New Organizing and Union Election Results in Florida | September 2024
New Organizing and Union Election Results in Florida | September 2024
Catch up on what happened in Florida labor news last month, feat. new organizing with the Teamsters, another Starbucks union and more wins in the public sector.
Florida, like other states in the South, is regularly dismissed as a “non-union” state, where decades of anti-union policies, and deep-rooted corporate and political resistance to unions have stunted and degraded union power.
Only 6.1 percent of Florida’s workforce has union representation, and less than five percent of workers are dues-paying members.
But new organizing does happen here in the Sunshine State, maybe more often than you’d think. Here’s a roundup of new organizing drives that launched this month:
This roundup is inspired by Jonah Furman’s retired Who Gets the Bird? newsletter (RIP) and The Valley Labor Report’s similar roundup of new organizing, election results, and labor updates across the U.S. South.
Organizing in the private sector
Warehouse workers for United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) in Sarasota filed a petition to unionize with the Teamsters Local 79, based in Tampa, after marching on the boss last month to demand voluntary recognition of their union. According to the petition filed, 271 workers would be eligible to join if the union prevails in the election. This new bid for union representation comes just months after UNFI delivery drivers in Sarasota similarly sought (and then voted) to join Local 79, beating back an effort by the employer to outsource their jobs to a non-union contractor, according to the Teamsters.
Going deeper: More than 1,000 UNFI employees in the U.S. voted to join the Teamsters last year alone, according to the union. The company has historically spent millions of dollars on anti-union labor consultants to thwart organizing drives.
Exactly two (2) inventory control warehouse workers for United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) in Sarasota also filed a petition to unionize with the Teamsters Local 79 last month. My guess is that they lacked what’s known as a “community of interest” with the other group of workers (e.g. having similar job responsibilities, working conditions, and compensation) and thus had to file a separate petition to join the union.
Mental health professionals and therapists at HCA Florida Woodmont Hospital in Tamarac have filed a petition to unionize with 1199 SEIU. According to the union’s petition, 20 employees would be eligible to join, if the union prevails in the election.
Going deeper: 1199 SEIU already represents other job classifications at the hospital, and successfully negotiated a new contract for them last year, covering healthcare workers at Woodmont and 18 other HCA Florida hospitals throughout the state. According to the union, the contract “makes significant progress in addressing the staffing, retention and care crisis throughout the state.”
Welders and fabrication associates for Ferguson Enterprises in Riviera Beach have filed a petition to unionize with the Plumbers & Pipefitters UA Local Union 630. According to the union’s petition, seven employees would be eligible to join the union, if the union prevails in the election.
Reporters and other digital content creators employed by WLRN, a NPR station in South Florida, announced they’re unionizing with the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). This makes them the first public radio station in Florida to do so. According to the union, 75% of workers have signed cards in support of unionization. After requesting voluntary recognition of their union from their employer (and initially not getting it), they filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for an election. That petition has since been withdrawn, but I believe that is because their employer decided to voluntarily recognize the union after all (a pretty big deal, if so), which would negate the need for a union election.
Election results
Baristas and shift supervisors in Orlando, employed by Starbucks, filed a petition to unionize with Starbucks Workers United earlier this month, and shortly after, voted 10-7 to unionize. According to the petition filed, 19 baristas and shift supervisors have just gained union representation.
Going deeper: This is the third Starbucks in Florida in recent months that has seen unionizing activity, following the lead of union victories in Tampa and Clearwater. It’s the 11th so far in Florida to unionize.
Drivers for trucking company MBM Logistics in Orlando voted 60-47 in favor of unionizing with the Teamsters Local 385, despite the company’s decision to hire the union avoidance firm Action Resources to help sway the vote.
Going deeper: As I recently reported for Orlando Weekly, the company agreed to pay consultants through the firm a daily rate of $3,750 to convince drivers they didn’t need to form a union. Obviously, they failed.
Drivers for beverage wholesaler Breakthru Beverage across six cities in Florida — Tampa, Orlando, Pensacola, Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Fort Myers — voted 91-54 in favor of unionizing with various Teamsters locals. One-hundred sixty drivers were eligible to vote.
Going deeper: Like MBM Logistics, Breakthru Beverages also hired Action Resources to persuade employees to vote against unionization. They similarly paid the firm over $420,000 to obstruct an organizing drive in California last year.
Employees of transit operator Transdev Services in West Palm Beach and Boynton Beach voted 17-3 to unionize with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1577. Interestingly (and impressively) enough, voter turnout was 100%.
