Posts tagged Covid
Randi Weingarten Appointed to DHS School Safety Advisory Council
June 23, 2023 // In the fall of 2020, Weingarten denounced calls to reopen schools as “reckless, callous, cruel.” An AFT affiliate in Chicago similarly condemned then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2022, who called her efforts to reopen school “rooted in sexism, racism, and misogyny.”
Largest Federal Employee Union Backs Biden-Harris for Reelection
June 20, 2023 // Also, the Biden-Harris administration implemented measures to support federal employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, including granting 15 weeks of emergency leave and easing access to worker’s compensation. The president also established a task force to expand union representation within the federal government and nationwide. The AFGE endorsement underscores Biden’s unwavering support for the working people serving the government with honor and distinction, the organization said. Kelley highlighted Biden’s commitment to labor unions and praised his administration for standing by AFGE members and workers.
Hotel Workers Union Strike Vote Taken at the Pasadena Hilton Could Be Largest Such Strike in U.S. History
June 12, 2023 // The timing coincides with the Los Angeles area’s preparations to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics. Workers are demanding improved contracts in advance of these events, expected to bring a significant boost to the local hotel industry. Workers are seeking a $10-an-hour wage increase, affordable family healthcare, retirement pensions, and safer staffing levels. They are also protesting the industry’s decision to cut staff and increase workloads during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite fierce pushback, an Oregon union is proceeding in its efforts to recall an influential Democrat
June 9, 2023 // In a blistering letter sent June 2, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 said it had no plans to stop. The union has already put down $100,000 to fund a recall on state Rep. Paul Holvey, a Eugene Democrat considered one of the strongest labor champions in the statehouse. And the union’s president, Dan Clay, went further. He laid out years’ worth of grievances his tens of thousands of members have with state policymakers — from a decision not to prioritize grocery workers for COVID-19 vaccines, to how the state chose to distribute pandemic relief money, to the death of the union’s priority bill this year. The union is so disillusioned, Clay wrote, that it is likely to abandon the statehouse altogether in coming years, pushing ballot measures instead of bills.
FedEx pilots union reaches tentative contract deal
May 31, 2023 // Pilots’ unions reportedly have more leverage to push for increased pay and changes in scheduling practices, following the shortage of pilots industry-wide that came about as carriers encouraged retirement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why Work from Home Jobs are Here to Stay for Federal Government Employees
May 31, 2023 // Given that passage into law would require a Democratic-controlled Senate and President Biden to go along, enactment of the Republican bill seems very unlikely. Potentially, Republicans could use passage of a final budget or even an increase of the debt ceiling, as a negotiation to push the measure into law, assuming they can get the votes. However, union agreements would still pose a serious challenge. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) boasts a membership of over 281,000 individuals working in almost every agency of the federal and D.C. governments, spanning across 936 local unions. In December 2022, after prolonged legal battles with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the union announced that they had reached a settlement for immediate flexible work arrangements while they negotiate terms for a permanent telework program.
One Small Union Is Stoking Much of the Militant New Graduate Worker Organizing
May 30, 2023 // With around 35,000 members, the UE is not a huge union. It was once the third-largest — and arguably the most left-wing and democratic — member of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, with around a half-million members in core industries, until it fell victim to postwar anti-communist purges, raids from other unions and plant shutdowns. But the union revived itself by the 1990s. Famously, UE workers at the Republic Windows & Doors factory in Chicago occupied their plant in 2008, and today the union boasts a range of affiliated locals across sectors and industries from California to Vermont.
Gov. Shapiro, Choose School Choice Over Union Power Grabs
May 18, 2023 // Government union PACs spent more than $20 million in Pennsylvania during the 2021–22 election cycle. More than 92 percent of those contributions went to Democratic candidates and causes. The money helped Democrats gain a majority in the state’s House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years. House Democrats, plus one lone Republican, have now backed the top priority of union executives. House Bill 950, a proposed constitutional amendment that would impose union mandates on employees who do not necessarily share the political agenda of union leaders, passed 102 to 99 on May 3. The bill takes its inspiration from a law out of Illinois that prohibits elected officials from advancing right-to-work initiatives that safeguard First Amendment rights. Josh Shapiro, the commonwealth’s Democratic governor who took office in January, has been a consistent opponent of right-to-work laws. However, he has not yet publicly commented on the push for union mandates in the current legislative session.