Posts tagged inflation
So, A Union’s Own Unionized Workers Go On Strike…
June 21, 2024 // In a May 30 news release, the Guild pointed to its one-day unfair labor practice strike held on May 23, 2024 to “protest the anti-union hypocrisy and unlawful practices from UFCW executives at the bargaining table,” apparently to signal that Guild members are prepared to dig in their heels. In another post six days later, the Guild stated that the UFCW’s “last, best, and final proposal” lacked “substantive changes” from UFCW’s previous proposal, which had been voted down. The UFCW refused to schedule bargaining sessions until the Guild voted again. In response, the Guild “thr[e]w a voting party complete with party hats, candy cigarettes, and a copy of the proposal to annotate suggestions for improvement [to the proposal].” And unsurprisingly, Guild members rejected the proposal once again. Often, unions attack employers (many of whom are truly trying to do their best to be fair and reasonable) as unfair, unreasonable, uncaring, bullying, greedy, amoral…. Well, you get the picture. So, it’s fascinating, in a car-crash kind of way, when an organization with the specific mission of promoting worker rights is accused by its own employees of violating those same rights!
The astonishing number of fast food jobs lost – and restaurants shut – because of California’s new $20-an-hour minimum wage
June 11, 2024 // When the Democrat governor signed the law in 2023, Newsom said the state was getting 'one step closer to fairer wages, safer and healthier working conditions, and better training by giving hardworking fast food workers a stronger voice and seat at the table.' But Republican critics claimed the wage hike would simply mean workers are replaced with self-checkouts and 'robot cooks.' Harsh Ghai, a Burger King franchisee with 140 restaurants on the West Coast announced in April how he planned to have digital kiosks installed in all his locations in two months.
CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION CONTRACT COULD COST AT LEAST $10.2B TO $13.9B
June 6, 2024 // CTU wants massive pay raises, stipends and additional personnel – all of which are within the traditional scope of bargaining. It also wants the city to create new housing, levy new taxes, construct new parking garages, undertake new environmental initiatives, divest pension funds from fossil fuels, fully fund infertility and abortion care for members, subsidize weight-loss surgery and drugs such as Ozempic, add new members to the bargaining unit, offer free CTA passes for all students and employees, among many other things. The new contract also mandates certain positions to be staffed at every school, regardless of enrollment. The new positions include: librarian, librarian assistant, social worker, newcomer liaison, case manager, restorative justice coordinator, reading specialist and interventionist (elementary schools), three elective teachers (middle schools), technology coordinator, “Climate Champion,” and gender support coordinator and/or LGBTW+ lead/specialist and option to expand LGBTQ+ faculty support teams at each school. Because of the minimum staffing requirements laid out in the contract, this would constitute a minimum of 4,650 new hires. Based on the current average compensation for each type of employee, hiring the additional personnel would cost an estimated $1.7 billion.
Major Food Franchise Pulls Dozens Of Stores Out Of Blue State As Costs Rise
June 5, 2024 // “The closings were brought about by the rising cost of doing business in California. While painful, the store closures are a necessary step in our strategic long-term plan to position Rubio’s for success for years to come,” the statement read. Shockwaves of closures have been occurring throughout California for restaurants and retail stores as high crimes and high costs have been affecting business. So far this year, popular restaurants such as Manzkes’ Bicyclette and Patrick’s Roadhouse shut their doors due to the rising costs,
The Delivery Business Shows Why Unions Are Struggling to Expand
May 29, 2024 // But the union has also suffered losses. Yellow, a trucking company that employed 24,000 Teamsters, shut down and filed for bankruptcy protection last year. Amazon and FedEx said they were confident in their approach to managing and compensating workers. Amazon said it had made investments that bolstered pay and benefits at its delivery contractors. FedEx said its nonunion model allowed it to quickly increase pay whereas UPS’s union employees were bound by the terms of five-year contracts.
Dartmouth graduate student workers strike; Clash with administrators over pay and health care
May 3, 2024 // The union representatives said two-thirds of graduate student members are rent-burdened and need better health care benefits.
