Posts tagged benefits
The House Just Passed a ‘Pro-Worker’ Bill That Takes Power Away From Workers
June 11, 2026 // "Supporters of this bill assure businesses and workers that it is about worker empowerment and efficiency," Walberg said. "I may be misremembering the definition of empowerment, but I can guarantee it does not mean taking away a worker's right to vote on his or her own contract and giving that power to a Washington bureaucrat with no stake in the outcome."
The Faster Labor Contracts Act violates the principles of voluntary agreement
June 8, 2026 // Most troublingly, the bill would do real harm to the very workers its supporters claim to help. Workers are often told that unionizing will give them a greater voice in the workplace. They are promised a seat at the table and a meaningful role in shaping the terms and conditions of their employment. But under the Faster Labor Contracts Act, workers would lose one of the most important forms of workplace democracy — the right to vote on the contract that governs their jobs. That loss of voice has far-reaching implications: In an industry that supports 55 million working Americans, it affects not only retail workers but also the employers that depend on a stable and collaborative workforce. If bargaining reaches the FLCA’s deadline, workers would be shut out of the process entirely. They would have no right to ratify the agreement, no right to reject it, no right to demand changes, and no meaningful ability to influence the final outcome.
Why Independent Workers — and the Companies That Hire Them — Need Portable Benefits
June 5, 2026 // Instead, one theme comes through clearly: Workers want benefits without giving up their current, flexible careers. Surveys say the same thing. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that only 8.3 percent of independent workers prefer a traditional employment arrangement, while more than 80 percent prefer their current work arrangement. At the same time, 4 out of 5 want access to benefits. That’s why it’s so encouraging to see portable benefits gain momentum and bipartisan buy-in: Kansas and Utah are among the eight states that have enacted reforms, Hawaii and Connecticut are among those considering it, and legislation has appeared in Congress as well. Reforms are advancing in states that prioritize the business environment and in others that focus on worker protection, because they expand access to benefits while remaining voluntary and market-oriented.
Faster Labor Contracts Act Bad for Workers and Small Businesses
June 4, 2026 // The supporters on the right also argue that pandering to a piece of legislation championed by Big Labor and the whole Democratic Party will save Republican seats in Congress. Kishi further argues that “the Republican Party today draws its strength not from boardrooms and donor retreats, but from working-class Americans.” Working-class Americans voted for President Donald J. Trump and put Republicans in charge of Congress because they reject the anti-family, woke agenda of a far left that has captured the agenda of the Democratic Party. Arguing that Republicans should adopt Democrat-lite policies to win over votes ignores the fact that voters can just vote for Democrats if they want big government and anti-business policies.
Labor Watch: Harvard Grad Students End 40-Day Strike
June 3, 2026 // he Harvard Graduate Students Union announced Monday that its 40-day strike has ended “with the close of the academic year,” though the union has still not reached a bargaining agreement with the university. The strike—the longest in the union’s history—spanned the end-of-semester grading period and university commencement, which wrapped on Friday. Over the last several weeks, the university offered to expand benefits to all graduate student workers, provide dental coverage for Ph.D. students and increase its four-year raise proposal by 1 percent, the union said in a news release. These moves were the “first indication of engagement” from the university on the union’s priorities, the release said.
The Faster Labor Contracts Act disempowers workers
June 1, 2026 // The bill’s most obvious defect is its egregious misnaming. Whatever is produced by statutorily compelled arbitration cannot be correctly characterized as a contract at all. A contract results from parties negotiating, compromising, and voluntarily agreeing to terms each can accept. That process is precisely what gives contracts legitimacy and durability. The Faster Labor Contracts Act abandons that principle. Under its framework, if the parties fail to reach agreement within the prescribed period, federal arbitrators impose terms neither side may actually want. This is not a contract; it is coercive government regulation.
MLB owners propose first salary cap since 1994 strike
May 30, 2026 // Teams that would need to increase their payrolls based on current projections for this season are the A's, Rockies, Cardinals, Guardians, White Sox, Pirates, Twins, Brewers, Rays, Marlins, Nationals and Reds. Teams that would need to shed payroll to get under the cap are the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Phillies, Red Sox, Braves and Padres. MLB remains the only major North American professional sports league without a cap-and-floor system. The last time baseball owners proposed a firm cap --1994 -- it prompted a 7½-month strike that forced the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years. MLB eventually withdrew the cap proposal after pressure by the National Labor Relations Board.
How United Auto Workers grew from small Detroit union into national force
May 27, 2026 // "Prior to the sit-down strike at GM, they had 75 members," Marchioni said. The strike lasted 44 days and ended with General Motors recognizing the UAW. Afterward, union membership surged. "Two weeks later, they had 2,000 members and a year later, they had 75,000 members," Marchioni said.
Seattle Art Museum Workers Move to Unionize
May 19, 2026 // Over 100 staff members across departments at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) have announced their intention to unionize in a recent letter to the Director and CEO Scott Stulen and the museum board, urging leadership to voluntarily recognize the union by Wednesday, May 27. Going by Seattle Art Museum Workers United (SAMWU), the employees have affiliated with Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME Council 28, which also represents workers at the Tacoma Art Museum, as first reported by the Seattle Times. Dated May 13, the SAMWU letter to the museum was signed by 59 current employees working in visitor experience and memberships, collections care and art handling, curatorial and exhibition projects, events management, institutional giving, and education, among other departments.
Seattle Art Museum Workers Are Unionizing
May 15, 2026 // Unbothered by grey skies, dribbling rain, and that stale-ass statement, SAMWU and its supporters held a rally and press conference outside the museum at 1st Ave and University. Before the press conference started, members chomped on pizza and cupcakes, handing out union t-shirts and buttons with the SAMWU logo—Jonathan Borofsky’s “Hammering Man” sculpture, mid-hammer, natch—and socialized. Representatives from SAM Visitor Service Officers (VSO) union, Tacoma Art Museum Workers United, and the Washington State Labor Council AFL-CIO all commingled.