Posts tagged Labor Law
Op-ed: Competition key to determining effects of increased unionization
September 27, 2022 // We often take it for granted that businesses would prefer to bargain individually with workers, rather than collectively through a union. A cynical explanation might be that profit-hungry corporations prioritize greed over worker welfare, but academic research offers some deeper insight. It shows that companies that are unionized experience reductions in product quality and face a higher likelihood of going out of business. Professors Omesh Kini (Georgia State University), Mo Shen (Auburn University), Jaideep Shenoy (University of Connecticut) and Venkat Subramaniam (Tulane University) find that unionized manufacturers experience a higher rate of product recalls than non-unionized companies.
Considering California’s $22 Minimum Wage at the Federal Level
September 20, 2022 // The labor council created by California’s FAST Recovery Act will be responsible for setting employment standards for fast-food workers and have the authority to raise the minimum wage for these employees by 41 percent to $22 per hour. Such a dramatic increase in the minimum wage for fast-food workers would improve pay for those who are able to keep their positions, but would have negative impacts on employers, consumers, and workers who suffer job loss as a result. A national $22 minimum wage for fast-food workers would cause labor costs to rise by up to 35 percent, resulting in increased prices, layoffs, or some combination of both.
Special Notice for Nurses in the Twin Cities and Twin Ports
September 9, 2022 // The Minnesota Nurses Association has scheduled a three-day strike to begin on September 12 at 16 hospitals located in the Twin Cities, Duluth, Moose Lake, and Superior, Wisconsin. Reportedly, the strike will affect up to 15,000 nurses. The list of reportedly affected hospitals is below. While the threatened strike has not yet occurred, the situation raises serious concerns for workers who believe there is much to lose from a union-ordered strike. If a strike occurs, employees have the right under federal labor law to rebuff union officials’ strike demands, but it is important for you to get informed before you do so.
We need better unions
September 5, 2022 // They need to leave behind the model where they treat all members as oppressed cogs and move to a model where they provide valuable services to their members and find ways to make union membership valuable for companies. It would be better to shift to an approach where unions serve as professional organizations, advocating for their members’ interests and providing tools for members to collaborate. Unions could train their members, award voluntary certifications, offer insurance, and provide assistance to employees negotiating their own terms and conditions of employment. In short, unions need to step forward into the 21st century.
Philadelphia Museum of Art workers union authorizes strike
September 2, 2022 // By the time the NLRB makes a decision, the museum may be under new leadership. Sasha Suda will begin her role as the museum’s new director and CEO in September. She is a former unionized gallery worker and most recently was leader of the National Gallery of Canada, in Ottawa, which is a unionized museum. union president Adam Rizzo
Californifying the U.S. Labor Market
August 23, 2022 // The Biden administration came into office with a sweeping union agenda embodied in the PRO Act, which would have rewritten key elements of decades-old American labor law. Stymied in Congress, however, the administration now seems likely to impose at least one component of that legislation on the workplace through a Department of Labor rule that would narrow the definition of an independent contractor in ways similar to California’s controversial AB5 law. Doing so would likely upset employment policies and practices at a vast array of businesses nationwide, just as has happened in the Golden State, where freelancers lost work because companies couldn’t afford to employ them full-time and truckers recently shut down a port to protest efforts to end their independent status. In the post-Covid world, workers are seeking more flexibility in income-earning. The Biden administration’s effort, which views the independent contractor almost exclusively as an exploited worker denied the benefits of full employment, is a step backward for individual workers—but a gift to unions.
Landstar advises California owner-operators move out of state due to AB5
July 27, 2022 // Some 70,000 owner-operators in California could have their business upended depending on how the state enforces the AB5 labor law, which could reclassify independent contractors as employees. Following the Supreme Court fallout, California agencies have yet to clarify when enforcement could begin, and the governor’s office said earlier this month that it’s looking into concerns from the trucking industry. State departments haven’t returned a request for comment from Transport Dive regarding timing. Vice President and Chief Safety & Operations Officer Joe Beacom, relocate out of California or not haul California-originating loads, J.B. Hunt Chief Operating Officer Nick Hobbs,
Free at last: Carpenters union nearly rid of court-appointed monitor
July 8, 2022 // Two consecutive presidents stepped down, one after allegations of misconduct, while the other cited “mistakes” from several years ago (he had worked off the books earlier in his career as a carpenter). The union also recently increased the monitor’s authority to bring charges against members with connections to organized crime. The change was partly inspired by the 2019 indictments against leaders of two local union chapters, who were charged with accepting bribes in exchange for union membership. Last year, a union leader retired after the monitor concluded that he should be removed from office; an investigation found that he had associated with a “barred” person at a golf event. Joseph Geiger, Glen McGorty, District Council, 421a expired,
Louisville DSI Tunneling Employees Vote Out Unpopular Teamsters Union
July 6, 2022 // Garvin and his coworkers’ successful ouster of unwanted Teamsters officials comes as the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, DC, has announced that it will initiate rulemaking to overturn 2020 Foundation-backed reforms that strengthened the ability of rank-and-file workers to obtain elections to remove unwanted union representation. The reforms generally prevent often-unverified union boss allegations against employers from stopping workers from voting in union decertification elections. Paul Garvin