Posts tagged health care benefits

    American Companies Have Always Been More Anti-Union Than International Ones. Here’s Why

    April 22, 2022 // But when unions are functioning well, Devault says, they aren’t just about pay—but about making sure that workers have more overall power in the workplace. “The pandemic has really changed the way people look at their work,” she says. “We’re starting to see now [that one of those changes is that] I want some say in what goes on in my workplace.” And when workers have more say, they can be more invested in their company’s future, too.

    NYC Avoids Strike by 30,000 Doormen, Building Workers

    April 21, 2022 // Skylar Woodhouse Tue, April 19, 2022, 4:34 PM·3 min read (Bloomberg) -- New York City residents at more than 3,000 buildings, including the city’s most grand high-rises, can stand down on trash duty as building workers struck a labor deal, ending the possibility of a strike. Most Read from Bloomberg Netflix Tumbles as 200,000 Users Exit for First Drop in Decade In Defense of Elon Musk's Managerial Excellence Twitter Has a Poison Pill Now Putin Calls Time on Foreign Listings in Fresh Hit to Tycoons U.S. Stops Mask Requirement on Planes After Judge’s Ruling More than 30,000 doormen, superintendents and other building employees -- who are being represented by 32BJ SEIU, a powerful union -- negotiated a new contract with the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, a group representing building owners and managers, the organizations announced on Tuesday. The contract is up for renewal every four years, and the latest was set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday. The board had initially proposed cutting back employees’ vacation days and sick leave. They also wanted staff to cover more of their health-care costs, an expense currently borne by the management firms. As a part of the new contract, union members saw no changes to their vacation days and sick leave, or their health care plans. Annual wage increases will also average 3% over the next four years. Read More: NYC Braces for Doorman Strike as Negotiations Enter Final Hours “We got a deal done that our members have earned and deserved,” 32BJ President Kyle Bragg said in a statement. The union had said the board’s original terms were unfair considering how doormen, superintendents and other building workers played a key role in keeping apartment buildings functioning as much of the world shut down in during the pandemic, often endangering their own health in the process. The negotiation also came as the U.S. is goes through a period of labor unrest not seen since the early 1980s. The labor union had authorized a strike if a deal was not reached, leading buildings around the city to craft contingency plans for disruptions. In some cases, that meant asking residents to help with mail sorting, trash collection and security. The last New York apartment workers strike was in 1991 and lasted for 12 days.

    Apple Store Unionization Effort in Motion at New York Flagship Location

    April 19, 2022 // A group of workers at Apple's flagship retail store in Manhattan has begun formally gathering signatures to form a union, The Washington Post reported Saturday. Organizers at Apple's Grand Central Terminal store say they voted Feb. 21 to affiliate with Workers United, the national labor union involved in recent efforts to unionize at Starbucks outlets, the paper reported.

    Louisiana: Kroger union workers vote to authorize strike

    April 4, 2022 // Local Kroger union workers have voted to authorize a strike, union officials said. The vote does not mean a strike is certain, but that it could happen should both sides not reach an agreement, said Shirley Rome, secretary treasurer of Union Local 455. She said the union rejected Kroger’s most recent proposal and authorized the strike Wednesday.

    Labor foe Schultz returns as Starbucks union effort grows

    March 22, 2022 // “He took it really personally that his workers wanted to be part of a union, because he thought with him in charge they wouldn’t need it,” said Pam Blauman-Schmitz, a retired union representative who worked to organize Starbucks’ first stores in the early 1980s. “He would say stuff like, ‘Maybe you need unions in the coal mines, but not at Starbucks stores.”