Posts tagged Arizona
Diamondbacks Respond to Team Decision to Cross Strike Picket Lines for Series vs Dodgers
October 11, 2023 // With the Arizona Diamondbacks in Los Angeles to face the Dodgers for Games one and two of the NLDS, the club found itself in hot water online after it was revealed that they crossed a union picket line to stay at the JW Marriot L.A. Live hotel in Downtown LA. The issue was brought up by UNITE HERE Local 11, which is a union of more than 32,000 hotel, convention center, restaurant and sports area workers in Southern California and Arizona.
Walgreens pharmacy employees launch scattered walkout
October 9, 2023 // “The last few years have required an unprecedented effort from our team members, and we share their pride in this work — while recognizing it has been a very challenging time,” Walgreens said. A spokesperson for the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which represents more than 4,400 workers at Walgreens stores in markets around the country, could not be reached for comment on the walkouts. Last month, workers at three Walgreens stores in Northeast Ohio voted to form their own union, called Pharmacy Workers United, according to a report from Axios Cleveland.
Biden takes shot at Trump on jobs in battleground Pennsylvania
September 5, 2023 // A Reuters/Ipsos poll last month showed that the economy, unemployment and jobs remained Americans' top concern. A full 60% of Americans, including one in three Democrats, said they disapproved of Biden's handling of inflation, according to the poll. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge has moved down to 3.3%, from its peak of 7% last summer. Although the decline was a "welcome development," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said late last month, inflation "remains too high" and interest rates may need to move higher. Republicans and some economists say Democratic policies helped spark the rise in prices, making Americans pay more for rent, groceries and gasoline under Biden's watch. Economists say inflation was also stoked by the lifting of COVID-era restrictions and revival of business activity that followed.
Op-ed: Placing teachers unions’ power above students’ lives
July 11, 2023 // Ms. Weingarten is the head of the powerful American Federation of Teachers union, and Mr. Pompeo’s assessment notwithstanding, President Biden’s secretary of homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas, just appointed her to serve on the Department of Homeland Security’s school safety council. According to Mr. Mayorkas, the council will advise the department on school safety and help it “counter the evolving and emerging threats to the homeland.”
Commentary: To Unions, Organizing Time Is Fine When It’s on the Taxpayers’ Dime
June 29, 2023 // Despite public sector unions, and particularly teachers’ unions like Weingarten’s American Federation for Teachers, facing mounting scrutiny for their role in school closures and broader left-wing political activism, the practice of release time has garnered little attention.
OPINION: Sen. Sinema Shouldn’t Let Julie Su Turn Ariz. Into Calif.
June 5, 2023 // More than one million freelance workers lost work in the wake of AB5’s passage. In response to public outrage, the California legislature carved out scores of politically connected professions from the draconian legislation so that it no longer applied to musicians, translators, writers, photographers, and many others. But big labor’s main targets – independent truckers and the gig economy – are still suffering from AB5’s harsh policy. Even the notoriously left-leaning Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has suggested that AB5’s sponsors and enforcers may have had no legitimate policy objectives in mind when granting exemptions to AB5, and instead acted out of "animus" by targeting companies that facilitate vast swaths of independent contracting.
Will The Union for Kroger and Safeway’s Workers Torpedo the Supermarket Giants’ Merger?
May 8, 2023 // The UFCW has been skeptical of the merger since it was announced last year. It released a statement in November that it “would oppose any merger that undermines the wages, jobs, benefits, and security of Kroger and Albertsons workers. We have repeatedly called on both Kroger and Albertsons to be fully transparent about this merger and to provide the information that every UFCW Local and member deserves. Our members have already sacrificed much over these many years, and they need to have a comprehensive understanding about what this deal means for them, their families, and the communities they serve.”
Kentucky Coinkydink
May 4, 2023 // The teachers who conducted the Kentucky sickout were officially unaffiliated with the Kentucky Education Association. They formed a Facebook group and called it KY 120 United. After the protests were over, they solidified their organization and eventually turned it into a union, affiliating with AFT, which previously had no real presence in the state. KY 120 United has had an uneasy relationship with KEA ever since. KY 120 United was recognized as a labor organization by the Fayette County Schools in 2021, but the school board rescinded that recognition last month, stating that the union had failed to file required paperwork. A district spokesperson said the union had to “show through bylaws and a democratic method that they represent our employees in order to ensure this is truly a representative group.”
Senate panel advances Biden Labor nominee Julie Su
April 26, 2023 // “Today’s party-line vote is another reminder that Julie Su is no Marty Walsh, who advanced in a bipartisan 18-4 vote only two years ago,” said Michael Layman, a top lobbyist at the International Franchise Association, in a statement following Wednesday’s vote. The AFL-CIO is fighting back, running ads in Arizona and D.C. backing Su’s efforts to counter wage theft in California. The ads tell viewers that workers are “tired of getting ripped off by big corporations.” The labor federation is also mobilizing its members to lobby senators. “We’re going to defend Julie against these baseless corporate special interests attacks,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler told reporters last week. “Every senator, especially those that haven’t yet said that they’ll vote yes, needs to be aware of how much this confirmation means to working people’s lives.”
Culinary Workers Union picket Valley Hospital, set strike date
April 26, 2023 // Hundreds lined the sidewalks holding signs and raising their voices with various chants, including 'no contract, no peace.' The union claims it's been seven years since about 90 members who are cooks, cashiers, kitchen workers, stewards, and in housekeeping have received a pay raise. Culinary Union President Diana Valles said the hospital is attempting to bust the union. "This company is the devil," Valles said. "This company is trying to put these workers lower than the standard in Las Vegas, where they can have good union benefits. They want to get rid of those benefits." The union claims the hospital has fired four Culinary Union members who were leaders in their workplaces, including Betty Williams, a committee leader, and 40-year Culinary Union member.