Posts tagged 2024 election
Largest Public Sector Labor Unions Unite to Get Out the Vote in Battleground States
October 23, 2024 // This joint action represents a significant escalation of labor's political engagement, with the unions pooling resources and mobilizing their combined membership of several million workers and includes people of all backgrounds working across the public service – as nurses, child care providers, sanitation workers, first responders, teachers, education support professionals and higher education workers, among others.
Union leaders come together for Harris
October 21, 2024 // Some of the nation's largest unions are launching a new get-out-the-vote effort to support Vice President Harris. AFCME President Lee Saunders and AFT President Randi Weingarten join The Weekend to discuss their efforts to win in key states.
Labor unions back Republicans in crucial U.S. House races in New York
October 17, 2024 // These endorsements in New York are the latest in a series of union breakups with Democrats, including two major unions deciding not to back Vice President Kamala Harris. Mr. Lawler has 37 labor endorsements, including law enforcement, firefighters and construction and trades unions. Mr. Molinaro has garnered many of the same endorsements. He’s in a rematch against Democrat Josh Riley. Some unions that supported Mr. Riley in 2022 have switched sides this year, like the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Petitions for union representation doubled under Biden’s presidency, first increase since 1970s
October 17, 2024 // There has been a doubling of petitions by workers to have union representation during President Joe Biden's administration, according to figures released Tuesday by the National Labor Relations Board. There were 3,286 petitions filed with the government in fiscal 2024, up from 1,638 in 2021. This marks the first increase in unionization petitions during a presidential term since Gerald Ford's administration, which ended 48 years ago.
The Highest Stakes Commentary: Kim Kavin
October 16, 2024 // In this version of the ABC Test, Part B states that a person can only be a legally operating independent contractor if: The person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business. That line has been an unmitigated income- and career-destroyer for Californians in more than 600 professions. It hit everyone from comedians who could no longer perform at comedy clubs to translators who could no longer provide translation services for translation companies to freelance writers who could no longer write articles for publishers. Owner-operator truckers are still battling in the courts and trying to explain how it could decimate the supply chain, with the threat of taking so many self-employed truckers off the road. The damage to people’s livelihoods was so significant that within a year—just one year—of AB5 going into effect:
J.D. Vance slammed for announcement seen as ‘attacking workers’ right to organize’
October 15, 2024 // "You asked about the PRO act. The problem with the PRO act is that in some ways it doubles down on a lot of the failed things that we have done, instead of looking at American labor policy as something that's going to be better for the 21st century than it was in the 20th century," Vance replied. ADVERTISEMENT The official presidential campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris took to social media, saying, "J.D. Vance announces he and Trump oppose the PRO Act, a bill that would strengthen the power of workers to organize and collectively bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions." The Harris campaign also shared a video of Harris in which she vows to "pass the PRO Act and end union-busting once and for all."
Opinion: Why union workers are abandoning the Democratic Party
October 15, 2024 // Scott Sauritch, the president of United Steelworkers Local 2227, drew significant public attention recently when he told a writer for the New Yorkerthat despite being a longtime Democrat, he would be voting for Donald Trump in November. He also said that most of the current rank-and-file members of the union planned on doing the same. “I don’t care what you see on TV,” Sauritch said. “The grunts in the lunchroom love Trump.”
Labor Relations Radio, E148—An Update From Kim Kavin On The Battle Against Freelance Busters
October 11, 2024 // Returning guest Kim Kavin, a freelance writer, editor and co-founder of Fight for Freelancers has a new Substack: FreelanceBusting.com. In this episode of Labor Relations Radio, Kim Kavin joins host Peter List to discuss where the battle against the freelance busters stands during this election cycle.
Employer Free Speech on the Ballot in Alaska
October 10, 2024 // The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects such meetings, and the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized their legality and importance in helping employees gather information on potential union representation. As a result, even if the referendum were to pass, a court would likely find it unlawful. Alaska’s referendum also increases the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2027 and provides at least 40 hours of paid sick leave to many workers.
Missouri Republicans are reaching out to the state’s trade unions, but some workers are wary
October 10, 2024 // Bernie Ryan, an electrician with the St. Louis-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said fans of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump sometimes encounter hostility at worksites. He recalled a situation where a pro-Trump electrician received a chilly reception inside a construction trailer. “If you’re a Trump voter and an electrician, you would know just to keep his mouth shut and save it for at home,” Ryan said. “But there's other trades that are different from mine where it's more prevalent.”