Posts tagged hours
A $20 minimum wage sounded like a win—until these 5 consequences kicked in
June 26, 2026 // California’s $20 minimum wage sounded like a win—until these five ripple effects hit workers, prices, and jobs. Here’s what leaders need to know to design business models that actually work. A recent University of California Santa Cruz study quantified a pattern every leader should recognize before issuing a mandate: When you impose rapid cost change on a complex system, you get unintended consequences.
Seattle’s The Walrus and the Carpenter in Ballard closes amid union strike
June 24, 2026 // Owners of the popular establishment stated on social media that their security team documented instances of harassment, including name-calling and picketers spitting on guests. A notice posted at the restaurant now prohibits striking workers and picketers from entering the property.
Hotel strike continues outside Embassy Suites near Lumen Field
June 22, 2026 // A hotel worker strike in Seattle continues outside the Embassy Suites in Pioneer Square. UNITE HERE Local 8 members are calling for better pay, more consistent hours, year-round healthcare, and protections tied to immigration enforcement.
The House Just Passed a ‘Pro-Worker’ Bill That Takes Power Away From Workers
June 11, 2026 // "Supporters of this bill assure businesses and workers that it is about worker empowerment and efficiency," Walberg said. "I may be misremembering the definition of empowerment, but I can guarantee it does not mean taking away a worker's right to vote on his or her own contract and giving that power to a Washington bureaucrat with no stake in the outcome."
‘Demanding a voice’: Tri-State workers go on strike, want union recognition
May 12, 2026 // Workers at Batesville Products plan to begin a strike Monday morning after unanimously voting to demand union recognition, according to Teamsters Local 135. The group — including machinists, polishers, and shipping and receiving employees — is organizing with the union amid concerns over workplace conditions, long hours, pay and benefits. Workers say many have been required to work 60-hour weeks for months with little improvement in conditions. Employees requested voluntary recognition from the company April 28, but the request was denied. They then filed for a representation election with the National Labor Relations Board.
Federal lawsuit challenges New Jersey’s discriminatory hiring mandates and forced union speech requirements
May 3, 2026 // Contractors who do not meet the race- and sex-based hiring goals must either enter a referral agreement with a union—obtaining assurances that the union will supply the required minority workers—or complete 25 separate compliance actions. This structure pressures contractors to work through state-favored unions even though their employees chose Earle precisely because of its open-shop structure. The Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause explicitly forbids race- and sex-based classifications.
The Looming Legislative And Labor Push Against Artificial Intelligence
April 10, 2026 // Meanwhile, the Minnesota legislature is presently considering legislation that would, if passed, impose new limits on all employer use of AI. Senate File 4689 seeks to regulate the use of what it calls “Automated Decision Systems” (ADS). It would essentially cover all employment-related decisions relating to the implementation of AI. It would require advance notice of, and employee consent to, the use of ADS, would impose significant recordkeeping obligations, and employees would have the right to know when and how ADS influenced “adverse” employment decisions.
LAUSD teachers union says it will go on strike April 14 if no contract is reached
March 19, 2026 // The district has offered about an 8% raise plus a bonus. The district says it's also proposed reducing class sizes but warns the cost of a larger deal could strain its budget long-term. Teachers have been working without a contract since last year. Even though they just reached a new deal less than three years ago, the 30,000-plus members of the teachers union say it's not enough.
Op-Ed: Contentious union politics eroding Washington’s classrooms
January 29, 2026 // Right now, the WEA, through its support of the Washington Families for Freedom coalition, is actively campaigning against two citizen-initiated measures to the Legislature filed by Let’s Go Washington. The first (IL26-001) would restore broader parental rights in public schools by repealing recent legislative changes to the original Parents' Bill of Rights. The other (IL26-638) seeks to protect fairness in girls’ athletics by requiring biological sex verification and barring students defined as biologically male from female competitions. Supporters turned in far more than the number signatures required to qualify for a spot on the ballot, 416,201 for IL26-001 and 445,187 for IL26-638, on Jan. 2. Reports of harassment and threats against signature-gatherers surfaced repeatedly during the process, yet overwhelming public support prevailed.
Prominent Architecture Firm Is Accused of Illegally Ousting Employees
January 21, 2026 // The case comes amid a recent burst in union organizing in fields not traditionally associated with organized labor: tech workers, magazine journalists, doctors and pharmacists. Many see unions as a way to address a sense of lost autonomy and control, skimpy compensation or conflicts with management over the direction of their companies.