Posts tagged healthcare costs
Collective bargaining agreement between Bath Iron Works and union employees to include 17% wage increase
August 24, 2026 // According to IAM Local S6, the new contract also increases shift premiums to $2.50 per hour, locks in healthcare costs during the contract, improves 401(k) contributions, adds safeguards for outsourcing, provides more flexibility for time off, protections with new technology including AI, and more protections for bargaining-unit work. The union says members had to make no concessions for the agreement. Bath Iron Works says that there is some training that will go into effect next week to implement the contract. Charles Krugh, President of General Dynamics Bath Iron Works saying in a statement “This historic contract is the result of constructive, good-faith negotiations. It not only provides significant wage increases, it also provides additional flexibility and long-term stability for both our employees and the company. It will help us continue the production momentum we have gained in our vital work of building ships for the U.S. Navy."
Cargill salt workers go on strike in Newark
August 12, 2026 // Workers at Cargill’s salt facility in Newark went on strike early Tuesday morning, halting operations as contract negotiations over wages and healthcare benefits remain stalled. The Newark facility employs approximately 120 union members who manage the entire operational lifecycle, from the salt evaporation process to final truck loading and distribution.
New Jersey employers face evolving union negotiations
August 11, 2026 // New Jersey’s worker-protection laws add further complexity. “When worker-protection laws are enacted or amended in New Jersey, they add layers to collective bargaining,” Gonzalez said. “There’s no requirement to bargain over a law’s implementation, but where statutes are ambiguous, employers must negotiate the gaps.” She pointed to CREAMMA [the state’s Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act] as an example. “The law prohibits adverse action based on cannabis use outside of work,” she noted. “But unionized employers still need to address how drug testing, safety policies, and fitness-for-duty standards interact with the CBA.” Benefits like paid sick leave and NJ WARN Act severance can also stack on top of contractual obligations. “That dual obligation can catch employers off guard if they are not planning for it at the bargaining table,” she detailed.
Affordability at forefront of union negotiations between Pinellas district and teachers
July 23, 2026 // If the district and teachers association are unable to negotiate a contract ahead of the July 31 deadline they will reach impasse. Impasse is a deadlock in negotiations between workers and employers. Though this has not occurred since 2009, association members and officials are saying that this year, impasse is not an impossibility. If an impasse is reached, Florida’s Public Employees Relations Commission will appoint a special magistrate who will make recommendations on disputed contract items. If those recommendations are not approved by both parties, it will head to the school board which will make a final ruling on any remaining disputes.
A California school district is having its first teachers strike in 150 years
April 17, 2026 // Vasquez said that in the last few years the district has spent more than the revenue it had received, and used reserve funds to continue to subsidize benefits and students services.
An embattled Adams gathers his union allies at Gracie Mansion
January 31, 2025 // Mayor Eric Adams, who has been laying low with a reported medical condition this week, hosted two union presidents at Gracie Mansion on Monday night as he contemplates his political future. The meetings — confirmed by two people with direct knowledge of them, who were granted anonymity to freely discuss a private event — come as Adams grapples with an upcoming corruption trial, sagging poll numbers and dire financial problems.
‘When nurses are treated fairly, patients win, too’: UnityPoint Health nurses unionizing
December 2, 2024 // Teamsters Local 90 leaders say they're working with nurses from four UnityPoint facilities, Iowa Methodist Medical Center, Methodist West Hospital, Blank Children's Hospital and Iowa Lutheran Hospital, to help them create "a stronger voice to address critical issues affecting their profession and the care they provide."