Posts tagged labor negotiations
Gov. Bob Ferguson signs bill giving unemployment to striking WA workers
May 26, 2025 // The governor has signed a new bill into law which creates a path to collecting benefits while on strike. Unemployment benefits wouldn't start as soon as a strike begins, however. The bill takes effect in 2026.- Striking workers will be able to collect unemployment benefits starting next year. This will make Washington the third state in the United States to pass such a bill, joining New York and New Jersey. Governor Bob Ferguson signed a new bill into law, SB 5041, which will make workers eligible for unemployment insurance while on strike.
UAW union members at Cummins in Oshkosh remain ‘worlds apart’ on deal after walking off job
April 14, 2025 // Cummins and UAW Local 291 remain at odds over a new labor contract, with workers on strike for four weeks. The two sides have met only once since the strike began, with little progress made. Key disagreements include mandatory overtime and the use of temporary workers. A rally is planned at the union hall to support the striking workers.
“Membership… at an all-time low”: NEA report credits Freedom Foundation for historic decline in Oregon, and offers an ironic solution
September 10, 2024 // It’s difficult to overstate the irony: To reverse the membership losses resulting from the Freedom Foundation’s educational campaign to teachers, the NEA directed funds to SKEA to implement a reform, transparent collective bargaining, the Freedom Foundation has supported for years — and that government unions themselves have long opposed. There’s an admission in there, isn’t there?
OPINION: FRANK RICCI: Paying People To Strike Makes No Sense
August 14, 2023 // Furthermore, a company’s unemployment experience rating is included as a fiscal cost factored into bids for state, municipal and private construction costs. Unemployment for striking workers will harm company ratings and place upward pressure on the price of goods, as well as our taxes. Rather than using its own funds to assist workers during a strike — a prime justification for its existence — the AFL-CIO is instead encouraging its members to contact their legislators to demand that they pass these bills so that taxpayers and businesses pick up the tab. This legislation places no restriction on union strike funds, so striking workers may collect funds from the unions as well. The result? Workers could be paid more to go and stay on strike than they would have made working — this will incentivize labor unrest.
More than 600 city of Portland workers out on strike
February 2, 2023 // Portlanders will feel an impact from the strike, though it’s not clear yet just how deep or how quickly. Mayor Ted Wheeler has authorized using independent contractors to do some of the work of striking city employees. Local 483 includes people responsible for fixing sewage leaks, cleaning trash at city parks, and clearing streets of ice and snow, among other tasks. At a City Council meeting Wednesday, union representative James O’Laughlen urged commissioners to agree to the union’s proposal.
Newsom, unions eye $50k bonuses for juvenile prison workers
March 14, 2022 // All of the unions representing youth corrections employees in the bonus negotiations donated to stop Newsom from being recalled in last year’s election. The largest contributor was the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, which gave $1.75 million, according to the Secretary of State’s website.
MLB Lockout: How This Is Different Than a Strike
February 20, 2022 // MLB is in its first work stoppage in nearly 30 years, when a players’ strike wiped out the end of the 1994 season, including the World Series, and delayed the start of the 1995 season.