Philly workers got organized in 2023. Look back on this year’s strikes, walkouts, and union campaigns.

As worker organizing activity heated up toward the end of 2022, with new unions and strikes grabbing headlines through the fall, labor leaders predicted 2023 would be an even bigger year for employees seizing on their leverage.

That prophecy seems to have come true. A group of training doctors founded the city’s biggest new union in half a century; 9,000 instructors at a nearby state university went on strike for the first time in the school’s history; and dozens of other worker groups picketed and launched new union campaigns.

Take a look back on a year of local organizing, protesting, negotiating, and striking in the Philadelphia region.

Temple University graduate student workers, represented by the Temple University Graduate Students’ Association, went on strike Jan. 31 after more than a year of unsuccessful contract negotiations. The strike would last for six weeks.

Maintenance technicians at Hopkinson House in Washington Square voted to unionize with Philadelphia Joint Board, Workers United.

Operators at Bauman Crane Co. in Chalfont voted to join the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 542.

Baristas at the Starbucks on 10th and Market Streets voted to unionize. Their store became one of the hundreds across the U.S. that unionized beginning in late 2021.

A majority of staff at the Eastern State Penitentiary voted to unionize with United Steelworkers.

Temple’s grad student workers ended their strike after the Temple University Graduate Students’ Association (TUGSA) reached an agreement with the university.

Workers at Philadelphia’s Please Touch Museum voted to unionize, following in the footsteps of workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art who unionized in 2020 and went on strike in 2022.

Nurses at New Vitae Wellness & Recovery in West Philadelphia and South Philadelphia voted to unionize with District 1199C, National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, AFSCME.

For the first time in Rutgers University’s 257-year history, the unions representing its 9,000 faculty and graduate student workers — virtually its entire teaching force — went on strike beginning April 10. The strike lasted five days and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy ended up getting involved in negotiations.

Attorneys and other staff at the Support Center for Child Advocates voted to unionize with United Auto Workers 2320/National Organization of Legal Service Workers.

The Teamsters at Liberty Coca-Cola’s production center in the Juniata Park neighborhood went on strike April 16, one day after their contract expired. The work stoppage lasted three weeks, and the union eventually reached an agreement with management on wage increases and retirement benefits.

Touring Broadway actors authorized a strike in April, as some of them were on a stop in Philadelphia performing Into the Woods and Six. They reached an agreement a few weeks later, averting a work stoppage.

The Writers Guild of America went on strike May 2. Their work stoppage would last until late September, bringing Hollywood to a halt. While the strike had the greatest impact on California’s economy, the Writers’ Guild has a presence throughout the country. The Philadelphia WGA group is small, with between 20 and 25 members, according to local strike captain Shuo Zhang.

Residents and fellows in the University of Pennsylvania Health System voted to unionize, becoming the first group of training doctors in Pennsylvania to do so. With over 1,400 members, it became the biggest new union in Philadelphia in more than 50 years.

Employees at the Restore cannabis dispensary in Elkins Park voted to unionize with UFCW 1776KS.

Hundreds of journalists at Gannett, publisher of USA Today and more than 200 local newspapers across the country, walked off the job in early June to protest their working conditions and the company’s leadership. Two dozen newsrooms across seven states participated, including employees of the Asbury Park Press in New Jersey.

Nurses at Einstein Medical Center authorized a strike in mid-June amid escalating contract negotiations with the Jefferson Health-owned hospital on North Broad Street. They ratified a new contract less than a week later.

Medical residents at Rutgers University reached a contract in June after almost a year of bargaining. The doctors, who work at facilities including Newark’s University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, didn’t strike, but had been holding demonstrations to bring attention to their demands.

About 350 nurses working at Fox Chase Cancer Center voted to unionize with the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, days after 125 techs did the same. A smaller group of triage nurses, who answer patient calls, were excluded from that vote, but also elected to unionize a few months later.

Actors with the SAG-AFTRA union went on strike in July after failing to reach a contract with major film and television companies. It marked the first time in over 60 years that Hollywood actors and writers were on strike at the same time, and the work stoppage would go on for months. The Philadelphia region is home to thousands of SAG-AFTRA members who act in television and movies.

Employees of several South Jersey Walgreens locations voted to unionize with UFCW Local 360.

Workers at five of Philadelphia’s eight unionized Starbucks locations went on strike on July 23. The one-day action was in response to a Philadelphia store manager’s reaction to an earlier work stoppage, when workers allegedly faced threats and intimidation during the strike, she said.

As August neared, UPS workers across the country readied for a strike. Roughly 5,000 Philadelphia members, who work for UPS as drivers, sorters, loaders, clerks, and more, participated by holding practice pickets throughout July. They ultimately reached a deal with the company in late July, averting a work stoppage.

Philadelphia Orchestra musicians, part of the Philadelphia Musicians’ Union Local 77, authorized a strike on Aug. 20, saying they may do so if they didn’t get a fair contract by Sept. 10. That date came and went without the musicians walking out, but they eventually got a new contract in October.

Philadelphia commercial building janitors who belong to the union SEIU 32BJ marched through the city in August and said they’d be willing to strike. They reached a new contract with commercial building owners in October.

Singers of the Philadelphia Orchestra unionized with the American Guild of Musical Artists after about 20 months of organizing.

Drivers for ECM Transport in Cinnaminson voted to unionize with UFCW Local 152.

Warehouse workers at Breakthru Beverage in North Wales voted to join the Teamsters Local 701.

