Posts tagged health insurance
Voluntary Recognition of Unions Is Increasingly Popular Among U.S. Employers
January 23, 2023 // In January 2023, Microsoft recognized a union of playtesters at its subsidiary ZeniMax Studios; Major League Baseball voluntarily recognized minor league players’ choice to join the Major League Baseball Players Association in September; workers at a number of media organizations had their unions recognized throughout 2021 and 2022; and mission-driven organizations such as charities, museums, civil rights and environmentalist groups, think tanks, and other nonprofits all voluntarily recognized worker unions as well. Other businesses, including The Metals Company, Forever Energy, and the Association of Independent Commercial Producers, signed neutrality agreements with unions, under which the firms agreed to refrain from engaging in anti-union tactics during an election. Some companies have communicated that they have pursued voluntary recognition because their own organizations’ goals broadly align with those of workers. In particular, a number of mission-driven organizations have opted for voluntary recognition in recent years, including the Whitney Museum, the Shed, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Los Angeles, the Brookings Institution, the National Center for Transgender Equality, Capital Roots, Code for America, and others. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a national nonprofit that litigates to protect civil liberties, first voluntarily recognized the unionization of national staffers with the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 70, also called the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union, in 2021.* One of the ACLU’s state affiliates, the ACLU of Texas, also recognized its workers’ choice to unionize with United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2320 in 2022. Indeed, as the ACLU of Texas stated after recognizing its employee union: Media and news organizations have seen some of the largest voluntary recognition agreements signed in the United States. Along with workers at Politico, The Atlantic, Public News Service, The State, and others, employees at Condé Nast won voluntary recognition for their staff union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in 2022. Spurred on by their co-workers at The New Yorker and other Condé Nast publications that voted in favor of joining the NewsGuild-CWA in 2018, these workers organized a union that covers 500 workers, including 100 subcontractors. Workers have also won voluntary recognition in the entertainment industry, including at the International Documentary Association, Seven Seas Entertainment, and the iHeartPodcast Network, as well as through the Animation Guild.
Transit Union: Contract Offer ‘Insulting’
January 19, 2023 // Under Keolis’s latest offer, commuter bus drivers, dispatchers, and some technicians would earn $40 an hour at the top of the pay scale. That makes them competitive with other wages in the region such as the $43 for WMATA drivers or $40 at the DC Circulator. But local bus drivers and others would top out at $27.36, continuing the disparity that existed under the previously separate contracts.
Salesforce to cut workforce by 10% after hiring ‘too many people’ during the pandemic
January 5, 2023 // In a letter to employees and a corresponding filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff referenced the “challenging” environment in which it’s operating, pointing to the “more measured approach” its customers are making with their purchasing decisions. Similar to other companies hit by significant layoffs over the past year, Benioff added that Salesforce had hired too many people through the pandemic during the boom times. For context, the company claimed 79,000 employees last February, a 30% increase on 2020.
UAW workers to vote on CNH offer 8 months after strike began
January 4, 2023 // More than 1,000 striking CNH Industrial workers will soon vote on an offer from the maker of construction and agricultural equipment for the first time since they walked off the job eight months ago. The United Auto Workers union said this week that it decided to put the company’s “upgraded last, best and final offer” to a vote, but the union didn’t offer any details of what is included in it.
Looming Akron teacher strike: Here’s what parents and caregivers need to know
January 2, 2023 // AEA has a strike organization in place and will work with its membership to staff selected picket lines, Shipe said. She did not elaborate on those plans, but said AEA has received an outpouring of support from the Akron community, from all APS unions like bus drivers, secretaries, custodians, cafeteria works and others, including labor unions in other school districts and private-sector unions. "Our labor brothers and sisters are united in our efforts to secure safe schools and responsible and fair wages," she said.
Union wins made big news this year. Here are 5 reasons why it’s not the full story
December 29, 2022 // Spirited union campaigns at coffeehouses, on university campuses and at companies such as Starbucks and REI that have long positioned themselves as progressive have brought a new generation of workers into labor's fold. Whether they stay will likely depend on their career prospects in other fields and how they fare in collective bargaining.
New Haven teachers contract calls for big pay increases for educators
November 16, 2022 // NEW HAVEN —The city Board of Education approved a new contract with teachers that will increase salaries nearly 15 percent over three years and eventually raise the starting salary for new teachers to $51,421. The district did not immediately share the cost impact of the contract or the ratified document, saying corrections had to be made before it could be released.
Will offshore wind bring “good-paying, union jobs”? Texas workers aren’t so sure
October 25, 2022 // The Biden administration is gearing up to turn the Gulf of Mexico, long a hub for offshore oil and gas drilling, into a new city of skyscraping offshore wind turbines. Opening up the Gulf to wind development is part of President Joe Biden's goal to employ "tens of thousands of workers" to establish 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. But in Texas, workers are worried that the new industry will continue the low-wage, unsafe, exploitative conditions that pervade the construction and offshore oil industries there. For the past year, a coalition of Texas labor unions, along with their allies in Congress and in the environmental movement, have been lobbying the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, to make sure that doesn't happen.
Hundreds of Teamsters on strike against food distribution company Sysco Boston
October 3, 2022 // In a statement, Sysco said they did offer a wage increase of 25% over the life of the contract and more health care options at lower costs. The company said the union declared a strike without allowing workers to vote on the offer. "The work stoppage at Sysco Boston is unnecessary and union leaders have taken this action with little regard for the damage it will cause to our associates and our customers. Sysco Boston is willing to continue to bargain to reach a resolution," a company spokesperson wrote.
Strippers bid to unionize in Los Angeles
August 19, 2022 // "We like what we do," said Velveeta, a Star Garden dancer. "We would like our jobs even more if we had basic worker protections." Equity already represents over 51,000 performers and stage managers across the United States, many of them in and around Los Angeles. "Strippers are live entertainers, and while some aspects of their job are unique, they have much in common with other Equity members who dance for a living," said Actors’ Equity Association President Kate Shindle.