Posts tagged health care
Three Takeaways From Our Investigation Into a Shady New York Union
August 21, 2026 // Our investigation into the union — International Brotherhood of Trade Unions, or IBOTU — found that it enriches its leaders at the expense of its members, who are low-wage workers in grocery stores, ambulance companies, and home health care, among other industries. The union has repeatedly been targeted by federal regulators for labor law violations, and some of its leaders have been arrested for criminal activity. IBOTU is also a family business: three of its current top officers married the founding president’s daughters. All three currently make about $1 million per year.
Beverage Market strike nears 100 days as workers seek better pay and benefits
August 19, 2026 // Union representatives allege there have been confrontations involving people working at the business and those on the picket line. According to representatives, one striking worker was struck by a vehicle and another was shoved. The circumstances surrounding those incidents and whether any charges were filed could not immediately be independently verified.
California’s ‘Fair Share’ proposal could lead to unfair hiring, advocates warn
August 14, 2026 // However, opponents argue individuals rely on public health insurance for many reasons, and tying a company’s costs to those workers could put them at a disadvantage. “We don’t want to incentivize employers to change their business practices to either not hire people who are on Medicaid or discourage people from enrolling in Medicaid once they’re hired,” said Jennifer Spiegel, a policy analyst with New Jersey Policy Perspective. Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article316832195.html#storylink=cpy
Target Field concession workers go on strike ahead of Twins/Dodgers series
June 22, 2026 // Target Field concessions workers went on strike Monday, ahead of the Minnesota Twins hosting a three-game series against the L.A. Dodgers. Crowds are expected to be as big as they have been all season, with Shohei Ohtani in town. UNITE Here Local 17 says more than 500 employees will strike at 4 p.m. on June 22 if demands aren’t met for better health insurance, higher wages and more job protections.
Lawmakers Consider Hiking Fees for Filling Prescriptions
June 8, 2026 // In response to that opposition, the bill’s sponsors amended the bill to exempt the “collectively bargained” health plans covering union members. It also does not apply to Medicare or the “self-insured” health plans offered by most large employers, which are exempt from state regulation by federal law. As a result, the bill primarily targets the health plans purchased from insurance companies by small and medium-sized employers – where it will add to premium costs that are already among the highest in the U.S.
The Faster Labor Contracts Act would force workers into unions they never voted for
June 4, 2026 // The retail, leisure, and hospitality sectors, by contrast, are traditionally harder for unions to organize because the workers who would back a union are also less likely to stick around. That’s why the unions want contract deadlines to apply to all negotiations, not just cases in which companies may be deliberately delaying things. Unions might otherwise find themselves in a “herding cats” situation because workers are constantly coming and going.
Editorial Board: Unions held Massachusetts schools hostage. Now the bill has come due.
June 3, 2026 // Sometimes even an override isn’t enough. In Brookline, which had a one-day teacher strike in 2022 that ended with a pay raise, voters overwhelmingly approved a tax increase last month that will bring in an extra $23 million, including $18 million for the schools. The vote helped stave off hundreds of teacher layoffs and cuts to the fire department. Even still, the district will still be forced to cut some school jobs. “Not only did these unlawful strikes add to the already historic student learning loss after the pandemic,” said Jim Stergios, the executive director of the Pioneer Institute, “but over the long term jeopardized the jobs of rank-and-file teachers and local municipal budgets.”
Massachusetts: School bus drivers, monitors go on strike in Marlborough
May 28, 2026 // Teamsters Local 170 says it has notified the school district that its hard-working and dedicated employees working for NRT Bus -- which holds the contract for school bus services in Marlborough and for Advance Math Science Academy -- have officially gone on strike. A couple dozen drivers and monitors were picketing at the NRT Bus entrance on Fox Road in Hudson Wednesday morning. According to the union, NRT Bus has given them a "last and final that falls far short" of what is needed to ensure they have access to affordable health care
Clinicians push to unionize amid staffing, burnout concerns
May 25, 2026 // Among the most recent efforts in May are the more than 73% of the 870 nurses at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, Wis., who signed cards supporting unionization. The group filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board on May 1 and is awaiting an election date. Nurses involved in the effort said they want a stronger voice in decisions affecting staffing, retention and working conditions.
New Yorkers bracing for commuter chaos as LIRR workers remain on strike
May 17, 2026 // MTA Chairman Janno Lieber told reporters Sunday that the MTA refuses to make a deal that forces riders and taxpayers to fund wage increases for workers who, he contended, are already the highest-paid railroad employees in the nation. Nearly 300,000 daily commuters are affected by the strike, according to the MTA.