Posts tagged health care
BU grad workers vote to strike Monday
March 22, 2024 // The Boston University graduate workers union voted Wednesday to go on strike Monday afternoon if they do not reach a contract agreement with the university. The union, which represents roughly 3,000 graduate student workers at BU, voted last week to authorize the strike after a longstanding battle with the university over fair pay and stronger benefits, including health care coverage and child care assistance.
Striking Pittsburgh news workers take their cause to billboards around city
March 21, 2024 // Workers from five unions that have been on strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for 17 months put their cause on billboards around the city. The billboards feature Kitsy Higgins and Jordan Pass, of the typographical (advertising) and Teamsters unions, respectively. Those are two of four production unions that went on strike on Oct. 12, 2022, over a dispute that left those workers without health care coverage.
Gig Workers Need Flexibility, Not More Rules | Opinion
March 20, 2024 // Su and the Biden administration are missing one important thing, however: most contract workers don't want those protections. Or rather, they consider the reward of the contract work and compensation to be greater than the risk of not having the traditional protections a full-time employee might enjoy. Many contract workers also work full-time jobs that offer said protections. The gig economy has exploded in the last two decades. Before the pandemic, it was estimated to employ 36 percent of American workers, or about 57.2 million people. Statistics from last year suggest there are over 73 million freelancers in the U.S.
IWF Signs Independent Contracting Coalition Letter
March 18, 2024 //
Union workers push for health care and insurance bills following coordinated strikes
March 15, 2024 // After thousands of Twin Cities union workers went on strike last week, workers are pushing for changes at the Capitol — including public health insurance open to all Minnesotans and insurance for striking workers. About 200 unionized health care, education and property service workers with the SEIU Minnesota State Council met with legislators Wednesday for an organized lobby day. “I would make the case that over the last few years here in Minnesota because of the leadership of SEIU and our allied partners, we have maybe made more progress than we have in a generation around workers and union rights,” said Gov. Tim Walz,
Ramping up pressure: Molson Coors strikers slow traffic at Fort Worth facility
March 15, 2024 // The union behind workers striking at Fort Worth’s Molson-Coors brewery said they started stalling vehicles from entering the campus this week, resulting in traffic delays on South Freeway. Rick Miedema, secretary and treasurer for Teamsters Local 997, said they hope it increases the pressure on the company to meet their demands. “Molson Coors refuses to go to the table with us... All that’s hurting here now is the public because every day we’re shutting this freeway down with the amount of traffic out here,” Miedema said.
Biden’s new rule on independent contractors wages war on workers, women and entrepreneurs
February 26, 2024 // In the past year alone, 64 million Americans freelanced, half of whom were women. Women choose independent contractor status because of the flexibility it affords them, a particularly important factor for those raising children or aiding in caring for parents or other family members. Ninety-two percent of female workers prioritize flexibility over stability when it comes to their careers. Flexibility in the workplace is no longer a commodity, it is a necessity.
After decades of corruption Florida teachers seek new union with integrity
February 25, 2024 // “I noted that the increase in union dues and health care costs were not matched by commensurate salary improvements,” Beightol said. “I began investigating what was going on.” Around the same time, former UTD president Pat Tornillo was arrested for swindling the union out of millions of dollars. Beightol unsuccessfully ran for president of UTD twice, before being expelled for “anti-union” behavior.
UAW loses key local leader known for influence, strategy during negotiations
February 23, 2024 // By contrast, the national union's corruption scandal led to more then a dozen convictions, including two past national UAW presidents and Fiat Chrysler executives. "I was disgusted and disappointed by what some individuals did," said Ricke, who, as local union president, earned a salary of about $175,000, which is tied to the regional leader's wage.
Workers at Molson Coors brewery in Fort Worth go on strike Teamsters voted by 93% Sunday to authorize a strike
February 19, 2024 // “While we respect the Union’s right to strike, we have strong contingency plans in place, and those plans are already well underway. We deliberately built up distributor inventories across the country in recent weeks, our five other U.S. breweries have extra capacity, and we are well equipped to ensure that consumers will be able to buy their favorite Molson Coors products.