Posts tagged Labor shortage
Unions, contractors clash over proposal to require labor equity in Spokane projects
August 24, 2025 // Priority hires must either be a graduate from a state-certified pre-apprenticeship program; a veteran, person of color, woman, those formerly convicted of a crime, formerly homeless or a tribal member; or living in an area of the city with higher rates of poverty and lower rates of higher education and employment. “We do not believe the government should mandate or compel any firm to change its labor policies in order to perform these projects,” said Cheryl Stewart, executive director for the Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors, during a Monday reading of the proposal. “This law is not inclusive, it’s exclusive: over 85% of Washington’s workforce is non-union, and 98% of women- and minority-owned firms are non-union, and these contractors and their employees would be shut out or forced to change their labor policies.”
Struggling to ‘bring food to our families,’ Olathe schools hourly workers want a union Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/education/article286587730.html#storylink=cpy
March 14, 2024 // Arellano was among more than 70 custodians, paraprofessionals and other hourly workers who packed Thursday’s school board meeting, wearing red, “Union Power” T-shirts. The group of employees, who are not certified so cannot join the teachers union, said they are organizing to form their own union, to advocate for better pay, respect and working conditions. If successful, it would be the first union of its kind in a Johnson County school district. Hourly workers have formed unions in other large Kansas districts, in Lawrence and Wichita. The union, Olathe School Workers United, would be a part of Communications Workers of America, Local 6400, which organized workers in the Lawrence district.
Ravn cuts workforce two years after pilots unionize
February 27, 2024 // The airlines had declared bankruptcy in 2020, sold off some of its aircraft, and reorganized. Its parent company is FLOAT Alaska. Ravn is suffering from a labor shortage, competition, and inflation, it reported. But in 2022, its pilots joined a union — Airline Pilots Association. Two years later, their company is evidently struggling to stay alive.
Flexibility is no longer just a perk; it’s the crown jewel of employment
February 14, 2024 // A striking 78 percent of American workers say flexibility in their job is “one of the most or a very important” factor in looking for a job
Labor regulators seek to force Starbucks to reopen six L.A. stores
December 15, 2023 // The complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board accused Starbucks of closing stores where workers had engaged in union activity and failing to participate in collective bargaining with unionized stores. Of the 23 stores, eight had active unions at the time they were closed. The NLRB said Starbucks should reopen the 23 stores and reinstate employees who were transferred to other locations, left the company or lost their jobs because of the closures. Employees should also be compensated for lost earnings and benefits, and time they may have spent searching for new jobs.
Maine’s labor movement sees big shift from small unions
December 7, 2023 // While overall union membership rates have fallen with closures of big unionized companies, the heart of Maine’s union movement is still beating, in part thanks to employees at small workplaces organizing at higher rates. These new unionized workers still face risks without the support of large collective action, but there are some advantages, too. And workers like Blackstock are coming to believe that the pros offset any cons. Unions formed at textile factories, paper mills, aircraft manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, Bath Iron Works and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard – “the biggest blue-collar sectors” at the time, Hillard said. Many still exist today. That trend lasted through the 1950s, when union membership rates peaked nationwide at 35%.
Wages are rising. Jobs are plentiful. Nobody’s happy.
November 21, 2023 //
If SEPTA Transit Police go on strike, who fills the void? What you need to know
November 21, 2023 // With a SEPTA strike, figures show more than 250 SEPTA police officers won't come to work. The officers cover SEPTA property across the city and into Delaware, Bucks, Chester and Montgomery Counties – as well as regional rail that reaches Trenton and Wilmington. At the massive 69th Street transportation hub, SEPTA police stay busy answering calls.
Unionization momentum at Temple Health continues with workers at Fox Chase, Chestnut Hill Hospital
November 14, 2023 // The research staff at the Fox Chase Cancer Center filed union petitions with the National Labor Relations Board on Monday, becoming the fourth group to do so at the Northeast Philadelphia specialty hospital this year. The 91 workers run clinical trials at the National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. On the same day, about 200 registered nurses and 80 technical specialists at Chestnut Hill Hospital filed paperwork with the NLRB. Temple acquired the hospital less than a year ago. All three groups would be represented by the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, or PASNAP. Temple Health and Fox Chase declined to comment on the organizing efforts.