Posts tagged arbitration
CATS union workers edge closer to a strike after an alleged wage freeze
February 13, 2025 // “We can’t allow a company to impose and implement its own labor contract on its workforce,” Garland says. “If we do that, they won’t agree with anything the union’s saying when we go to the table. They’ll just implement what they want to. Now we have no choice but to strike.” The new contract also includes changes to disciplinary, grievance and overtime policies that were made without union input, Garland says. Union organizers are now gathering in Baton Rouge to deliberate their next steps.
ILA union and port owners held secret meeting on automation as new strike looms
January 8, 2025 // A secret meeting between representatives of the International Longshoremen’s Association and the USMX port ownership group was held on Sunday to make headway on the issue of port automation that needs to be resolved by Jan. 15 to avoid a new East and Gulf Coast ports strike. A document produced from the meeting and reviewed by CNBC indicates ports willing to pair any new technology with new union jobs, but it could also introduce new risks to a deal, with added labor costs threatening terms agreed to in October for a 62% pay hike for union workers.
New York’s Fastest-Growing Union Is Management’s Best Friend — and Some Workers Don’t Even Know They’re Members
December 20, 2024 // Though she last worked for Five Borough two months ago, she stopped receiving pay stubs long before that, she said — paperwork that would have had to show deductions, including for union dues. Supervisors ignored her repeated requests for pay records, she said. Through such voluntary recognition deals with management, less than a decade after its founding, HHWA has exploded in size. It currently claims some 43,000 members, up from 14,141 in 2018. An investigation into Home Healthcare Workers of America by THE CITY, based on interviews with past and current members, legal records and other public statements, reveals that this fast-growing union is a tool of company management in the form of a labor organization.
USPS employees rally in Midtown demanding better wages and working conditions
December 2, 2024 // USPS city carrier technician Mike Willits joined his peers in this rally in front of the post office on Speedway and Campbell. Willits and other postal workers said they don't approve of the tentative labor agreement as it stands. They argue the terms don't reflect a significant increase in pay, better working conditions, and more favorable hours. “We do the same route everyday and see the same customers and build relationships,” Willits said.
DOL Reiterates Existing Law in New Report on “Coercive” Contractual Provisions
October 21, 2024 // On October 17, 2024, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of the Solicitor (SOL) issued its Special Enforcement Report on what it deems to be “coercive contractual provisions” that “may discourage workers from exercising their rights under worker protections laws,” but while aggressive language is used, the report is largely a restatement of current law and, for the most part, does not outline new enforcement actions against employers for utilizing these provisions.
Pa. bill would give Uber, other app drivers benefits, but critics say they would lose more
October 6, 2024 // For years, labor advocates like the NELP have challenged app-based companies’ assertion that their drivers are independent contractors, arguing instead that they meet the threshold of being full-fledged employees covered by state unemployment and workers’ compensation and potentially be eligible for employer-sponsored healthcare and other benefits. Companies like Uber have argued that drivers are contractors because they aren’t required to accept any specific fare, and many prefer the flexibility of working gig-to-gig.
CANADA: Travel chaos as major airline cancels more than 800 flights after shock union strike
June 30, 2024 // WestJet will now continue to cancel flights to reduce its operating fleet from about 200 aircrafts to just about 30 through the weekend, as thousands of travelers try to get away before Canada Day on July 1.
Nurses union to pay HCA Healthcare $6.2M over 2020 strike
June 21, 2024 // A local unit of SEIU has been ordered to pay HCA Healthcare's Riverside Community Hospital $6.2 million for conducting a 10-day strike in 2020. An arbitrator last month ordered the payment after it was found last year that nurse labor union SEIU Local 121RN violated a collective bargaining agreement with the hospital by holding the strike in June 2020.
Senator’s bill would override SUPCO ruling in workplace
June 14, 2024 // Many times, when a worker has this clause in a contract and then wants to pursue some kind of violation against the company, employees are forced to go to arbitration rather than directly to a courtroom. Typically, both sides must go along with what the arbitrator decides. If approved, the bill would override a 2018 Supreme Court ruling decision in the case Epic Systems v. Lewis, which allowed employers to continue to enforce the arbitration clause in employee contracts.
Alphabet Soup: NLRB, NMB, FMCS
April 4, 2024 // This is the third in a series of introductory guides to help you navigate the alphabet soup of federal labor and employment agencies. Throughout the federal government, there is agency overlap and the pendulum often swings with each new President in the White House. Ultimately, the general framework for each agency’s mission and the statutes they enforce remains little changed. Below is an introductory guide to the National Labor Relations Board, National Mediation Board, and Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to help you better understand their missions and mandates.