Posts tagged job security
Unions Against Teachers
August 29, 2023 // Many teachers comply, despite disagreement with the union, simply to avoid perceived or actual liability. Among those who don’t, many would rather quit than get dragged to court or end up in the local news over a political dustup.
AFGE Urges Congress to Pass Bill Reinstating Federal Tax Deduction for Union Dues
August 1, 2023 // The Tax Fairness for Workers Act, H.R. 4963, would restore the tax deductibility of union dues for workers and would create an “above the line” deduction for unions so workers can use it even if they don’t itemize. The bill, which currently has 158 co-sponsors, would also help workers by restoring the deduction for unreimbursed employee expenses including job search expenses, travel, out of pocket cost of uniforms and tools, and other costs related to being an employee. AFGE thanks Reps. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., and Donald Norcross, D-N.J., for introducing his important bill. AFGE also thanks Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., for leading the Senate bill, S. 738, which has 39 co-sponsors.
Terminations and failed union negotiations lead to closures of Nashville coffee shops
July 7, 2023 // The futures of two popular Nashville coffee shops are uncertain as multiple Barista Parlor locations and Three Brothers Coffee remain closed after weeks of failed union negotiation efforts and unexplained terminations. Employees at both companies say baristas have major concerns about the coffee industry in Nashville because of multiple closures, terminations and low or stolen wages. Golden Sound, a Barista Parlor location in the Gulch, closed almost two months ago. Some employees transferred to the Germantown location before all but three staff were fired without warning June 14. A Barista Parlor worker said management attempted to have one-on-one meetings with staff in order to terminate them, but the group demanded to meet together. Three staff members who were not terminated quit in solidarity. The entire staff of the Hillsboro Village location also walked out, citing similar concerns about working conditions, understaffing, wages and job security. Katte Noel, who has worked at Barista Parlor for a year and a half, said workers have experienced hundreds of dollars in wage theft in the last few months. Noel said management has promised to repay those wages but This was in addition to hours being cut and company favorites being given better shift times and assignments, which Noel says puts stress on baristas trying to make ends meet; shorter shifts mean slimmer pay checks.
PORTLAND: Workers unionize at Friends of the Children
June 21, 2023 // Workers at the nonprofit Friends of the Children Portland voted 40-3 to join AFT-Oregon in mail ballots counted June 1. The newly unionized unit includes 53 workers ranging from youth mentors to accountants.
Workers at the Fayetteville Chemours factory held a union vote. Here is what they decided
June 6, 2023 // Balloting was scheduled to end at 8 p.m. Friday. The vote was 73 in favor of the union, and 119 against the union, according to statements from Chemours and the Laborers’ International Union of North America. Information from the National Labor Relations Board, the government agency that oversees union elections, was not available late Friday or Saturday. Chemours said the union is objecting to 26 of the workers’ ballots.
CUNA Mutual workers go on strike as contract negotiations stall
May 22, 2023 // The union is characterizing the walkout as an unfair labor practice strike — a significant distinction because, if upheld by the National Labor Relations Board, it would prevent the company from permanently replacing strikers. Members authorized a five-day strike initially, Bartlett-Mulvihill said. “Could it go longer?” she added. “Absolutely. If we see no movement at the table from the employer, you know, those are options that the members are looking at.” The walkout comes as CUNA Mutual is in the midst of rebranding its business under the name TruStage, reflecting an expansion beyond its original customer base of credit unions. Bartlett-Mulvihill and Joe Evica, the union’s chief steward at CUNA Mutual, told reporters at a picket-line news conference that the principal issues remained job security, wages, pension benefits, health care and a pay equity review for union employees, including stronger efforts to expand the diversity of the workforce. The union has also sought to maintain remote work policies that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. The union has criticized company management for its handling of contract negotiations, which began in February 2022.
Rutgers’ unions ratify new contracts, formally ending strike
May 11, 2023 // Three unions, which represent about 9,000 Rutgers staff members, were involved in the strike: the Rutgers AAUP-AFT, which represents full-time faculty, graduate workers, postdoctoral associates and some counselors; the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, which represents part-time lecturers; and the AAUP-BHSNJ, which includes faculty in the biomedical and health sciences at Rutgers’ medical, dental, nursing and public health schools.
Brooklyn Museum Union Pickets VIP Artists Ball as Contract Negotiations Stall
April 28, 2023 // On Wednesday night, as guests of the Brooklyn Museum arrived for the annual, star-studded Artists Ball, members of the museum’s union gathered—once again—along the entryway, to raise their voices in songs and speeches of protest. Many brandished signs (“Solidarity with the Union”) and chanted (“overworked and underpaid” and “Brooklyn is a union town”). In August 2021, some 130 employees of the Brooklyn Museum, including curators, conservators, editors, fundraisers, educators, and members of the visitor services department, voted overwhelmingly to unionize. They affiliated with the Technical, Office, and Professional Union, Local 2110, part of the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union which also represents workers at the Museum of Modern Art, the Bronx Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, among other cultural institutions across the US.
Rutgers faculty suspend strike after reaching tentative deal
April 17, 2023 // Striking faculty at New Jersey's Rutgers University returned to classrooms Monday after reaching a tentative agreement on a new contract to boost wages and provide other benefits. On Saturday, the three striking unions representing more than 9,000 faculty members announced they had reached a "framework" agreement with Rutgers administration on new contracts, allowing more than 67,000 students to return to classes. The unions have been on strike since last Monday. The Rutgers' unions — AAUP-AFT, Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union and the Rutgers AAUP-Biomedical and Health Sciences of New Jersey — said the tentative deal includes "major victories" but said there are still "open issues" that have to be resolved before they put the contracts before their membership for a vote. "We have only suspended the strike, not canceled it," they said in a joint statement. "If we don’t win what we need on these open issues, we can and will continue with the work stoppage."
Barnes & Noble Education Workers Seek to Unionize, Extending Organizing Wave
April 10, 2023 // Workers say they’ve signed up most of the roughly 70 employees at the store on Rutgers University’s campus. After announcing their organizing campaign to local management, they plan to submit a filing Thursday asking the US National Labor Relations Board to conduct a unionization election. Employees are petitioning to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which currently represents retail workers at Macy’s Inc., H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB and, most recently, Recreational Equipment Inc., where it first secured a foothold last year in New York City. Barnes & Noble Education didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The company, which retailer Barnes & Noble Inc. spun off in 2015, operates 785 physical bookstores for students and hundreds of online bookstores. It also has exclusive deals with schools and universities to distribute course materials.