Posts tagged job protections
4 reasons why labor unions love Tim Walz
August 8, 2024 // The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers noted that Walz, a former teacher, understands the struggles of working people. The AFL-CIO hailed the governor as a principled fighter and labor champion. The Service Employees International Union pointed to what it called "the Minnesota Miracle," a sweeping package of pro-worker laws passed by the state's Democratic legislature last year and signed into law by Walz.
Union, Case reach contract agreement, averting strike at Fargo manufacturing plant
May 6, 2024 // The previous six-year contract expired on April 28, but the union and company agreed to extend the contract and continue negotiations. The union was asking for a pay raise, the retention of health care benefits, and job protections. The deal covers nearly 700 union members. Union Business Agent Jeremy Pearson says the contract contains significant improvements over the company’s original offer. Most notably, Pearson said the union will keep its healthcare insurance plan. He said the company had proposed replacing it with a self-insurance program.
Commentary: Biden Administration’s New Investments in Electric Vehicle and Battery Production Could Benefit Black Americans
February 2, 2024 // While some have suggested that transitioning to EVs would necessitate lower pay and standards for auto workers, the UAW’s gains to the contrary show how the Biden administration’s clean energy plan is actually increasing the leverage of U.S. autoworkers and helping them retain or regain a foothold in America’s middle class. These new investments and labor protections demonstrate significant progress for American workers and the auto industry relative to 2017 through 2020, which saw multiple U.S.-based auto plants close. What’s more, in U.S. history, 2023 marked the lowest annual unemployment rate for Black Americans. The strong labor market in Black communities makes it all the more crucial for automakers to invest in skills training, outreach, and their workforces in order to find and retain the requisite talent to fill the tens of thousands of new jobs created by these investments. If they do so, and efforts by the far-right to water down or repeal the Inflation Reduction Act are defeated, there is ample reason for optimism that ballooning investments in EV and battery production in Black communities will help sustain the strong labor market for Black Americans in the months and years ahead.
MAINE: Fort Kent hospital nurses voting on unionizing Wednesday
January 22, 2024 // The NMMC nurses’ platform, according to a bulletin from the Maine State Nurses Association and National Nurses United, is for safer staffing and scheduling practices, retention-focused benefits, job protections, and fair and transparent wages that reward years of experience and longevity. They are also seeking an RN-elected committee to give them an equal say in patient care standards, nurse-led workplace violence prevention, adequate supplies and equipment, and improved differentials for floating shifts, charge, and precepting.
Dem Demands On Automakers Could Backfire On Their Own Climate Agenda And Americans’ Wallets, Experts Say
January 17, 2024 // “EV cars require fewer workers to build,” Higgins told the DCNF, noting that greater union membership in the auto industry is probably not possible with a corresponding transition to EVs. “That’s just a fact. But that may not matter as much as you might think to the UAW. Believe it or not, only about 150,000 of the UAW’s 400,000 or so members actually work for Detroit automakers. The union has branched out into other areas, such as education, and those areas are growing… So fewer auto workers will hurt the union but not kill it.”
‘We Are Fully Prepared to Walk’ Union Authorizes Strike Against Bud Light Owners, Anheuser-Busch If Demands Are Not Met
December 19, 2023 // Anheuser-Busch Teamsters recently rallied in New Hampshire, California, and Florida with more plans for action across the country. Currently, there has not been a date set for negotiations to take place despite the contract end date being mere months away.
UAW members aren’t all assembling cars. More and more are unionized grad students
October 23, 2023 // These days, the "A" in UAW might as well include academia, as roughly 100,000 of the union's 383,000 members work in higher education. They include graduate students who work as teaching and research assistants, clerical and technical workers, adjunct professors and postdocs.
Hollywood’s video game performers authorize strike if labor talks fail
September 26, 2023 // Video game voice actors and motion capture performers have voted to authorize a strike if negotiations on a new labor contract fail, setting the stage for another possible work stoppage in Hollywood. After voting closed on Monday, the SAG-AFTRA union said 98.32% of those who cast ballots had voted in favor of authorizing a strike. The union is scheduled to begin contract talks with gaming companies on Tuesday.
HarperCollins workers have spent more than 50 days on strike. Is it working?
January 24, 2023 // But if the HarperCollins union gets the wages and protections they're asking for, it could set a higher standard for the rest of the publishing industry going forward, even if they're not unionized. It's an uphill climb, though. The striking workers have been without a paycheck for months now, but they're already planning another big rally in February.
MFA union ratifies its first contract
June 30, 2022 // The MFA Union represents all non-managerial employees who are not already represented by another collective bargaining agreement, and includes hourly front-of-house staff and part-time educators as well as members of administrative, technical, curatorial and conservation departments. Union leaders said the salary minimums will improve pay equity across departments and raise salaries up to industry standards. Curators and conservators, who are typically paid less than salaried professionals in other departments, will see the biggest gains. “There is room for improvement in museum compensation as an industry, but this is a step in that direction … so hopefully we don’t get so behind industry standards in the future,” said Eve Mayberger, a member of the bargaining committee and an assistant objects conservator at the museum. “It is a huge improvement for many of our unit members.” Matthew Teitelbaum, Maida Rosenstein