Posts tagged disability
Raven Software Workers Unanimously Vote to Ratify First Contract
August 5, 2025 // The Raven Software workers made headlines in January 2022 when they announced that they were attempting to form a union with the backing of the Communications Workers of America. Though CWA had previously won a union at the indie studio Vodeo Games (now defunct), the Raven Software effort marked the first time that the recent video-game organizing movement tested a AAA company. Though Activision Blizzard declined to voluntarily recognize the group, union organizers ultimately prevailed in a National Labor Relations Board election later that year.
Millions of men missing from US labor force
February 17, 2025 // Roughly 7 million American men are missing from the U.S. labor force. Vice President of General Economics and Trade at the Cato Institute Scott Lincicome says the trend started in the 1960s, but the vast majority of the men who aren’t working are unemployed for reasons other than labor market issues. However, the economy still needs workers.
House Oversight Republicans open Congress with rants against telework, unions
January 17, 2025 // Rachel Greszler, a visiting fellow at the conservative Economic Policy Innovation Center and a former Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 contributor, described actions like the Social Security-AFGE telework contract update as an effort to “Trump-proof” agency workforces and suggested Congress should pass legislation allowing presidents to reopen collective bargaining agreements upon assuming office. And they should ban official time, the practice by which agencies agree to pay union officials their normal salary for time spent on representational duties, like in collective bargaining negotiations or representing employees during grievances or disciplinary hearings.
After West Coast contract win, machinists’ union sets sights on Boeing’s non-union South Carolina factories
December 20, 2024 // The IAM International is looking to make inroads at Boeing's non-union South Carolina factories after a contract win on the West Coast.
WASHINGTON: State worker tells peers, ‘WFSE isn’t worth it’
November 13, 2024 // His supervisor somehow found out about his disability and began treating him differently. To his shock, he learned his supervisor had divulged his private, HIPAA-protected medical information while he was out for surgery. He immediately turned to WFSE, asking for protection from this unfair treatment. His union representative assured him they would take care of it. But weeks passed, and the gossip and bullying continued.
New Law Redefines Employees and Contractors
March 7, 2024 // Data suggest worker misclassification may be the exception rather than the rule in many industries. Surveys consistently show that most independent contractors prefer their independence. Around 79% of them prefer their arrangement over a traditional job, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, while fewer than one in 10 contractors want a traditional work arrangement. "Since a lot of older Americans do seek out these flexible forms of work as they near retirement — or after — this rule will likely lead to reduced work opportunities for them." Implemented in 2020 when acting U.S. Labor Secretary Su was California's labor commissioner, California's Assembly Bill 5, or AB5, similarly set out to protect workers by getting more people on the payrolls. But many Californians working as legitimate contractors suddenly lost income after businesses and nonprofits stopped working with them as freelancers and didn't hire them as employees.
2024 strikes predicted to be less disruptive; but layoffs and unionization continue
January 5, 2024 // US workers will not be exerting the same sort of pay pressures on employers as they did in 2023, with opportunities to strike being much reduced. After a bumper 2023 of strike activity, it claims the bargaining schedule for 2024 does not appear to be facing as many battles ahead.
Southwest, American Airlines passengers face looming winter woes
November 28, 2023 // "We're behind the industry in every area you can think of in our contract. So we're asking for quite a bit. Obviously, wages, retirement, disability. One of the big pillars that other airlines didn't have a huge issue with, but we do, is our scheduling system," Santoro said.
Op-ed: Workers Rights Won by Unions, From the 8-Hour Workday to Overtime Pay
September 11, 2023 // The overall proportion of unionized workers in the United States remains relatively low, with only one in every 10 workers in the country belonging to a union. But whether you're a union worker or not, you may benefit from policies for which unions have fought long and hard — and they continue to fight. Labor organizing has helped secure everyday benefits that many of us now take for granted. And these efforts have shown people what kind of protections they can hope to secure in the workplace.
Oregon Education Association Just the Latest Teachers’ Union to Impose Racially Discriminatory Policies
June 15, 2023 // On April 30, OEA’s board of directors discussed a so-called “progressive dues structure for BIPOC (black, indigenous and people of color) members,” according to meeting minutes. This scheme would include a “significant discount for educators until the racial breakdown of our membership aligns with the racial breakdown of our student population.”