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Iowa City unions welcome new members, celebrate victories at Labor Day picnic
Representatives of new Starbucks, Englert unions speak about organizing
Sep. 4, 2023 4:50 pm
IOWA CITY — Members and supporters of Iowa City unions gathered in City Park Monday to celebrate recent wins for organized labor — including the formation of two new unions — at the Iowa City Federation of Labor’s annual Labor Day picnic.
“It’s a great time to celebrate the collective actions that workers are taking in Iowa and across the country,” Jen Sherer, president of the Iowa City Federation of Labor, said.
A program at the picnic featured speakers representing two new unions that formed in Iowa City in the last year, and a couple of unions that recently negotiated new contracts.
Employees at the downtown Iowa City Starbucks, 228 S. Clinton St., in May became the first Starbucks in Iowa to unionize with a unanimous 25-0 vote. The union has yet to settle a contract with the national chain, said Abigail Scheppmann, a union member who spoke at the picnic.
“We are still fighting for a contract with Starbucks,” Scheppman said. “They are very insistent that they do not want to bargain with us in good faith.”
In a video published before the Starbucks employees voted to unionize, they said reasons for the move were to prioritize employee and customer safety, give employees a voice and guarantee consistent schedules without the fear of losing shifts.
Employees of the Iowa City Englert Theatre also unionized this year, and in May they settled a contract, which went into effect in June.
The Englert employees are represented through the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 690. Greg Wicklund, the president of the local union, shared during Monday’s picnic that The Englert pushed back when the union was first proposed last September, but the employees are glad to have now negotiated a contract.
“We have fought at every step along the way. It was almost mind-boggling how dumb the whole process seemed. But, I’m pleased to report, we got a contract in place,” Wicklund said during the program.
Ioannis Alexakis was at Monday’s picnic as a member of the new Englert union. It was Alexakis who first approached IATSE last year to ask about the possibility of unionizing.
“Things were just very hard coming out of the pandemic. Everyone was getting overworked. People were getting frustrated,” Alexakis said. “We had gone to management before going to the union, asking for help.”
Alexakis, who has worked at The Englert for almost 10 years, said the contract has made it easier to establish standards surrounding things like pay and the unusual hours required for stage work.
“It’s definitely a big improvement,” Alexakis said.
According to an annual Gallup poll released last week, 67 percent of Americans approve of labor unions. This number is down slightly from last year’s 71 percent, but still is higher than the long-term average, according to the Gallup report.
Beyond highlighting recent union successes, the organizers and attendees at the picnic also stressed that there are still things that need to change for labor in Iowa.
Sherer cited recent legislation in Iowa, like the relaxing of certain child labor laws, that she believes are a step backward for the rights of workers.
“We’ve seen systematic attempts on our rights as workers. Nowhere in the country have these attacks been more fierce than what we continue to face in Iowa,” Sherer said.
The picnic also served as an opportunity for Sherer to announce the Iowa City Federation of Labor’s endorsements for local school and city elections this fall. Many of those endorsed candidates were present Monday, handing out fliers and seeking ballot signatures.
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com
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