Posts tagged back pay
East Bay-Area Fire Safety Inspector Prevails in Case Against IUOE Union for Illegal Firing
January 8, 2024 // In October, Le filed federal charges at National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 32 in Oakland, CA, stating that IUOE union officials illegally demanded she join the union as a condition of keeping her job and instigated her firing by CTS when she refused to join. Le, who works in fire and life safety as a firestop inspector, also noted in her charges that IUOE officials failed to inform her of her right to abstain from formal union membership, and never notified her of her right to pay a reduced amount of union dues as a nonmember. According to her charges, company and union officials began deducting full union dues directly from her paycheck without her permission, and deducted a dues amount that included union political expenses and other costs not legally chargeable to workers who aren’t formal union members.
UAW secures nearly $8M in back pay
December 13, 2023 // According to a July 2022 letter, also on the UAW’s website, the union was informed that month an arbitrator determined GM violated its national agreement with the union when it closed the plants; the decision, the letter states, was an “important victory.” It states as a result of GM’s breach, the arbitrator found that certain members who kept working with the company at other locations, but experienced some period of layoff were entitled to be made whole. The award does not resolve an issue over mutually satisfied retirement for members the arbitrator previously found was not subject to arbitration, but the Dec. 5 letter states “we continue to fight for MSR’s for all eligible members.”
Federal judge upholds ouster of Boilermakers union president by his own top executives
August 23, 2023 // In what he called a preliminary ruling from the bench, Chief Judge Eric F. Melgren, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, upheld a June 2 decision by the union’s top executives to remove Jones as president. “As of that day, Mr. Jones was removed from office,” Melgren said. The judge said he would issue a final, written ruling on the issue within the week. After the hearing, members of the union’s executive council said they’d unanimously elected former International Vice President Warren Fairley, who retired in February, to be the union’s new leader.
What You Need To Know About Gen Z’s Support for Unions
August 10, 2023 // Nevertheless, to sustain a lasting revival of union membership in the United States over the coming years as today’s young workers make up an increasing share of the workforce, it is imperative for lawmakers to pass measures that would help these workers exercise their right to come together in collective bargaining. Congress has a number of measures that it could pass to help workers of all generations form unions without corporate interference, such as the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which would strengthen workers’ legal organizing protections. Young workers need policymakers who champion their right to speak up on the job.
Termination risks, collecting unemployment: A look at workers rights amid a ‘summer of strikes’
August 7, 2023 // More than 200 strikes have occurred across the U.S. so far in 2023, involving more than 320,000 workers, compared with 116 strikes and 27,000 workers over the same period in 2021, according to data by the Cornell ILR School Labor Action Tracker.
UFT’s new contract reminds teachers of union’s past failures
June 27, 2023 // In 2014, UFT secured a complex contract with New York City that included retroactive back pay for teachers that would be paid out over several years. However, the contract excluded teachers who retired or left the profession before 2015. Over 4,000 teachers never received back pay, which for some could have been as much as an 8% pay bump. The affected teachers were outraged. In response, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten said, at the time, “Would UFT have liked it for all—of course; but not unprecedented practice [to not pay the teachers who retired].” UFT is an affiliate of AFT. Then, in 2020, after several years of payments, New York City informed UFT that it did not have enough money in its budget to finish the retroactive payments due to a pandemic-induced budget shortfall. UFT blamed New York City for delaying the payment for all teachers, and an arbitrator ruled the city must make the payments. UFT President Michael Mulgrew said, “This is far from a perfect solution for thousands of our members who are still owed deferred wages that can go back as far as years.” He explained, “The decision … makes it clear that the city must find a way to meet its financial obligations to its educators.”
DuPont settles with Chesterfield workers for $3.6 million in back pay
April 19, 2023 // In 2018, DuPont transitioned that emergency work from company employees, many of whom received overtime for the work, to outside contractors, citing a need to reduce costs. But they did so without bargaining with the union, so Ampthill Rayon Workers Inc., the Richmond chapter of an international union representing DuPont employees, filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board that June.
COVID vaccine mandate for New York City workers ends, unions pushing for back pay
February 14, 2023 // The city's mandate for public workers ended Friday, after nearly 2,000 municipal workers were let go during the pandemic because they refused to be vaccinated.
Flight Attendant Asks for Contempt Ruling Against Southwest for Violating Court Order Regarding Illegal Firing at Union’s Behest
January 9, 2023 // District Court ordered Southwest to announce that airline may not discriminate on basis of religion; airline instead effectively denied wrongdoing despite jury verdict With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, Southwest Airlines flight attendant Charlene Carter is seeking sanctions against Southwest for flouting the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas’ decision in her case. Carter sued both Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 556 and Southwest in 2017 for firing her over opposing the union’s political stances – a violation of both the Railway Labor Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Rail workers warn of exodus after Congress forces through deal
December 8, 2022 // Railroad workers could leave the industry after Congress forced through a contract that does not provide them any paid sick days, an exodus that would ripple through an economy reliant on freight railroads to transport goods. The exit of thousands of train conductors and engineers would be felt by major corporations and U.S. consumers alike. It could slow the delivery of food, fuel and online orders while strangling already-shaky supply chains. Trillium Asset Management,