Fast food chains find a way around $20 minimum wage: Get rid of the workers
April 26, 2024 // The layoffs present a stark reality for employees and their unions, who have long advocated for wage increments. Workers at well-known chains such as Pizza Hut and Round Table pizza restaurants have also felt the impact, with job losses reported following statements from management about the unsustainable nature of the new wage costs. Meanwhile, major fast food players including McDonald’s, Chipotle, and Starbucks have signaled intentions to offset the increased expenses by raising prices.
University of Michigan Lecturers’ Union to vote on strike authorization
April 23, 2024 // Contract ratification requires that an overall majority of voting members approve the contract, with majority approval on at least two campuses. In a statement to TV-5, university spokeswoman Colleen Mastony said the university has negotiated in good faith, offering an annual 3% salary increase over the next four years and a $2,000 lump-sum payment in the first year. She called the offer fair, saying she hopes both parties can reach an agreement soon. “A work stoppage would undermine the progress both parties have made over the past six months. It also would also needlessly hurt students during a critical period in the academic year,” Mastony said.
Michigan’s largest unions have seen plummeting membership over the past decade
April 18, 2024 // Analysis Michigan’s largest unions have seen plummeting membership over the past decade Jobs and incomes are up, workplace injuries are down By Jarrett Skorup | April 16, 2024Share on FacebookShare on X Photo by Kateryna Babaieva on Pexels In recent years, most of Michigan’s largest labor unions saw massive declines in membership, despite significant job growth in most industries. The reason? A decade with right-to-work law, which gave workers the ability to choose whether to join a union, as a member or through a fee, or not. The reports many labor unions are required to file with the federal government reveal the state of labor union membership, as do reports from the Michigan Civil Service Commission. Every one of Michigan’s 15 largest unions or so has seen a decline, whether in state government, schools, local government, or private industries such as construction or food service. But the declines are uneven. A variety of AFSCME associations, representing mostly state and local government workers, have seen a loss of more than half their members. The SEIU, which mostly represents workers in health care and local government, is down nearly 70%. Despite job gains in the auto sector over the past decade and a highly publicized strike last year, the UAW branches in Michigan have lost 16,000 members over the past decade. Other private sector unions have seen fewer losses. These include the United Food and Commercial Workers (-8.7%), Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters (-6.8%), the Operating Engineers (-2.5%) and Michigan Nurses Association (-3.7%). Losses in the public sector are much more pronounced than those in the private sector. The Michigan Education Association has now lost more than 38,000 members, or one-third, since the right-to-work law went into effect in 2013. The American Federation of Teachers branch, the bulk of which is in the Detroit Federation of Teachers, is down more than 25%. The Michigan public school system added 27,000 employees since 2012, but its largest employee unions have lost a combined 45,000 members. The total number of public sector union members in Michigan has dropped by 80,000 since the right-to-work law was passed. Unions representing state of Michigan employees are down by more than one-third. That may soon change. The Democratic-led Michigan Legislature repealed the state’s right-to-work law in 2023. The UAW and other unions representing workers for private employers can now require them to rejoin or pay fees. A 2018 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court means that public sector employees such as schoolteachers still have the right to decline paying or joining a union. Repealing the law is expected to boost union membership and financial support for the Democratic Party. In fighting in 2012 against a law allowing workers to opt out, SEIU Healthcare Michigan President Marge Faville said unions needed the forced funds to “make sure Democrats get [elected].” Just before legislators voted to enact a right-to-work law, a local Michigan Education Association leader sent an email out on a public server to tell other public school employees that “[emergency management] is the future in Michigan with a Republican governor and Legislature” and union members need to “[get] everyone we know to vote for Democrats.”
Some movement in negotiations as Salem nurses, Salem Regional Medical Center officials face strike deadline
April 16, 2024 // The nurses' union has posted an online petition asking for residents to sign. As of Tuesday afternoon, 638 people have signed the petition, which claims, "In the last 3 years, the hospital lost over 100 registered nurses, largely because nurse wages and benefits have not kept up with other area hospitals." Harklewood said that 116 Registered Nurses at the hospital are prepared to strike if nurses and the hospital don’t come to an agreement on a new contract.