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The UAW secured a major union election win at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A majority of the workers voted in favor of union representation, and the Volkswagen plant is the first automobile company outside of the non Big Three Automakers to unionize in the United States. The Volkswagen plant employs over four thousand employees, and seventy-three percent of employees who cast votes voted in favor of union representation. The results of the union election need to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board, and after the results are certified, Volkswagen management will be required to collectively bargain with the UAW. The UAW will likely use the union election win as momentum to strengthen union drives at other plants owned by various automobile companies in the South.

Rivian, a major electric vehicle and automotive technology company, has announced layoffs. The layoffs will reduce the company’s workforce by one percent, but the company did not specify the number of workers who would be affected. The company in 2023 employed around seventeen thousand workers, and workers were employed in the United States and various European countries. Rivian stated that job cuts will allow the company to be better aligned with its priorities, and would allow the company to have a positive gross margin at the end of 2024. Last month, the company also stated that its new factory in Georgia will be opening later than expected, and the company will use its factory in Illinois for upcoming projects. These changes can be attributed to a decreasing demand for electric vehicles, and other EV companies such as Tesla have also laid off workers.

The British Columbia province in Canada has been experiencing worker shortages in the construction sector in recent years. The B.C. Construction Association represents hundreds of construction companies in British Columbia, and the association states that the worker shortage has caused wages in the industry to rise. The average wage in the construction industry in British Columbia is $75,000 annually. Wages have increased by over twenty percent over the last five years, and the salary increases have attracted workers to the construction industry. However, the number of workers in the industry is still decreasing, and construction companies have downsized in recent years. Construction companies also deal with uncertainty regarding payments for projects and sometimes have to wait months to receive compensation for their work. The association is pushing for legislation that would require prompt payment for construction projects.

The contract between the Chicago school district and the Chicago Teachers Union will end in late June, and the union announced its demands for a new contract this week. The Chicago Teachers Union represents over thirty thousand employees. Negotiations between the two parties will begin soon, and the parties will be negotiating a new four-year contract. Earlier this week, union leaders and various teachers rode around the city in a trolley to meet with state officials and community leaders and discuss the upcoming contract negotiations. The demands include wage increases for teachers and an increase in the minimum wage in the school district, which would benefit teacher assistants and paraprofessionals who earn the lowest. The union is also seeking greater funding for various school programs, such as the programs for fine arts, restorative justice, languages, and athletics. Federal funding that came from emergency COVID-19 relief funds will expire later this year, so the school district will have to diligently allocate funds to meet the demands of the union.

Nike has announced significant layoffs of employees at its global headquarters. Nike’s headquarters are located in Beaverton, Oregon, and the layoffs will affect 740 employees. Nike will lay off a total of 1600 workers across all of the company’s locations, and the cuts will reduce the company’s workforce by two percent. The layoffs will go into effect in late June. Nike states that the layoffs are due to profits that were lower than projected, which is largely because of fewer online sales. Making changes to the size of Nike’s workforce will allow the company to be in the best position for future growth. The last time that Nike made significant layoffs was in 2017, and the company cut over 1400 positions.

The University of Texas at Austin laid off sixty workers who worked in diversity, equity, and inclusion-related roles earlier this month. University administration also closed the Division of Campus and Community Engagement and cut funding for programs and organizations focused on DEI. These changes are due to SB 17, a Texas law that passed last year that heavily restricts DEI efforts at colleges and universities in the state. The decision has been met with widespread opposition, and UT Austin students recently attended a faculty council meeting to express their opinions. Students attended the virtual meeting and held up signs expressing their opposition to the DEI-related job cuts. Many employees that were affected by the layoffs are individuals who are a part of marginalized communities, including individuals of color, and queer and trans individuals. University administration responded to the widespread student opposition stating that the changes are required under the new Texas law.

Tata Steel, a multinational steel production company, recently announced that the company would be closing two steel production plants in the United Kingdom. The production plants affected are located in Port Talbot, Wales, and the company stated that the closure of the plants will allow the company to create new environmentally friendly furnace plants. The layoffs are estimated to affect 2,800 workers, and 1,500 of the affected workers are represented by the Unite trade Union. The Unite trade union announced that workers are set to take strike action to protest against the layoffs. The union held a vote to authorize strike action, and a majority of workers voted in favor. Workers voted in favor despite Tata Steel stating that redundancy packages for affected workers will be negatively affected if strike action is taken.

Red Lobster is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as the company deals with significant debt due to labor costs and building leases. Filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy would allow the seafood company to restructure its debt and be freed from several long-term leases. Bankruptcy will allow the company to continue operations while having a structured plan to pay off the debt. Red Lobster management has changed between various groups in recent years, and Thai Union Plc became a majority stakeholder in Red Lobster and took over management of the restaurant chain in 2021. Thai Union Plc wrote down its stake in Red Lobster this year and claimed that the amount of financial support Red Lobster needs is not a good fit for the company’s capital allocation anymore. Fortress Investment Group is also a major stakeholder in Red Lobster and has been a part of discussions regarding bankruptcy and the future management of Red Lobster.

Take-Two Interactive, a major video game company that has produced many popular games such as ‘Grand Theft Auto’, recently announced major job cuts. The company will cut around six hundred employees, and the cuts will reduce Take-Two Interactive’s workforce by five percent. Affected employees will be provided with severance packages. The company will also cut various projects and reduce office space, and these changes will reduce company costs. Take-Two Interactive is just one of many companies in the video game industry that have conducted layoffs recently, with other major companies such as Sony, EA, Microsoft Gaming, Riot Games, and Epic Games all laying off employees as well.

Workers at Lockheed Martin, a major arms and defense company, will conduct layoffs after the United States Army announced its decision to shut down the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft Program. The cancellation of the program means that the United States Army will not build a new attack reconnaissance aircraft, and this has resulted in Lockheed Martin cutting workers in the Sikorsky division, located in Stratford, Connecticut. Plans to create a new attack reconnaissance aircraft began in 2018, and Lockeeed Martin and Bell-Textron were competing to be the manufacturer of the aircraft. Various political leaders in Connecticut have expressed opposition to the cancellation of the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft Program, claiming that the decision will hurt the country’s long-term military defense, as well as hurt many communities in the state. Lockheed Martin states that the layoffs will reduce its workforce by less than one percent, and the company is retaining as many workers in the division as possible.