Posts tagged layoffs
Union ‘very surprised’ at jobs affected in OHSU layoffs
July 3, 2024 // These layoffs have been looming for weeks, spurred by an operating loss of $64 million for the fiscal year that ended Sunday. Jennie Olson, who both writes grants and contracts for OHSU and is the president of the AFSCME Local 328 which represents thousands of OHSU workers, told KOIN 6 News the number of layoffs could potentially rise to 500 members.
Fury as one of America’s oldest companies slashes jobs in the Midwest as it shifts work to Mexico: ‘It’s greed’
June 30, 2024 // The layoffs come after 10,000 unionized John Deere workers went on strike for five weeks in October 2021. The strikes were among the most prominent during 'Striketober', where thousands of workers from Nabisco, Kellogg's, McDonald's and others walked out for weeks or even months to protest low pay in the wake soaring company profits.
Southern Poverty Law Center’s layoffs mostly affected unionized staff
June 27, 2024 // he Southern Poverty Law Center, one of the few nonprofit organizations providing pro bono legal counsel to immigrants across the southern U.S., laid off 78 workers on June 12, gutting a quarter of its workforce and dismantling programs that work directly with incarcerated immigrants. The decision has ignited frustration from workers who are accusing the organization of hypocrisy and abandoning its core mission. Among those dismissed were 61 union members and more than 20 supervisors, many of whom are people of color actively working in the Deep South—a region historically fraught with racial tensions and inequalities.
70% of Unionized Daily Beast Staffers Take Buyouts as Layoffs Loom
June 19, 2024 // The Daily Beast Union has 37 members. In addition to the buyouts, the union has negotiated a tentative two-year collective bargaining agreement with management that will benefit all members regardless of whether they are taking a buyout. In the agreement, the union secured retroactive pay increases from January 1 for all members. In April, former ABC executive Ben Sherwood and former Hearst executive Joanna Coles were granted a minority stake in the news site, with Sherwood serving as CEO and Coles serving as chief content and creative officer. Since its creation in 2013, The Daily Beast has lost owner Barry Diller tens of millions of dollars.
Union members sound alarm after Google fires key workers
June 12, 2024 // “As members of the LIS team, these workers are responsible for handling and responding to requests for user data made by law enforcement, the courts, and members of the public, as well as creating and operationalizing the programs and policies that safeguard user data and maintain compliance with Google’s legal obligations,” the Alphabet Workers Union wrote in a May 24 statement. Since Bloomberg published a September 2023 report revealing law enforcement officials often use search warrants to gain access to Google’s location and search data made by individuals involved in “nonviolent cases” (and those who had no involvement in the crime they are investigating), Google has appeared to further distance itself from withholding that sensitive information. This may explain Google's decision to shrink the Legal Investigations Support team.

Record UAW Contracts = Record UAW Layoffs
June 10, 2024 // Mapped out, the numbers are staggering. Thousands of employees missed paychecks or were forced to find new jobs across five states as automakers cut shifts and pared back production. A 25 percent pay raise sounds good in theory, but if Ford cuts a third of its 150 Lighting shifts at the Rouge to cover that expense, then the auto workers affected may be worse off than they were before the new contract. Although no automaker has escaped unscathed, the blow has fallen hardest on UAW members at Stellantis. Since the UAW and Stellantis came to the new contract agreement, over 1,300 UAW members at the company have permanently lost their jobs, alongside thousands more temporarily laid off as the company tries to control rising labor costs.
Commerce agency near ‘collapse’ over telework, layoffs, union says
June 3, 2024 // Lawmakers, especially Republicans, have been wary of widespread remote work, saying customer service backlogs at government agencies including the Social Security Administration and the IRS prove the case for more in-person staff. Just last week, the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, the federal government’s HR department, assured lawmakers that more than half of all federal employees work in-person full time.
WGA East Backs The Dodo, Thrillist in Fight to Merge Unions With Vox Media Employees: ‘One Union, One Contract’ (EXCLUSIVE)
May 16, 2024 // The Writers Guild of America East council sent a letter to Vox Media brass Monday to demand the company allow employees at its publications The Dodo and Thrillist to merge into the Vox Media Union. The Dodo and Thrillist parent company Group Nine was purchased by Vox Media in December 2021. The Group Nine publications have been incorporated into Vox Media operations, but the employees say Vox Media leadership is refusing to allow them to join the Vox Media Union.
Opinion: ‘$50 Billion’ Chicago Teachers Union Contract Demands Higher Pay And Lower Expectations
May 8, 2024 // The contract veers into many social issues and away from academics: LGBT issue training, sex-neutral bathrooms, immigrant housing, police-free schools, restorative justice, and more. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) has kicked off a season of contract negotiations by issuing a $50 billion list of demands that will enrich the union at taxpayers’ expense and provide little, if any, benefit to the city’s students. Right now, Chicago Public Schools delivers terrible results at a very high cost. Last school year, the district spent more than $21,000 per student, well above the national average of $14,347. And on the last Nation’s Report Card, only 21 percent of the city’s eighth graders were proficient readers.

Fast food chains find a way around $20 minimum wage: Get rid of the workers
April 26, 2024 // The layoffs present a stark reality for employees and their unions, who have long advocated for wage increments. Workers at well-known chains such as Pizza Hut and Round Table pizza restaurants have also felt the impact, with job losses reported following statements from management about the unsustainable nature of the new wage costs. Meanwhile, major fast food players including McDonald’s, Chipotle, and Starbucks have signaled intentions to offset the increased expenses by raising prices.