Posts tagged contract negotiations
Meijer workers make demands known ahead of contract negotiations
October 6, 2023 // Meijer and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) are getting ready to start contract negotiations for some 28,000 workers, reports CBS News Channel 3. The UFCW has said it wants contract talks to include wage increases, an increase in paid time off, and improvements to a medical plan that protects workers from intense medical debt due to serious illness or injury.
75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers are on strike
October 4, 2023 // The multi-state strike comes during a time of elevated labor activity in the United States. Several large-scale strikes have paralyzed companies and entire industries in recent months. The United Auto Workers are on strike against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — the first time the union has struck all three simultaneously. The entertainment industry also contended with dual strikes this summer after Hollywood’s writers’ and actors’ unions went on strike at the same time for the first time since 1960. The leadership of the Writers Guild of America reached a tentative agreement with Hollywood studios last month, but the actors’ guild strike is ongoing. The health care industry has been particularly affected by rising strike activity. From the start of 2022 through August of this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has tracked 42 work stoppages of 1,000 or more strikers. Its count shows a third of those strikes were in health care. That’s up from 24% of major strikes in 2019, the year before the pandemic. The increased number of health care strikes have happened despite health care workers making up only about 9% of private sector union members nationwide.
UAW’s Fain says new strike strategy has produced no ‘meaningful progress’
October 4, 2023 // Why not a full strike? That is what unions traditionally do, after all. The reality is that UAW fears it doesn’t have a deep enough strike fund for a prolonged confrontation. The union is instead making a virtue of necessity by striking in a limited manner and presenting that as a “new strategy.” The UAW strikes have thus far been targeting plants that make parts for dealership. Most car dealerships are independent business that make most of their revenue from servicing existing cars rather than selling new ones. A shortage of parts, UAW hopes, will cause dealerships to pressure the manufacturers to make concessions. The mood was mixed among the UAW members watching the livestream. “It’s not working,” commented Jesse Gonzales. “If it were, we would not have to continue striking more plants.”
Is Gen Z the reason behind growing support for unions?
September 21, 2023 // Austin Johnson, 21, works at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne. He has a long family history with Ford. His mom works at the plant and his grandfather and great-grandfather worked for Ford. Johnson, who was worked for Ford for two years, walked out last week after contract negotiations failed and his union local was called to strike. "I am a tier two employee. I want to get rid of tiers and completely cancel that, and that's why I am here and striking for," he said.
Nebraska unions gain more workers since contract renegotiations
September 20, 2023 //
UAW workers could begin striking this week. Here’s what we know about negotiations.
September 12, 2023 //
Writers Guild Suggests Studios Should Split From Streamers in Latest Update on AMPTP Standoff
September 11, 2023 // In its latest strike-era update to members, the Writers Guild of America is suggesting that studio member companies of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers break off from the organization and negotiate individual deals with the union. As negotiations appear to be remaining at a standstill, the WGA’s negotiating committee told members in a Friday update that behind-the-scenes conversations with individual legacy studio executives amid the strike have shown a “desire and willingness to negotiate an agreement that adequately addresses writers’ issues.”
Anti-labor group calls out SEIU for pattern of workplace misconduct: report
September 1, 2023 // The group rolled out a media campaign the same day, purchasing a TV commercial and a billboard in Times Square that read “Who’s America’s Worst Boss?” The sign featured pictures of SEIU President Mary Kay Henry alongside comedian and TV host Ellen DeGeneres and pop star Lizzo — both of whom have had workplace complaints lodged against them. Several male leaders at the union have received promotions in recent years despite being accused of harassment, according to the group’s report.
UAW workers overwhelmingly vote to authorize strikes at GM, Ford, Stellantis
August 25, 2023 // "The Big Three is our strike target. And whether or not there's a strike — it's up to Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, because they know what our priorities are. We've been clear," Fain has said. Those priorities are far richer than during prior contract negotiations between the two sides. The union's demands include a 46% wage increase, restoration of traditional pensions, cost-of-living increases, reducing the workweek to 32 hours from 40 and increasing retiree benefits. The UAW said 98% of hourly workers and 99% of salaried workers at Ford voted in favor of the strike authorization. GM passed by 96%, while the action was approved at Stellantis by 95%. Voter turnout and how many votes still needed to be counted was not immediately available.
Are salaried workers required to cross a picket line during a labor strike? What happens.
August 23, 2023 // "If (nonunion workers) refuse to follow the direction they’ve been given by management, they could potentially lose their job if the company wanted to take such drastic measures," Kaminski said. "They could be fired for refusing to accept an assignment." ◾ Sympathy strikers can be permanently replaced, Kaminski said. Depending on their rank in an organization, some will retain the right to be put on a preferred recall list for a limited period of time. Many people consider being fired and being permanently replaced as the same, though technically different, Kaminski said.