Bargaining Update

Saint Barnabas Medical Center

After months of bargaining and mobilizing to stand united and firm in their demands for better working conditions, healthcare workers at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center (CBMC) in Livingston, N.J., members of New Jersey Nurses Union (CWA Local 1091), have ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with significant wage increases and improvements to increase safe staffing that will help the hospital attract and retain nurses amid a nationwide nursing shortage.

The new agreement will cover more than 1,350 registered nurses at CBMC who work in various critical units. Under the new agreement, nurses who are working night shifts, which are often difficult to fill, will be eligible to receive additional wages during those hours. Preceptor nurses—those training and evaluating new nurses to ensure they are equipped to properly care for patients—will also be compensated for that important added responsibility. Additionally, new language in the agreement will allow the union’s staffing committee to regularly and directly address workloads with hospital management.

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United Airlines Union Coalition

AFA-CWA, along with the other unions representing workers at United Airlines, announced the formation of the United Airlines Union Coalition to coordinate closely on bargaining and other issues. Four of the five unions in the coalition, including AFA-CWA, are currently in negotiations for fair contracts. “None of us can do our jobs without each other. We have each other's backs in bargaining and we will stand together until all of us have ratified contracts that reflect the world-class airline United should be,” said the coalition leaders in a statement. Following the announcement, AFA-CWA Flight Attendants joined hundreds of other union members and supporters to participate in a picket hosted by United Pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, during the United Airlines Board of Directors Meeting in Houston.

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National Audubon Society

One year after forming a union, workers at the National Audubon Society have yet to negotiate a fair contract due to the organization leadership’s continued aggressive anti-union stance and stalling tactics. Recently, Audubon leadership unilaterally cut workers’ healthcare benefits, pushing costs onto the organization’s most vulnerable staff, while rejecting more equitable proposals from the union. In addition, Audubon’s leadership is refusing to bargain in good faith and is repeatedly insulting and undermining their own workforce, leading to high staff turnover and worker dissatisfaction.

In response, Audubon workers filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging Audubon leadership broke federal law. They have also launched a petition to put pressure on Audubon CEO Dr. Elizabeth Gray and the Audubon Board to reinstate their healthcare plan and negotiate a fair contract. Click here to sign their petition.