogg's, unionized as members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union (BCTGM). The strike was caused due to disagreements between the union and company concerning the terms of a new labor contract, with particular points of contention concerning the current two-tier wage system, health care, holidays, retirement benefits, cost-of-living adjustments, and vacation time. The strike affected all of Kellogg's cereal-producing plants in the United States, consisting of plants in Battle Creek, Michigan; Omaha, Nebraska; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Memphis, Tennessee. It is one of several strikes conducted by the BCTGM in 2021, including strike action against Frito-Lay and Nabisco.
The 2021 John Deere strike was a labor strike in the United States that began on October 14 and ended on November 17, and involved about 10,000 employees for John Deere, a manufacturer of agricultural and heavy machinery. These employees are members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union, which had been negotiating a new contract with John Deere for several months. On November 17 the workers approved a new 6-year contract officially putting an end to the strike. The strike was John Deere's first in over three decades.
As June 2023, workers at over 328 Starbucks stores in the United States have voted to unionize, primarily with Workers United. The unionization effort started at a store in Buffalo, New York. About a third of Starbucks' Chilean workforce is already unionized, as well as 450 workers in New Zealand and one store in Canada. The longest Starbucks strike lasted 64 days, took place in Brookline, Massachusetts in September 2022 and resulted in the unionization of the employees at that location.
The 1964–1965 Scripto strike was a labor strike that involved workers for the Scripto company in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The strike began on November 27, 1964, and lasted until January 9, 1965, when the company and union agreed to a three-year contract that included wage increases and improved employee benefits. The strike was an important event in the history of the civil rights movement, as both civil rights leaders and organized labor activists worked together to support the strike.
