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    Gaza Debate Reopens Divisions Between Left-Wing Workers and Union Leaders

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    Last week’s Democratic National Convention surfaced differences over the war in Gaza that could widen fissures between labor activists and union officials.When members of the Chicago Teachers Union showed up to march at the Democratic National Convention last week, many expressed two distinct frustrations.The first was over the war in Gaza, which they blamed for chewing up billions of dollars in aid to Israel that they said could be better spent on students, in addition to a staggering loss of life. The second was disappointment with their parent union, the American Federation of Teachers, which they felt should go further in pressuring the Biden administration to rein in Israel’s military campaign.“I was disappointed in the resolution on Israel and Palestine because it didn’t call for an end to armed shipments,” said Kirstin Roberts, a preschool teacher who attended the protest, alluding to a statement that the parent union endorsed at its convention in July.Since last fall, many rank-and-file union members have been outspoken in their criticism of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks, in which Hamas-led militants killed more than 1,000 people and took about 250 hostages. The leaders of many national unions have appeared more cautious, at times emphasizing the precipitating role of Hamas.“We were very careful about what a moral stance was and also what the implications of every word we wrote was,” the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, said of the resolution her union recently adopted.In some ways, this divide reflects tensions over Israel and Gaza that exist within many institutions — like academia, the media and government.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Amazon Union Vote at Alabama Warehouse Should Be Redone, Official Says

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      A hearing officer for the National Labor Relations Board found that Amazon illegally discouraged organizing at an Alabama warehouse. The company can appeal to block a new election.A hearing officer of the National Labor Relations Board has recommended that the board throw out a union election at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., where results announced in early April showed workers rejecting a union by a more than two-to-one ratio.The union announced the recommendation on Monday, and Amazon quickly said it would take steps to ensure that the original election result prevailed.The hearing officer’s recommendation, which includes holding a new election, will be reviewed by the acting regional director of the agency, who will issue a ruling on the case in the coming weeks. If the regional director rules against Amazon, the company can appeal to the labor board in Washington.The union campaign at the warehouse, which had more than 5,000 eligible workers, was the highest-profile domestic organizing effort so far at Amazon, which has a history of aggressively deterring worker activism.The challenge by the union, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, accused Amazon of engaging in unfair labor practices to keep workers from unionizing.“Throughout the N.L.R.B. hearing, we heard compelling evidence how Amazon tried to illegally interfere with and intimidate workers as they sought to exercise their right to form a union,” said Stuart Appelbaum, the union’s president, in a statement. “We support the hearing officer’s recommendation that the N.L.R.B. set aside the election results and direct a new election.”The union first filed paperwork for the election in November, and the voting took place by mail between early February and late March.The union complained frequently during the campaign that the company was intimidating and threatening workers.Amazon disputed the accusations and continues to do so. “Our employees had a chance to be heard during a noisy time when all types of voices were weighing into the national debate, and at the end of the day, they voted overwhelmingly in favor of a direct connection with their managers,” an Amazon spokeswoman said in a statement on Monday. “Their voice should be heard above all else, and we plan to appeal to ensure that happens.”Wilma B. Liebman, who was chairwoman of the labor board under President Barack Obama, said regional directors typically followed the recommendations of hearing officers in such cases.About one week after the labor board announced the results in April, the union filed a formal objection to the conduct of the election and asked the board to overturn it. An officer for the board held hearings over three weeks in which both sides called and questioned witnesses.The union objection contended that Amazon consultants and employee relations managers had created an atmosphere of fear by identifying and removing workers from mandatory anti-union meetings if they questioned company officials, and by telling employees they risked losing pay, benefits or even their jobs if a union was established.The union also contended that Amazon consultants and managers had illegally asked workers how they intended to vote, and that Amazon fired a union supporter for distributing union cards. It said the company took several measures — such as increasing pay and giving away merchandise — to defuse pressure for a union. It is illegal to begin to take such steps once a union campaign is underway.The union objection focused heavily on an on-site collection box that Amazon had repeatedly pushed the U.S. Postal Service to install shortly before the voting began. The union said the box was not authorized by the labor relations board. Amazon has said that it pushed for the box to make it easier for employees to vote and that it did not have access to ballots that workers placed inside.The union argued that the presence of the collection box gave workers the impression that Amazon was monitoring who voted, and possibly even how they voted. It is not clear whether the union would improve its showing if the election were rerun. Labor law allows companies to hold frequent mandatory anti-union meetings, and Mr. Appelbaum, the retail workers’ president, has said that high turnover at the warehouse was a significant obstacle to the union campaign. More

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      Major Technology Companies Join List of Biden Inaugural Donors

