Posts tagged Covid-era
Connecticut: Lamont’s Golden Age; Commentary
March 19, 2026 // A few days ago, CT Mirror reported that “The administration recently reached tentative, four-year agreements with 10 [union bargaining] units that collectively represent nearly 20,000 state employees [almost half the workforce].” Lamont released only wage increase information, nothing about reform of COVID-era remote work privileges. Lamont’s spokesman said “Because these negotiations are still underway, we are unable to provide additional comment.” Lamont wants union members to know he aims to give them four more years of robust 4.5% annual pay raises comprised of a 2.5% general wage increase (GWI) plus a 2.0% “step increase,” a deal identical to the one he gave them four years ago, which followed two years of 5.5% increases. These ten increases compound to about 60%.
Union Leaders Get Tough With Democrats as Members Drift Toward Trump
August 11, 2025 // “Every time we talk politics, the first thing that comes up is, ‘The Democrats let us down,’” Jimmy Williams, the president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, told The New York Times.
Commentary: The Flight of the Unions from the DNC
June 18, 2025 // Only a few short months ago, Weingarten and Saunders both enjoyed plum speaking spots on the stage at the Democratic Party’s presidential nominating convention. There, along with ridiculous figures like the National Education Association’s Becky Pringle, these labor officials presented a united front against Donald Trump’s GOP. Today, they are defenestrated — either by their own hands or Martin’s. Why?
Can JPMorgan be unionized? Employees turn to their peers at Wells Fargo for advice.
June 9, 2025 // Recently, JPMorgan’s organizers hosted a virtual conference with a unionizer who was associated with Wells Fargo’s effort to “share lessons discovered,” according to an e-mail shown members previously today. The Wells Fargo drive, which is likewise supported by a union called the Committee for Better Banks, has actually extended on for 2 years with little success. ” Develop trust before going public.” ” Usage natural work environment discussions (e.g. breaks, lunch, text discussions) to check the waters and construct self-confidence.” ” Talk beyond deal with coworkers to evaluate their belief.” ” Keep management in the dark about the procedure.” ” Press back versus unlawful management activity. Supervisors might not * SPIT: Surveil, Guarantee, Interfere, or Threaten with regard to unionizing activity or results– however they might not understand this.” ” Reframe the threats to increase self-confidence: The status quo is the genuine risk. Would they fire the entire department?”
‘Time is running out.’ University unions rush to organize before the Trump White House
December 17, 2024 // Between 2012 and 2023, the number of unionized graduate student and postdoctoral workers more than doubled, from roughly 64,000 to 150,000. Faculty unions also increased by 7%, from 374,000 to 402,000, in the same period, the report said. Today, more than a third of graduate-student and postdoctoral workers are unionized while a quarter of faculty are. “Among faculty, the drive for unionization has been strongest among non-tenure track faculty,”
Commentary: Biden Values Public Unions Above Public Service
December 12, 2024 // “It’s time for America to get back to work and fill our great downtowns again with people,” he said. “The vast majority of federal workers will once again work in person.” Yet it never happened. The White House issued various directives, and every political appointee I know was routinely in the office . But despite this widespread discontent among his own appointees, Biden never got the workers back. One reason is that civil servants overwhelmingly view the return-to-office push as a bad-faith political stunt designed to assuage critics in Congress or provide economic benefits to cities. The belief that regular presence in an office is beneficial, expressed by many managers in the private sector, doesn’t have much traction.