Posts tagged discrimination
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.
OHIO LABOR BOARD FINDS CAUSE TO BELIEVE UNION DISCRIMINATED
September 8, 2023 // By law, OAPSE must represent every worker in the bargaining unit, even nonmembers. Accordingly, it also had the obligation to distribute the money to all employees but, to the surprise of exactly no one, OAPSE refused to pay compensation to the seven employees in the bargaining unit who had resigned their union membership. This was OAPSE’s way of retaliating against the non-union employees for having the audacity to keep their own money in their own pockets instead of funding a union that long ago began prioritizing its political and social agenda over advocating for workers. Unfortunately for OAPSE, retaliating against employees because they exercise their First Amendment rights violates not just the U.S. Constitution, but also Ohio law. For its part, the Southington School District clearly made a bad decision when it entrusted OAPSE with $8,000 in employee compensation, and one certainly does not need hindsight to know that OAPSE would end up discriminating against employees who have the courage to stand up to union bullying.
Will Starbucks’ union-busting stifle a union rebirth in the US?
August 28, 2023 // Many baristas say one Starbucks strategy in particular has discouraged workers from unionizing. In May 2022, Schultz announced that Starbucks would give certain raises and benefits to workers at its more than 9,000 non-union stores, but not offer those raises and benefits to its unionized workers. Starbucks insists it would be illegal to impose any raises or benefits on its unionized stores without first negotiating about them, but the NLRB’s general counsel asserts that this policy constitutes unlawful discrimination against Starbucks’ unionized workers. Under this policy, Starbucks has given its non-union workers, but not its unionized ones, a more relaxed dress code, increased training, faster sick leave accrual and, most important, credit card tipping. (Workers at the first few Starbucks stores to unionize had asked early on for credit card tipping.)
Hotel Workers Strike against Scab Staffing App and Anti-Black Racism
August 2, 2023 // Bradley said he’s been trying to get a permanent hotel job for more than a decade, and suggested that discrimination was the reason he was passed over. “I think I’ve proven myself, and it’s still not enough,” he said. UNITE HERE has negotiated contract language to push hotels to hire Black workers, starting in Local 1 in Chicago in 2006, with similar language in contracts in Boston and Los Angeles. “Often we’re put against each other, right?” said Briceño. “So through all these years that we’ve been bargaining, we take the opportunity to educate our top leaders, folks that come to the negotiation, to understand the need to speak with one voice for the workers and the inclusion of Black workers.”
Workers at The Trevor Project Unionize
July 13, 2023 // The Trevor Project has grown exponentially over the past few years, leading to what one union organizer describes as difficult workloads for crisis counselors dealing with increasing numbers of distress calls. Amy Solar-Greco, an organizer with Communications Workers of America — the union representing Friends of Trevor United — says Trevor’s rapid growth was “unsustainable and burdensome” for employees who are tasked with “performing intense, highly stressful and lifesaving work.” The unionized workers include crisis counselors, policy advocates and curriculum developers, among others. Several of them interviewed for this article say that unionizing will not only help them support each other in the workplace but also better support the LGBTQ youth they serve.
Microsoft’s Union-Neutral Deal Spurs Video Game Organizing Wave
June 29, 2023 // Microsoft Corp.‘s union-friendly stance has opened the door for organizing among online gaming studios nationwide in what legal observers say is a model for other companies looking to establish better relationships with organized labor.
California Security Employee Appeals NLRB Discrimination Ruling Minimizing Blatantly Illegal Force Union Demands
March 17, 2023 // Labor Board wrongly claimed illegal union membership threats against San Francisco Allied Universal employee were mere clerical errors
Flight Attendant Asks for Contempt Ruling Against Southwest for Violating Court Order Regarding Illegal Firing at Union’s Behest
January 9, 2023 // District Court ordered Southwest to announce that airline may not discriminate on basis of religion; airline instead effectively denied wrongdoing despite jury verdict With free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, Southwest Airlines flight attendant Charlene Carter is seeking sanctions against Southwest for flouting the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas’ decision in her case. Carter sued both Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 556 and Southwest in 2017 for firing her over opposing the union’s political stances – a violation of both the Railway Labor Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Feds settle with Colorado trucking firm in discrimination case
December 19, 2022 // The department began an investigation of Navajo Express after a non-U.S. citizen filed a complaint alleging the company refused to accept valid documentation proving permission to work. The company also allegedly demanded a different document from the applicant. The investigation found the company routinely required lawful permanent residents to show their permanent resident cards, commonly called “green cards,” to prove they had permission to work although the applicants had already presented other valid documentation. The investigation also found the company had a policy of unlawfully requiring permanent residents to provide new permanent resident cards when their old permanent resident cards expired.