Posts tagged health benefits
IATSE & Teamsters Leaders Rally Members Of Crew Unions Before AMPTP Talks Begin; “If We Don’t Get What We Want, We Will Shut It Down”
March 5, 2024 // This year’s bargaining cycle marks the first time since 1988 that IATSE, Teamsters and the Hollywood Basic Crafts will jointly bargain health and pension benefits for their members under the shared Motion Picture Pension and Health Plan. IATSE will continue negotiations of their IATSE Hollywood Basic Agreement and the IATSE Area Standard Agreement contracts and local union specific issues. Teamsters and Hollywood Basic Crafts are expected to bargain with the AMPTP in early June for their local specific issues.
Op-Ed: Union bosses or real estate moguls? Tracking the PFT’s finances
December 3, 2023 // Financial documents reveal that between excess cash in the benefit fund and dues collected from its membership, the PFT has spent over $12 million dollars to bail out its failed real estate endeavors. The Health and Welfare Fund paints a good picture of financial health. According to the latest financial disclosure which covers 2021, the Philadelphia School District deposited $65,133,008 into the fund. In total, the benefit fund brought in $9 million in excess revenue and holds a net financial position of $36 million. The Health and Welfare Fund’s financial position was so strong that it was able to dole out money – $4.8 million – to an entity known as the 1816 Chestnut Street Corporation (1816). This loan dates back over a decade. Investigative reports revealed that the Health and Welfare Fund loaned this money interest-free and without any terms of repayment. Today, the loan balance is the same, with no payments made and no interest accruing. What does 1816 have to do with providing health benefits to Philadelphia teachers? As it turns out, not much.
Union representing Kentucky Utilities workers authorizes strike
September 1, 2023 // "This strike authorization vote sends a clear message to Kentucky Utilities that it needs to treat its employees with dignity and respect and start bargaining in good faith," Local 2100 business manager Alex Vibbet said in a statement. The union claims the utility company owned by LG&E and KU Energy treats union workers differently than non-union employees and pays them less for doing the same work. The union filed for unfair labor practice charges against Kentucky Utilities for intimidation, threats of layoffs and termination of health benefits.
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.
‘It’s about damn time’: College workers organize amid nationwide labor unrest
February 8, 2023 // A historic strike at the University of California kicked things off in November. And the six-week standoff among 48,000 campus workers, a broader surge in labor strikes across industries, a depleted pandemic workforce and a friendlier atmosphere in Washington has culminated in a wave of uprisings.+
Pour One Out For The Bosses: Activision Blizzard Loses Second Union Vote
December 5, 2022 // Activision Blizzard’s playbook came up short again. Despite delays, legal appeals, and threats to workers that organizing would lead to lower pay raises, quality assurance developers at the Diablo production studio Blizzard Albany voted 14-0 to unionize today. The Game Workers Alliance Albany are now the second group inside Activision Blizzard to form a union, and the latest testament to a growing labor movement within the larger gaming industry. Among the 18 staff eligible to vote, 14 voted in favor with one vote disqualified and three more challenged by the employer. Both sides have five days to file any objections to today’s results. If neither objects, the group will go on to be represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and begin the tough process of bargaining with Activision Blizzard on its first contract over issues like pay, overtime, and health benefits.
Widespread strikes descend on California
November 18, 2022 // It’s strike season in California, again.
Rideshare, retailers brace for tough U.S. independent contractor rule
September 28, 2022 // The meetings at the White House were one-sided, with officials at OIRA letting groups speak and not participating or asking follow-up questions, several employer sources said. They are interpreting that as a sign the Biden administration's mind is made up. Some of the groups have been trying, and failing, to convince the White House that any broad rule would hurt workers who want to remain independent and have flexibility...More than one-third of U.S. workers, or nearly 60 million people, performed some sort of freelance work.
Kellogg looks to hire replacement employees as strike continues
December 7, 2021 // After union workers rejected a tentative agreement with Kellogg’s that would have ended a two-month strike, the company has announced that it will look to hire replacement employees.