Employees of Veolia Water North America voted 10-8 in favor of unionizing with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30 in Tampa. Twenty-one employees were eligible to vote.
Dining hall workers at the private Rollins College in Winter Park, employed by contractor Sodexo, voted 14-42 against unionizing with Unite Here Local 362. As I previously reported for Orlando Weekly, this was the workers’ second election, following up on an initial election that resulted in a narrow 39-33 vote against unionization — and objections filed by the union over the employer’s conduct. A judge for the National Labor Relations Board found merit in at least one of the union’s objections and ordered a redo.
Going deeper: Sodexo is a massive, multinational food services and facilities management company that services government cafeterias, colleges and universities, food halls for private companies (like Google), and other venues. They have a union-busting history that dates back decades (would recommend reading labor organizer Daisy Pitkin’s book On The Line, documenting a union drive at a Sodexo-operated industrial laundry, for more of that history). At Rollins College, Sodexo management early on took a side against unionization, allegedly orchestrating a ‘No Union’ rally. Supervisors who weren’t eligible for union representation (allegedly) told workers to attend on-the-clock, and passed out ‘No Union’ shirts to workers.
Organizing in the public sector
The Florida Fraternal Order of Police has filed a petition to displace the West Central Florida Chapter of the Florida Police Benevolent Association as the certified bargaining agent for sworn personnel employed by the City of Bartow Police Department. According to the state Public Employees Relations Commission, the West Central Florida PBA has an active collective bargaining agreement (i.e. union contract) with Bartow PD that is set to expire Oct. 1, 2024.
Going deeper: This act of seeking to “displace” another union is what’s known in the labor movement as a raid — a practice that’s generally frowned upon and even prohibited by member affiliates of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest federation of labor unions.
Election results:
Non-instructional staff for Seminole County Public Schools in Sanford, such as bookkeepers and accountants, voted in favor of *re-certifying their union, the Seminole Educational Clerical Association. Out of 889 eligible voters, 75 voted in favor of recertification, and 0 voted against.
Teachers and other staff for Seminole County Public Schools in Sanford, including school psychologists and guidance counselors, voted in favor of recertifying their union, the Seminole Education Association. Out of 3,992 eligible voters, 1427 voted in favor of recertification, and 33 voted against.
Administrative and non-instructional staff for Citrus County Public Schools in Inverness, including bookkeepers and office clerks, voted in favor of recertifying their union, the Citrus County Education Association. Out of 554 eligible voters, 109 voted in favor of recertification, and 14 voted against.
Teachers, guidance counselors, librarians and other non-administrative staff for Hardee County Public Schools in Wauchula voted in favor of recertifying their union, the Hardee Education Association/United. Out of 302 eligible voters, 125 voted in favor of recertification, and 7 voted against. One additional ballot was voided.
Non-instructional staff for Gadsden County Public Schools in Quincy, including bus drivers, custodians, receptionists and others, voted in favor of recertifying their union, the Gadsden Educational Staff Professional Association. Out of 253 eligible voters, 102 voted in favor of recertification, and 1 voted against.
Registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and school health aides in Jacksonville, employed by the School Board of Duval County, voted in favor of recertifying their union, affiliated with the Laborers’ International Union of North America, Local 630. Out of 132 eligible voters, 33 voted in favor of recertification, and 1 voted against.
Solid waste and public works employees for the City of Jacksonville voted in favor of recertifying their union, affiliated with the Laborers’ International Union of North America, Local 630. Out of 293 eligible voters, 136 voted in favor of recertification, and 5 voted against.
Blue- and white-collar employees for the City of Jacksonville, such as auto technicians, carpenters, animal service workers and account clerks, voted in favor of re-unionizing with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 1279. Out of 1,771 eligible voters, 223 voted in favor of unionization, and 53 voted against.
Going deeper: This is the first union of workers to re-organize their union, after it was officially decertified by the state under new regulations imposed by Florida’s S.B. 256.
Bus drivers and bus assistants for Polk County Public Schools in Bartow voted in favor of recertifying their union, affiliated with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. Out of 627 eligible voters, 145 voted in favor of recertification, and 7 voted against. Four additional ballots were voided.
*Note on recertification: Under a controversial state law enacted last year (S.B. 256), public sector unions are forced to petition for a recertification election if they report less than 60% membership to the state. Under the new law, unions must maintain a dues-paying membership of at least 60% of employees eligible for union representation. If they do not, they must petition the state for recertification within 30 days of submitting their annual registration renewal paperwork to the state Public Employees Relations Commission (which includes membership information). If they do not file such a petition, they will be decertified (thus, invalidated as a bargaining agent).