Posts tagged Covid
Largest port on U.S. East Coast, New York/New Jersey, begins prepping for what could be first union strike since 1977
September 20, 2024 // The ILA represents over 85,000 port workers, and a strike would shut down five of the 10 busiest ports in North America, and a total of 36 ports along the East and Gulf Coasts. Close to half (43%-49%) of all monthly U.S. imports would be impacted, representing billions of dollars in trade, and logistics firms are preparing contingency plans last used during Covid and 2018 tariffs. Currently, there is an estimated $34 billion in freight in route to these ports on 147 ocean vessels.
Hotel Workers’ Union UNITE HERE Releases Travelers’ Guide to Possible Strikes as Busy Labor Day Travel Weekend Approaches
August 25, 2024 // Hotel workers’ union UNITE HERE today published a guide of travel tips to help hotel guests plan for possible strikes across the United States. Thousands of hotel workers in nine cities have now authorized strikes at Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Omni hotels, but hotels rarely notify guests of a strike, and travelers sometimes learn of a strike only upon arriving at their hotel and being met by a boisterous picket line. The union launched the travel guide ahead of Labor Day weekend, when millions of Americans are planning travel.
Chicago teachers union locks 320,000 kids out of class so they can be indoctrinated by the DNC
August 23, 2024 // That’s right: 320,000 students are being kept out of school so they can watch a political party talk about the importance of education. Teachers are still expected to report to work for professional development days, and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is busing teachers to Soldier Field on Thursday night to watch Harris’ acceptance speech on the big screen.
As Canada braces for rail stoppage, truckers scramble to meet demand
August 20, 2024 // Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City plan to halt operations on Thursday Trucking sector sees increased demand it struggles to meet 85% of U.S.-Canada cross-border road freight handled by Canadian carriers Higher trucking demand leads to rising costs and longer lead times CN and CPKC begin phased network shutdowns
COMMENTARY: Californians Can Still Be Their Own Boss in the ‘Gig Economy,’ Also Known as the Free Market
August 6, 2024 // “Furloughed Californians stand on the verge of being wiped out financially because the law prevents them from working part time in a variety of indispensable positions,” read a letter from more than 150 of California’s leading economists and political scientists. “Blocking work that is needed and impoverishing workers laid-off from other jobs are not the intentions of AB-5, but the law is having these unintended consequences and needs to be suspended. Gov. Gavin Newsom declined to suspend the measure, but went on to violate his own rules on masks and impose a rigid lockdown on the people.
California labor takes a rare “L” in 2024
August 2, 2024 // Whatever the reasoning, it seems workers are fed up with controversial labor groups who claim to speak for them but don’t share their views or values. It’s possible this latest union rejection could represent a trend for workers across California who are sick of suffering under bad union policies and subpar representation. One thing is certain: 2024 is shaping up to be a year of reckoning for California’s labor unions and their indefensible agendas.
Huge shipping company shuts down and files Chapter 7 bankruptcy
July 10, 2024 // A review of the Texas Workforce Commission website shows that U.S. Logistics Solutions did not file a 60-day notice to employees that's required under the Worker Adjustments and Retraining Notification Act for companies with more than 100 employees. Failure to file the notice led a former employee on June 24 to file a class-action adversary proceeding complaint in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court against the debtor. The Charlotte, N.C.-based private equity firm in a statement said that all of the shipping company's employees had received their final paychecks, according to FreightWaves.
CONNECTICUT: Branford’s switch to state’s Partnership Plan spurred complaint by union
July 10, 2024 // The labor board also noted that despite the union’s claim that Johnson did not have the authority to enter into the agreement, Johnson has previously entered MOAs with the BOE during the COVID pandemic without approval from other union officials. The union also never called Johnson to testify on their behalf for this complaint, leaving the labor board “somewhat perplexed.” While the labor board found Bonfiglio’s exclusion from certain email communications “concerning,” it was not enough to call into question Johnson’s ability to sign off on the change. As a result, the UPSEU must cease and desist its repudiation of the MOA, drop its grievance against the Branford BOE, and pay the town’s legal fees plus interest. The Connecticut Partnership Plan 2.0 allows municipalities to piggy-back on Connecticut’s state employee health plan. According to the latest available meeting minutes for the Health Care Cost Containment Committee, the Partnership Plan has 156 groups with 23,000 employees and 50,000 members with 11 new groups joining this fiscal year.
NEA’s Staff Union Is on Strike—Halting NEA’s Biggest Annual Gathering
July 6, 2024 // “We have witnessed excessive, even exorbitant, spending on just the NEA president’s physical appearance. Their failure to provide basic details about outsourcing makes us wonder what else the National Education Association is hiding,” NEA Staff Organization President Robin McLean said in a prepared statement. “For a public-service union that purports to oppose outsourcing members’ work, it is unconscionable that NEA would spend hundreds of millions of NEA member dues on contractors while union-busting and shrinking its staff unions.”
US court nixes order barring Amazon from firing pro-union workers
June 14, 2024 // The labor board sought the order after Amazon in 2020 fired Gerald Bryson, a union organizer at a warehouse in Staten Island, for making profane comments to a coworker during a protest over an alleged lack of safety measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. District Judge Diane Gujarati in Brooklyn ruled that Bryson's firing violated his rights under U.S. labor law and barred Amazon from terminating other union supporters. But the judge refused to order Amazon to reinstate Bryson, saying there was no evidence that his firing deterred other workers from unionizing. The 2nd Circuit on Wednesday said the requirement that Amazon not fire other workers was unnecessary if there was no evidence that Bryson's firing had a broader impact.