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Presidential TransitionliveLatest UpdatesMoves to ImpeachHow impeachment Might WorkBiden Focuses on CrisesHow Mob Stormed CapitolAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyMajor Technology Companies Join List of Biden Inaugural DonorsThe inaugural committee did not disclose how much it has raised so far for the event, which is to be scaled down because of the pandemic.Preparation for the inauguration at the Capitol this week. Details on the inauguration schedule still have not been released, and planning for the event has also been affected by the storming of the Capitol.Credit…Anna Moneymaker for The New York TimesEric Lipton and Jan. 9, 2021, 10:16 p.m. ETMajor technology companies like Google and Microsoft, as well as telecommunications giants like Comcast and Verizon, are among the nearly 1,000 people and groups that have donated at least $200 to the committee organizing President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s scaled-back inauguration celebration this month.The donor list, released Saturday evening by the committee, was filled mostly with individual donors, including major givers to Democrats such as Arthur Blank, the owner of the Atlanta Falcons; Richard C. Blum, the husband of Senator Dianne Feinstein of California; and Donald Sussman, a hedge fund mogul.The inaugural committee did not list any of the amounts that these 959 donors had given as of Dec. 31, the end of the period covered in the voluntary disclosure.The actual donor amounts may not be known until 90 days after the inauguration when the committee will be required under law to disclose the names and amounts of all donations over $200. There are no legal limitations on how much a donor can give to an inaugural committee, but Mr. Biden’s committee voluntarily limited contributions by individuals to $500,000 and by corporations to $1 million.Many of the major corporations that traditionally make large contributions to inauguration events are missing. Some have explained that they are not going to donate given that the event will largely be virtual because of the pandemic. Others have said they are focusing their donations on helping people affected by economic downturn caused by coronavirus.But the technology and telecommunications industries, a major source of cash for Mr. Biden’s campaign and the groups supporting it, are well represented on the list, with donations also coming from Qualcomm, a semiconductor and software company based in California, and Charter Communications, a cable company.Google is one of several companies that have donated to the committee organizing President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s scaled-back inauguration celebration this month.Credit…Laura Morton for The New York TimesGoogle was included on the list because it provided online security protections without charge to the inaugural committee, said José Castañeda, a Google spokesman.Other corporate donations came from Enterprise Holdings political action committee, which is associated with the company that owns the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands.Health care companies also are prominent on the list, including Anthem Inc., the health insurance giant, MedPoint Management, which provides management services to physicians groups, and Masimo Corporation, a maker of electronic patient monitoring devices.The Presidential TransitionLatest UpdatesUpdated Jan. 8, 2021, 10:32 p.m. ETMore national security officials resign from a White House in turmoil.Josh Hawley faces blowback for role in spurious challenge of election results.Read the draft of a leading article of impeachment against Trump.Boeing Company, the aerospace and military contracting giant, is also listed as a donor.The Biden team prohibited donations from the oil, gas and coal industries and registered lobbyists.Labor unions including American Federation of Teachers, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the United Food and Commercial Workers union made contributions.There was also a sprinkling of celebrities on the list — as was the case with Mr. Biden’s presidential campaign — including Barbra Streisand.A spokesman for the inauguration declined to comment when asked Saturday how much in total Mr. Biden’s committee had raised.The fund-raising effort is likely to pale in comparison to the record $107 million raised four years ago by Mr. Trump for his inauguration, with donations of as much as $5 million from major supporters like Sheldon G. Adelson, a casino executive and major Republican donor.Mr. Biden has urged his supporters not to travel to Washington for the inauguration on Jan. 20, because outside of the swearing-in ceremony, there will be few large-scale in-person events.Details on the inauguration schedule still have not been released, and planning for the event has also been affected by the storming of the Capitol on Wednesday by Trump supporters in an outbreak of violence that stirred concerns about security around the swearing-in ceremony.Organizers have said the inaugural festivities will include a “virtual concert” with some big-name performers, a ceremony to remember people killed by the coronavirus and a virtual event similar to the elaborate roll-call held at the Democratic National Committee last year, which included short videos from all 57 states and territories.But the inauguration committee has still tried to pull in large donations by offering an array of unusual perks. Corporations that contribute $1 million and individuals that contribute $500,000 will receive an invitation to a virtual event with Mr. Biden and Jill Biden, the future first lady, along with a photo, as well as a similar event with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff.The fund-raising effort is continuing, with the committee sending a solicitation to donors on Saturday night shortly after it released the preliminary list of donors.“Our team is creating a new style of inauguration that integrates traditional elements with creative programming and local events across the country — which is why we’re reaching out today,” reads the fund-raising email, which was targeted to recipients in different parts of the country.The committee, according to the email, wants “to make sure we have strong representation across the country as part of our inauguration grass-roots donors program.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More