Posts tagged COVID-19
Federal worker union shifts presidential endorsements to Harris
July 31, 2024 // The American Federation of Government Employees was the first federal employee union to officially endorse Harris, noting that the vote by the union’s National Executive Council was “unanimous.” Couched as a “reaffirmation” of the union’s previous endorsement of Biden last summer. AFGE touted Harris’ work as a senator to protect federal employees at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as her tenure as co-chairwoman of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, a panel convened by Biden as part of his effort to strengthen labor unions in both government and the private sector.
Nurses union to pay HCA Healthcare $6.2M over 2020 strike
June 21, 2024 // A local unit of SEIU has been ordered to pay HCA Healthcare's Riverside Community Hospital $6.2 million for conducting a 10-day strike in 2020. An arbitrator last month ordered the payment after it was found last year that nurse labor union SEIU Local 121RN violated a collective bargaining agreement with the hospital by holding the strike in June 2020.
CONNECTICUT: Senator’s Dual Roles Raise Ethical Questions Amid Legislative Decisions
April 29, 2024 // Citing the need to pay people “a fair wage and a fair pension,” Sen Hochadel argued that the state must provide higher wages — which already exceed the private sector — to address state job vacancies. This stance suggests a dual agenda: to attract job candidates to the state and swell the ranks of her union with more dues paying members. During her remarks, the Senator acknowledged her members, expressing appreciation for their contributions to the state of Connecticut and urged her colleagues “to vote yes.” While this advocacy may not be surprising, she also serves as the president of the Connecticut American Federation of Teachers (AFT) — one of the unions involved in the negotiations. AFT represents a broader group than just teachers. The union also includes dues paying members who are state employees in the executive and judicial branches, as well as staff at state colleges, universities and UConn Health.
Wonderful Nurseries Workers Hit UFW Union with Charges Detailing Fraudulent Union Campaign, Illegal Discrimination
April 27, 2024 // With the union installed and UFW agents not letting workers revoke their illicitly-obtained memberships in the union, Chavez and Gutierrez note that UFW union officials are now “engaging in a campaign of harassment, libel, slander, and intimidation against [employees who are] exercising their right of free speech and/or protest under [California labor law] to oppose UFW representation.” News reports suggest that scores of Wonderful Nurseries workers have engaged in outdoor demonstrations against the union, declaring “We don’t want a union, listen to our voices, don’t ignore us.” In addition to the ALRB charges, Chavez and Gutierrez, along with a dozen other coworkers, seek to intervene in the ongoing ALRB case in which Wonderful Nurseries is challenging the union’s card check majority “certification” as improperly based on cards collected through fraud and other improper means. Foundation staff attorneys represent the group of workers seeking to intervene in that case to defend their right not to be placed under union monopoly control as a result of UFW organizers’ illicit tactics. Claudia Chavez and Maria Gutierrez,
Parents suing Chicago Teachers Union over COVID-19 strike
March 30, 2024 // Teacher strikes are illegal in eight of the 10 largest school districts in the nation, with Chicago being one of the two districts where strikes are allowed. Los Angeles Unified School District is the other, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. A spokesman from the Hughes and Suhr LLC law firm said in Chicago Public Schools, 76% of all students are classified as low-income. They said teachers earn nearly twice the average income of the families they serve and the timing and length of the strike was particularly egregious. Kugler said, in his opinion, CTU deserves punitive consequences. Before he left his position, Kugler was employed by the CTU for over 10 years, where he was part of the union while strike preparation was happening. He said there’s a process to strike.
Home Care Unionization Efforts Beginning To Tick Back Up
March 29, 2024 // Another issue that URMHC workers cited was working hours, which could – in theory – be fixed by providers. One of the biggest reasons for turnover in home-based care is volatile scheduling. “I think that’s a problem we’re going to have to solve,” FirstLight Home Care CEO Glee McAnanly told Home Health Care News earlier this year. “Because if you talk to caregivers, they say they want 30 hours. The average client is 20 hours, and so you’ve got a disconnected 10 hours. So, we talk about retention, but how are we going to [satisfy] that caregiver?”
Labor Union Strike Activity Increased 280% in 2023
March 20, 2024 // Crucially, the BLS data do not capture all strike activity because BLS only includes strikes involving 1,000 or more workers lasting at least one full shift. For example, a six-week strike involving 750 Temple University graduate student workers was not captured in the 2023 data, because it did not meet the BLS size limitations.
Biden’s new rule on independent contractors wages war on workers, women and entrepreneurs
February 26, 2024 // In the past year alone, 64 million Americans freelanced, half of whom were women. Women choose independent contractor status because of the flexibility it affords them, a particularly important factor for those raising children or aiding in caring for parents or other family members. Ninety-two percent of female workers prioritize flexibility over stability when it comes to their careers. Flexibility in the workplace is no longer a commodity, it is a necessity.
Taxpayers funding teachers unions? In Idaho, it’s all too common
February 5, 2024 // The Boise School District goes a step further by providing teachers a monthly salary enhancement for “professional activities” that just happens to approximate the cost of union dues and can be conveniently deducted from their paychecks and forwarded to the union by the district. At least 51 school district teachers union contracts include provisions providing paid time off for teachers who serve as union officials to engage in union work and advocacy on-the-clock and at taxpayer expense. Some contracts even specifically permit teachers to lobby the legislature on the union’s behalf while on paid release from their teaching duties. Again, while the direct cost to taxpayers is difficult to measure precisely, it could easily range from $500,000 to $1 million per year. And at least 31 school districts provide the teachers union with preferential, no-cost access to and use of school facilities and communications well beyond what community groups or even competing unions are entitled to.
A Seat at the Table: Physicians Have Been Unionizing in Droves
January 3, 2024 // Mugdha Mokashi, MD, a second-year ob/gyn resident, emphasized that residents and fellows often take care of patients with the greatest needs and the fewest resources. "This is about having a seat at the table" to help make decisions that affect working conditions for residents and fellows, as well as others, including nurses and midwives, Mokashi told MedPage Today, adding that the people "directly responsible for making patient care better" should hold power within an institution.