Cohost Union News

After two successful unionization efforts at Titmouse New York and with the staff of Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News, The Animation Guild is looking to unionize Austin, Texas-based Powerhouse Animation Studios. The studio's members filed for a National Labor Relations Board election this Monday (April 24) and are awaiting a date for that election.

The unit at Powerhouse will be joining TAG Local 839 and consists of 137 workers. Of those 137, a supermajority have apparently signed on to the effort–this is usually a pretty good indicator that a unionization effort will succeed. They're also seeking voluntary recognition from Powerhouse, although as is true of most voluntary recognition efforts I doubt that will happen. A primary motivator for the union effort is job security (although union members are also looking for equal wages at the studio)–this is pretty understandable, given that many animation studios and animated projects are being gutted, to put it politely.

One thing worth nothing–although I don't think it will have much of an impact on this specific union in the immediate term–is that Texas is also a right-to-work state.¹ This can be a complicating factor in unionization efforts, and it'll be interesting to see if this causes trouble for the union down the road if they win.

1. For those unaware, "right-to-work" means that employees have a legal right to refrain from paying or being a member of a labor union, even if they're protected by the collective bargaining of said union. Such states also generally outlaw union shops (places where non-union employees can be hired but then must join the union within a certain period) and agency shops (in which employees are free to not join the union, but have to pay the equivalent of the cost of union representation).

It's hard to give an adequate summary of just how much labor strife is currently ongoing in the United Kingdom. To give you an idea, however: for every day of this month but one there has been a substantial strike somewhere in the country–and for most of 2023 the story has been the same. They're coming from every industry, and the vast majority are driven by out of control inflation, lack of pay, and a general sense of dismal economic conditions.

Civil service unions, however, are by far feeling the desperation needed to strike the most. In the case of teachers, who are the majority of today's strikers, those walls have felt like they're closing in for years.

In a piece earlier this year for Tribune written by Taj Ali, it was noted that:

In real terms, teachers’ pay has declined by more than 20 percent in the past decade. A survey by the National Education Union (NEU) last year found that nearly half of teachers plan on quitting within five years. It’s a vicious cycle, with shortages increasing the workloads of those who remain.

Support staff for teachers experience similar problems; bad pay, increased workloads, and standards which feel impossible to meet. Collectively there are shortages of both, and for teachers and support staff the cost of living crisis has been disastrous. Says Kiera, a person Ali profiled in the piece: “I have colleagues who are single mams and are regularly in their overdraft or using their credit card by the end of the month. I worry about money more than I ever have before, and am constantly budgeting and rebudgeting and editing my spreadsheet with my finances in, trying to find extra ways to save here.”

So it's no surprise that support staff and teachers have become one of the leading groups on strike in the country, particularly as inflation continues to wreak havoc. In February the first national teacher's strike in seven years took place, and thus far the government's response to it has been completely unserious. In negotiations with the other major UK education union earlier this year, NASUWT, the government went so far as to allow just six days of negotiation–not exactly a commitment to hearing the concerns of workers out. That has reflected in what they've offered strikers here, evidently. Says The Guardian on the latest proposal to the teachers as they walk out today:

The government has offered teachers in England a one-off payment of £1,000 and a 4.3% pay rise, and the starting salary for teachers in England is due to rise to £30,000 a year by September. All four teaching unions [NEU, NASUWT, Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), and National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT)] have rejected this offer[...]

Without a deal between them, this means another strike day is to occur on May 2; and three more are in the pipeline, having been approved earlier this year. Those strike days are likely to take place at the end of June or beginning of July, say the NEU.

A few other strikes of note in the past few days and in the days to come: a nurse's strike that the government is trying to halt in court; strikes in the rail unions; and strikes at Heathrow, among others.

Big and brief news: Alphabet Workers Union scores their first big victory against Google as they unanimously win at YouTube Music. The widely hyped vote ended 41 yes, 0 no in favor of unionization.

Although these workers are subcontractors through Cognizant, the NLRB has ruled that Alphabet is their ultimate employer and therefore must bargain with them. Google is appealing that decision. For the time being however they are--and if their appeal fails will be--obligated to meet at the bargaining table with AWU. Congratulations!

As the fifth week of their strike continues, GEO 3550 reports that at least 57 University of Michigan professors (and counting) have publicly committed to what is essentially a grading strike against the university–and more are likely doing so behind the scenes.

This information comes from an open letter penned by dozens of faculty and released on Monday (April 24), UM Faculty Pledge of Collective Grade Strike and Non-Retaliation Until Fair Contract Is Negotiated With GEO. They pledge that:

We the undersigned faculty stand with members of the History Department in hereby pledging to withhold grades until May 12th. If a fair contract is still not negotiated by then, we will collectively reconsider our position on that date.

We also pledge not to punish or report any Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) for striking and/or withholding grades. In accordance with SACUA, we reject attempts to pressure faculty to grade work taught by GSIs and to issue arbitrary grades for ungraded or incomplete work.

The letter comes on the heels of a letter released by an unknown number of faculty in the university's History Department making a similar pledge. That letter has not been released completely publicly and doesn't have public signatories to my knowledge, but has been endorsed here and by several other faculty not on the grade strike letter. Both represent escalations in tactics by sympathetic members of the University of Michigan community; no doubt the arrest of two picketers last week had some influence on the decision.

Another letter broadly condemning the university's response to the strike has also garnered almost 2,000 signatures in the past few days–including around 400 by campus faculty.

Regular picketing also continues, of course. The schedule for picketing this week can be found here, and the virtual picket schedule can be found here.