Posts tagged inflation
Dual enrollment students’ classes could be disrupted by looming community college strike in Philly
March 19, 2025 // Over the weekend, 97% of the community college’s staff and faculty union members voted to authorize a strike, should their union and the college’s administration fail to reach a contract agreement. The union is demanding pay raises that keep pace with inflation and class size reductions, the return of a child care center on campus, and subsidized transit passes for staff and students. The vote means union members agreed to allow their leadership to call a strike at any time, but the faculty are not on strike.
Act 10, Scourge of Wisconsin Teachers, Faces Uncertain Future in Court
March 4, 2025 // According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the proportion of union members in Wisconsin’s workforce fell by nearly half, from 14.2% to 7.4%, between 2010 and 2023 (since that figure includes workers from all sectors, the drop for government employees is likely much steeper). A report from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, a right-leaning think tank, showed that the total number of unions holding annual recertification votes across the state declined from 540 in 2014 to 369 in 2018. The largest teachers’ union in the state, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, experienced a dizzying loss of manpower and organizing heft. A 2019 study conducted by a pair of researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that WEAC was forced to restructure and cut its staffing by about two-thirds. The retrenchment was made necessary by a freefall in the collection of dues, the payment of which was made voluntary by Act 10. The loss of paid organizers could be offset, in part, by the efforts of teacher volunteers. But the union had no ready replacement for the millions of dollars in government relations funds that had suddenly evaporated; WEAC went from being one of the biggest lobbying forces in Madison to a second-tier player virtually overnight.
California’s $20 Fast-Food Minimum Wage: Job Losses, Higher Food Prices, Increased Automation
February 19, 2025 // The BRG study found, “California’s fast-food restaurants lost 10,700 jobs between June 2023 and June 2024, making it the worst performing year outside of a recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, food prices at local restaurants have increased by 14.5% since the legislation was signed, nearly double the national average. AB 1228 was signed into law in October 2023 by Governor Gavin Newsom, creating the new $20 minimum wage for fast food employees – a massive 25% increase from the $16 minimum wage.
Wisconsin Supreme Court won’t hear case seeking to overturn 2011 anti-union law for now
February 18, 2025 // Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost in December ruled that the law violates equal protection guarantees in the Wisconsin Constitution by dividing public employees into “general” and “public safety” employees. Under the ruling, all public sector workers who lost their collective bargaining power would have it restored to what was in place before 2011. The judge put the ruling on hold pending the appeal.
CTU rejects fact-finder, moves closer to strike
February 11, 2025 // It supports CPS' proposed 4% to 5% annual raises, plus CTU's proposals to add 90 new librarians hired by 2029 and more family engagement coordinators, Chalkbeat reports. Yes but: It does not weigh in on CTU demands for revamping teacher evaluations and more teacher prep time through enrichment classes like art or music. Meanwhile: The Service Employees International Union's (SEIU) Illinois council this month declared itself under attack by the CTU under current CTU contract proposals, the Tribune reports.
Unionized Grocery Workers Are a Sleeping Giant
February 5, 2025 // A coalition of UFCW Locals 7, 324, 770, and 3000 helped defeat the largest proposed grocery merger in US history between Kroger and Albertsons. Now these locals are collaborating on contract negotiations and sending support to the King Soopers strike in Colorado
BATON ROUGE: Transit union threatening strike if CATS does not meet their demands
January 29, 2025 // Unsatisfied with CATS response, the union says they are taking a stand. Decuir says they will conduct a series of "workforce actions," meaning they will continue to be vocal about their concerns without disrupting operations.
Connecticut’s Nonsensical Plan to Subsidize Strikes
January 17, 2025 // A proposed workers' rights bill will worsen Connecticut's affordability crisis and ignite labor unrest. Proposals to provide striking workers with unemployment benefits and set arbitrary regulations for warehouse workers threaten Connecticut’s economic future. On January 14, two bills advanced in the Labor Committee that might well be the spark that ignites widespread labor unrest, even as the push imposes heavier burdens on our state’s consumers and taxpayers.
Monterey Bay Aquarium employees to unionize, public input wanted for Highway 9 improvement project near Felton
January 16, 2025 // ...employees at the Monterey Bay Aquarium have announced plans to unionize
House Republicans serve up reforms for tipped wage and paid leave
January 16, 2025 // House bills 4001 and 4002, introduced by Reps. Jay Deboyer, R-Clay Township, and Rep. John Roth, R-Interlochen, would modify new laws that, as of Feb. 21, will require paid time off for all employees and minimum wage for tipped wage workers. The 2024 decision by the state’s high court followed years of lawmaking, and the resulting laws, which have become a hot potato for both parties. Taken together, the new laws could increase restaurant costs by a quarter or more, according to a restaurant industry survey.