Posts tagged COVID-19
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.
UM medical assistants and behavioral health workers unionize
December 23, 2023 // An additional 1,300 healthcare employees at Michigan Medicine have joined a union for health professionals. The United Michigan Medicine Allied Professionals (UMMAP), American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 6739 now represents 600 behavioral health workers and 700 medical assistants at Michigan Medicine.
ILLINOIS: Parent company of East Dubuque plant alleges striking union bargained in bad faith
December 18, 2023 // As the ongoing strike of a local United Auto Workers chapter at an East Dubuque fertilizer plant approaches the two-month mark, the plant’s parent company alleges that representatives bargained in bad faith. Meanwhile, local union leaders contend they have done nothing wrong. The UAW Local 1391 strike at East Dubuque Nitrogen Fertilizers LLC began Oct. 18. The union represents 94 workers at the facility, about 60% of the plant’s more than 150 employees, based on employment numbers from Greater Dubuque Development Corp.
USPS Won’t Say Whether It Shared Americans’ Contact Information with Labor Unions
December 15, 2023 // But Americans for Fair Treatment (AFFT) uncovered a clause in the online form’s small print, saying USPS can disclose to labor organizations the highly personal information Americans submitted – without their consent. This information includes both where they live and how to contact them directly. USPS’s disclosure raised alarms about why USPS would potentially aggregate vast amounts of Americans’ sensitive data and give it to labor unions. Since then, it appears USPS has added this labor unions language to the fine print for purchases both through USPS.com and in brick-and-mortar stores. It even added the language to its Change of Address form.
Teachers’ union boss blames math test slide on COVID — after fighting to keep remote learning
December 6, 2023 // The leader of the second-largest teachers’ union in the US linked the worldwide drop in math scores on a key international test to the COVID-19 pandemic — during which she had lobbied against a full return to in-person learning. American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten issued a statement that said remote learning was to blame for the drop in the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) math evaluation after scores were released Tuesday.
Kansas City is quickly becoming the hub for a Half Price Books union effort
November 27, 2023 // Employees at Westport's Half Price Books voted to unionize on Nov. 17. Overland Park employees unionized in July. If workers at the Olathe store vote to unionize later this month, Half Price Books Workers United will have organized about 10% of the company. Twelve workers at Kansas City’s Half Price Books in Westport unanimously won a Nov. 17 vote to unionize, making them the 11th unionized store in the country.
Portland teachers use strike to demand racial equity trainings as schools stay closed
November 15, 2023 // Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos ripped the teachers unions in a statement to the Washington Examiner, saying, "Big school unions love closing schools." "They’re holding nearly 50,000 kids hostage to their radical demands, and families across Portland are paying the price," she said. "This is on top of Oregon recently removing basic math and reading competency requirements to graduate high school. It’s hard to argue kids are getting a great education there, and it’s a shame parents in Portland who want better for their kids can’t 'strike' themselves and take their kids out of the government schools."