Posts tagged Association of Flight Attendants
As Boston’s own Sean O’Brien matches UPS at the bargaining table, Amazon could be next
June 26, 2023 // But O’Brien said he’d support pulling the trigger — putting the International’s $300 million-plus “strike defense fund” to use — if he doesn’t see adequate financial gains for his membership. For him, this battle over the largest private-sector union contract in the United States isn’t only about righting the wrongs baked into the union’s current agreement with UPS. It’s meant to show how organized labor can flex its muscle against giant companies. And it’s a prelude for a long-awaited showdown with decidedly anti-union Amazon, where the Teamsters hope to organize the online retail giant’s massive logistics workforce. “All eyes are upon what the Teamsters do in these negotiations,” O’Brien said in an interview. “It’s going to be the defining moment in the labor movement. It’s going to be a template on how we take on Corporate America, how we take on big business.” Dissatisfaction with the current UPS contract, signed in 2018, helped O’Brien win his race to lead the Teamsters two years ago. Then the head of the Teamsters Local 25 in Charlestown, O’Brien broke away from the previous International leadership, led by James Hoffa, because of disagreements over the last round of UPS negotiations.
Smart: SkyWest Will Pay Flight Attendants During Boarding
May 2, 2023 // Now we’re seeing the two airlines without flight attendant unions be the first to introduce boarding pay, while all the airlines with unionized flight attendants haven’t been able to do this yet. Admittedly I’m sure boarding pay will come for unionized flight attendants, but it will come as part of a larger contract negotiation, and presumably there will be an opportunity cost to it. Delta and SkyWest management are playing a smart game here, and are putting those trying to push for unionization at Delta and SkyWest in a tough position.
The ‘pro-union’ president risks the support of a key constituency to avert a rail strike
December 5, 2022 // Biden faces a backlash from a core of rail workers and allied groups, as some of them see his push for a measure to avoid a strike as a betrayal. He signed the measure, which passed with bipartisan support, at the White House on Friday, giving rail workers a significant raise, but denying them the paid sick leave that had been a sticking point in some of the contract talks. Hours later, he arrived at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston and was met by scores of protesters objecting to his handling of a labor dispute that threatened to halt rail service at the peak of the holiday season.
Worker protests at airports spread nationwide over staffing and pay
September 27, 2022 // Cashiers, baristas, bartenders, cooks and lounge attendants at San Francisco International Airport launched an open-ended strike Monday over staffing levels and wages, shutting down most of one of the nation’s busiest airport’s food concessions. Flight attendants at United and Southwest airlines on Tuesday are expected to demonstrate at 21 airports around the United States, including Guam, as well as in London, to draw attention to workplace problems made worse by understaffing.
Opinion: With Inflation High, Unions, Suppress Wages
August 7, 2022 // Good luck getting a big raise if you’re in a union right now. That’s the unspoken message of a July 29 report from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. It showed that nonunion workers’ nominal pay in June was up 5.8% year over year, compared with only 3.8% for union workers’. The gap has been widening for a year. Why? Inflation. This divergence makes sense when you think of how union contracts operate. Unions negotiate long-term collective-bargaining agreements between workers and employers, with a typical contract lasting three to five years. That locks in the union’s gains but leaves it with little bargaining power or flexibility when something sudden or severe, like the current inflation, hits. So unless the contract is about to expire, union members are trapped when they need the freedom to negotiate better raises much faster.
AFL-CIO unveils plan to grow but some union leaders underwhelmed
June 17, 2022 // Shuler announced the creation of the Center for Transformational Organizing, a group of strategists, organizers and researcher who will focus on how to unionize new-economy companies. “We have a visionary way forward,” Shuler said. D Taylor, Mark Dimondstein,
When Unions Harm Workers’ Ability to Get Raises
June 13, 2022 // Starbucks no longer has the right to raise unilaterally the compensation for employees for those stores that have opted for unionization. By law, Starbucks can’t do that, and unions like it that way so that they can take credit for workers’ gains. This is not solely the union’s fault. It is baked into the outdated one-size-fits-all model of collective bargaining. This model is over a century old and was created for another time and workforce. Thankfully, the Employee Rights Act , sponsored by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Rep. Rick Allen (R-GA), would address at least one of these issues. The ERA would allow unionized employers to give their employees raises without having to go through a union. Joe Thompson
Give Pro-Life Union Members a Choice, Organized labor backs Planned Parenthood. Not all workers do.
May 12, 2022 // While organized labor sends 90% of its political donations to Democrats, roughly 40% of voters in union households favor Republicans. Members can choose out of supporting their union’s political-action committees, however their dues are nonetheless used to fund concern campaigns, lobbying and advocacy organizations that align with the union leaders’ left-of-center values.
Big Labor is failing to meet the moment, advocates say
April 15, 2022 // Institutional labor is out of touch, said one person familiar with the inner workings of the AFL-CIO who didn't want to publicly criticize their own organization. Too many union officers didn't start out as unionized workers — but instead rose through the ranks as staffers for the organization. "If you can't relate to the people you're representing, you're lost," the source said.
Unions rally for striking Alabama miners
April 8, 2022 // The miners began a strike more than a year ago against Warrior Met Coal in Brookwood. The UMWA organized a caravan today to show support for the miners, who union leadership said last week now number around 900. Members of the United Auto Workers, United Food and Commercial Workers, Association of Flight Attendants, and Unite Here were expected at the event.