Posts tagged health care
Biden, Trump battle for blue-collar voters as steel merger looms
June 30, 2024 // But Rudy Sanetta, a maintenance worker at US Steel, prefers Trump on the economy and because of his stance on gun rights. "I like him for his resistance to the politicians," Sanetta said of Trump. "The other guy, I have no confidence." Working class voters "are the most pivotal because they're the ones who have actually demonstrated that they're willing to select either Trump or Biden," said Jonathan Cervas, a political scientist at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Pennsylvania Officials Charge Two in Scheme to Divert Union Funds
May 15, 2024 // Woods, 39, who held a position as an executive officer within District 1199C of the National Union of Hospital and Healthcare Employees, is accused of approving union payments to Hardy’s unlicensed construction company under false pretenses. According to the investigation conducted by the Office of Attorney General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the duo misled the union’s executive board with fabricated bids from other companies to inflate the price paid for bar renovations at the union’s premises. Subsequently, a significant portion of these payments were funneled to Hardy’s political consulting firm, purportedly to support political activities ahead of the 2019 Democratic Primary election. The grand jury’s investigation led to recommendations for charges against both men, including participation in corrupt organizations, theft, and forgery. Hardy, 51, alongside Woods, faces accusations of circumventing Pennsylvania campaign finance laws and federal union reporting regulations.
Aramark workers at Wells Fargo Center announce strike for 1st home game of Sixers-Knicks playoff series
April 22, 2024 // On Thursday, the Philadelphia City Council passed a resolution to support food service employees in their contract negotiations. The document "urges Aramark to negotiate fair and equitable contracts that provide these workers with a standard minimum wage and healthcare coverage." At Thursday's City Council meeting, union members announced another strike for Thursday, April 25 -- Game 3 of the Sixers-Knicks playoff series and the first time the Sixers will be at home in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
UAW eyes more wins in South after historic union vote at VW plant
April 22, 2024 // Unions in other industries are already moving ahead with organizing campaigns in the South and trying to learn from the UAW's playbook.
Workers at Philadelphia sports stadium hit picket lines for one-day strike
April 11, 2024 // The union — which represents people who work at the Wells Fargo Center and neighboring Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park, where the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Phillies, respectively, play — say their wages and benefits are not keeping up with inflation. The union said some staffers who work at all three stadiums make different hourly wages at each site, and union members say they are treated as seasonal workers rather than year-round employees, based on each sport’s season.
California’s Early-Career Doctors Unionize, Demand Fair Pay and Conditions
April 9, 2024 // Increased pay, overtime compensation, housing stipends and more manageable schedules are at stake. Unions representing residents have bargained for fertility benefits to support delayed family planning. Dr. Berneen Bal, a third-year psychiatry resident at Kaiser’s Oakland Medical Center, said some colleagues have even traveled out of state where it’s cheaper to freeze eggs. “As more residencies have unionized, it’s put greater criticism on this training structure that we’ve all just accepted for so long,” Bal said.
Boston University Denies It Would Use AI to Replace Striking Teaching Assistants
April 2, 2024 // The university’s response comes after an email to faculty from Stan Sclaroff, dean of arts and sciences. Last week, two days after thousands of BU graduate student workers began a strike, the email made recommendations including using artificial intelligence to better manage course discussions, labs and student feedback. “Neither Dean Sclaroff nor Boston University believe that AI can replace its graduate student teaching assistants, and the assertion that we plan to do so is patently false,” Boston University said in a statement on Friday.
Biden’s DEI mandates on employers fail American workers
March 28, 2024 // Today, businesses have three options when evaluating apprentices’ successful completion of their programs: a time-based approach, which requires the apprentice to complete a certain number of hours of training; a competency-based approach, which requires the apprentice to achieve certain skills; or a combination of the two. This new rule removes the competency-based approach entirely and instead requires all apprentices to complete a minimum of 2,000 hours of on-the-job training and 144 hours of classroom instruction. This not only increases costs for businesses that can train apprentices in less time but also demoralizes talented workers who can achieve competency quickly.
Over 400 Daly City hospital workers go on strike
March 26, 2024 // Workers claim the hospital changed union health care benefits at the start of the year, and as a result, workers either pay up to $6,000 to keep access to existing doctors and hospitals or accept the new health plan they claim does not include prenatal or pediatric care. Seton management says it is offering 16% pay increases over three years; free medical benefits for immediate families; and up to 400 hours annually of accrued paid time off.
WASHINGTON EDUCATION ASSOCIATION GIVES BIG TO PROGRESSIVE CAUSES, TAX RETURN SHOWS
March 25, 2024 // WEA president Larry Delaney, elected to that position by the union’s members, received total compensation from the union of $312,281 for a reported average of 37.5 hours of work per week. The union’s elected vice president, Janie White, received $257,936 in total compensation. However, the union’s hired executive director, Aimee Iverson, far outpaced them both, receiving $415,545 in total compensation from the WEA that year. The Form 990 also disclosed a dozen other top staff, each earning well over $200,000 per year in total compensation. The total number of such employees on the payroll is unknown. Interestingly, unfunded pension obligations towards its current and former staff represent a significant liability for the WEA. In fact, the weight of the union’s reported $45 million in liabilities for employee retirement benefits pulled its net assets into negative territory that year by nearly $1.3 million.