Posts tagged bargaining
PHILADELPHIA: SEPTA must negotiate contracts with nearly all its labor unions amid looming financial crisis
September 18, 2023 // The authority projects an annual operating deficit of $240 million beginning next July 1 as the last of its federal pandemic aid is spent, a situation dubbed the “fiscal cliff” that afflicts most transit systems in the United States. Riders have not returned in pre-COVID 19 numbers, and changing travel patterns have accelerated in the last three years. SEPTA and the state’s other public transit agencies are pushing for the legislature to adopt a measure that would give them a greater share of the sales tax to support operations. Uncertainty about finances makes it difficult to say “yes” to increased pay and benefits for TWU Local 234, which represents operators of buses, trolleys, and transit trains, SEPTA CEO Leslie S. Richards said Tuesday during a hearing of the state House Transportation Committee at the agency’s headquarters.
NEW UNIONS, NEW TENSIONS: THE COMPLEXITIES OF UNION DECERTIFICATION
August 15, 2023 // Whether these early decertification attempts will gain momentum or fizzle out remains to be seen. Many of the petitions, especially those filed by Starbucks partners, could be blocked by the NLRB due to the high number of ULPs filed by the SBWU union. However, the petitions have generated a lot of publicity indicative of a stirring debate on relevance within newly organized workplaces where little progress has been made in collective bargaining. For now, the prominent backlash from major unions signals they are gearing up to defend their turf aggressively. But if more workers come forward, this could suggest deeper divisions emerging that unions must address.
eBay charged with multiple unfair labor complaints in struggle with its first union
August 1, 2023 // “They have refused to give us our rights to status quo. Our Weingarten rights. They refuse to recognize us as a union. They refuse to acknowledge the fact that [the union has] been certified even if we present them with certification,” Thomas said. “So they are just continuing to make all these changes and refusing to work with us and refusing to follow their legal right to sit down or their legal responsibilities to sit down and bargain with us at the table.” Though the TCG Union-CWA was formed just this year, workers were set to vote on unionization back in 2020. According to Thomas, before the 2020 vote, TCGplayer management made promises to improve benefits and implement better pathways to promotion.
Noncompete clauses ‘chill’ worker rights and are usually illegal, NLRB lawyer says
May 31, 2023 // General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, appointed by Biden in 2021, wrote that noncompete clauses — which generally prevent people from immediately moving to one of their employer's rivals — "tend to chill" workers' rights under federal law, specifically Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, which protects the ability to collectively organize and agitate for improved working conditions. A person barred from moving to another company in their chosen profession, at least for a set amount of time, is less likely to fight for change at their current employer, Abruzzo argued in the memo, issued Tuesday, knowing that could well make them a target for termination; employers likewise have little reason to fear that disgruntled workers will be snatched up by a competitor, thus reducing the latter's bargaining power.
Teachers unions demand housing, transportation and other student supports during negotiations
May 26, 2023 // Teachers unions in school districts across the country are demanding improved salaries, benefits and class sizes when it’s time to renew their contracts. They are also leveraging negotiations to benefit school employees, students and their families. This process, known as bargaining in the common good, has been used to gain agreements on a host of items, such as housing assistance for low-income students, updating antiquated school facilities and increasing the number of psychologists, social workers and nurses on campuses.
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.
New union head for auto workers promises militant contract bargaining and activism
April 7, 2023 // FAIN: We're here to come together to ready ourselves for the war against our only one and only true enemy - multibillion dollar corporations and employers that refuse to give our members their fair share.
L.A. schools would close if union workers go on massive three-day strike, Supt. Carvalho says
March 14, 2023 // United Teachers Los Angeles, which also is in contract talks, has advised its members that they should walk out in solidarity with Local 99 to ratchet up pressure on the district. Local 99 has described the strike as an unfair labor practice charge walkout in protest of alleged illegal actions by L.A. Unified during the negotiations process. Such strikes typically last for a fixed duration and can be staged without going through all the steps of bargaining that typically precede an open-ended strike, according to the unions. The union bargaining platform is extensive, covering a range of workplace and social-justice issues, including a commitment to extra resources for Black students and affordable housing for low-income families.
Starbucks could be forced to bargain with workers who rejected union
January 25, 2023 // A U.S. labor board official is seeking a rare order requiring Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) to collectively bargain with workers at a Florida store, even after they voted against unionizing by a nearly two-to-one margin. The regional director of the National Labor Relations Board's Tampa, Florida office filed a complaint on Tuesday claiming unlawful threats, retaliation and surveillance by Starbucks managers were so severe that holding a new election at the store would be futile.
Major rally planned in Courthouse to support of unionized Starbucks employees
December 8, 2022 // A major rally is being planned for later this week in front of the county government headquarters, in a show of solidarity with recently-unionized Starbucks employees. The president of the AFL-CIO and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) are both expected to attend, among others. The rally is one of ten across the county, organized as part of a National Day of Action by Starbucks Workers United. It’s set for this Friday, Dec. 9, at 5 p.m. outside of the Bozman Government Center at 2100 Clarendon Blvd.