The Writers Guild of America reached a deal with Hollywood studios in late September.

More than 100 workers at a Dometic manufacturing facility in Royersford went on strike Sept. 11. The group belongs to United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 644.

Less than 18 months after employees at Good Karma Cafe voted to unionize, and sluggish progress on a first contract as three of the company’s four locations closed temporarily or longer, the coffee shop’s remaining workers held a decertification election, removing Workers United as their representative.

Workers at a General Motors parts distribution center in Langhorne went on strike Sept. 22, joining United Auto Workers members at three auto manufacturing plants in Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri who had already been on the picket line for a week. The targeted strikes would continue through most of October.

Philadelphia School District cafeteria workers and climate staff authorized a strike in September as their contract’s expiration approached. The 1‚900 women and men who work across the district’s 216 schools were seeking wage increases of $1.50, and the school district initially balked. But the union ultimately got raises of $1.50, $1.10, $1.00, and $1.00 over the four-year contract, as well as a signing bonus, in the agreement they reached before September’s end.

Resident assistants at the University of Pennsylvania voted to unionize, becoming the first RA union in the Philadelphia area.

Graduate student workers at the University of Pennsylvania filed papers with the National Labor Relations Board seeking a union election, marking the third major organizing drive at the university in less than a year. The bargaining unit, if voted in, would have about 4,500 members.

SEPTA’s largest union, Transport Workers Union Local 234, agreed to a tentative one-year contract on Oct. 27, avoiding a city transit strike. They ratified the agreement in November.

UAW workers reached a tentative deal with the major car companies over the course of a week in late October. The deal was particularly “life changing” for employees of parts distribution centers, such as the UAW members who work at a GM facility in Langhorne, said UAW regional director Daniel Vicente.

Baristas, bakers, and porters at Vibrant Coffee Roasters voted to join the Philadelphia Joint Board, Workers United union.

Nurses, therapists, dietitians, and other eligible employees at UHS of Fairmount voted to unionize with District 1199C, National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, AFSCME. Licensed practical nurses there also voted to join the union weeks later.

Employees at the Covanta trash incinerator plant in Chester County voted to unionize with the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 542.

About 400 members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 210 who work for Atlantic City Electric went on strike Nov. 5. Their work stoppage would last nearly a month.

Per diem registered nurses at Lower Bucks Hospital’s Bristol facility voted to unionize with the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals.

Television and movie actors represented by SAG-AFTRA went back to work in November after four months on strike, including thousands of actors who live in the Philadelphia region. Their new agreement included pay increases, provisions meant to protect members from loss of work due to artificial intelligence, and a streaming participation bonus.

Six Philadelphia Starbucks locations participated in a one-day strike at more than 200 locations across the country, held in conjunction with the coffee chain’s annual Red Cup Day. One of them, at 39th and Walnut Streets in University City, was not yet unionized but filed papers seeking a union election on Red Cup Day.

The two unions that represent SEPTA Regional Rail conductors and engineers voted to authorize a strike if they could not reach an agreement with SEPTA on a new contract, the unions’ leaders announced in November. Under the Railway Labor Act, both BLET and SMART must undergo a specific process of bargaining, mediation, and arbitration before going on strike.

Workers at the 15 Philadelphia International Airport restaurants operated by OTG ratified a new agreement after more than five years without a current contract, and following a prolonged dispute over whether the company and the workers’ union had already reached an agreement in 2022. Workers at two of the restaurants had voted to authorize a strike in October.

Amazon workers at a fulfillment center that services Philadelphia and South Jersey walked out of work on Cyber Monday, demanding better pay and working conditions as part of a multistate organizing effort.

Starbucks baristas and supervisors at the North Wales location voted to unionize.

The union that represents Elixr Coffee workers reached a first contract agreement with the shop’s owner on Dec. 1, one day after threatening to strike.

ReAnimator, which unionized with Local 80 not long after Elixr, voted to authorize a strike in mid-December, becoming the second independent barista union to do so in a span of two weeks this fall.

Licensed practical nurses and home care nurses for InnovAge Pennsylvania LIFE voted to unionize with Service Employees International Union Local 668.

Employees of The Cliffs at Callowhill (now known as Movement Callowhill) voted to unionize with Philadelphia Joint Board, Workers United.

Atlantic City Electric reached a deal with IBEW Local 20, and members returned to their work after nearly a month on strike.

Resident assistants at Swarthmore College voted to unionize with Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 153. According to the union, they are the first unionized workers at Swarthmore in the college’s history.

SEPTA’s transit police walked off the job on Dec. 13 after months of negotiating with the transit authority for a new contract. The strike lasted three days, and the transit police ratified a new contract on Dec. 20.

The wave of unionization at Temple Health-owned hospitals continued as research staff at the Fox Chase Cancer Center voted to unionize with PASNAP.

About 200 unionized employees at international shipping giant DHL Express locations in Sharon Hill and West Deptford extended a picket line from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), where over 1,100 newly unionized workers went on strike to demand a fair first contract. CVG reached a tentative agreement with DHL Express on Dec. 19, and the Philly-area workers returned to their jobs.

At Suburban Community Hospital and Lower Bucks Hospital, 240 nurses began a five-day strike on Dec. 22. Their contract negotiations have grown contentious around the union’s demands for increased staffing and better health benefits.

Organizing? Reach out.

If you're organizing a group of workers or planning a union campaign for 2024, I want to hear about it as The Inquirer's workplace and labor reporter. Get in touch with me at eravitch@inquirer.com.