Posts tagged Massachusetts
BU grad workers vote to strike Monday
March 22, 2024 // The Boston University graduate workers union voted Wednesday to go on strike Monday afternoon if they do not reach a contract agreement with the university. The union, which represents roughly 3,000 graduate student workers at BU, voted last week to authorize the strike after a longstanding battle with the university over fair pay and stronger benefits, including health care coverage and child care assistance.
Area restaurants taking a hit as MASS MoCA strike enters its second week
March 15, 2024 // MASS MoCA is in the former location of Sprague Electric, a sprawling campus with multiple buildings. A brewery and several eateries are among those who rent space from the museum. Xavier Jones owner of Bigg Daddy's Philly Steak House said he's had a significant drop in customers, because of the strike. People who live or work in North Adams don't want to cross a daily picket line, Jones said. Just a week before the strike began, on social media Jones posted that he was hiring, looking for chefs to prepare his signature Philly Cheesesteak and chicken wings. On Monday, he said so few customers have placed orders since the strike began, he's had to cut staff, and he is concerned he'll have to cut back even more.
Union president says Massachusetts commuter rail workers will strike if needed
March 2, 2024 // The Railway Labor Act, Flaherty responded, makes it harder for rail workers to strike, but it doesn’t prohibit a work stoppage if the situation is bad enough. “Keep in mind, we do not want to strike. But when we’re legally able to, we will,” he warned. A Keolis spokesperson pushed back on Flaherty’s assertions, pointing to pay raises that came out negotiations in six of the last seven years. She also said that its not fair to say the union is without a contract, as those agreements exist perpetually under the law, but instead is more accurate to say a consensus hasn’t been reached on a future wage increase.
Commentary: New Research Exposes Flaws in California’s Independent Contractor Law
February 28, 2024 // The theory behind both AB-5 and the DOL’s recently finalized regulation for classifying independent contractors or employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act is the same: by making it harder to maintain independent contractor relationships, independent contractors will be converted into traditional employees. The Mercatus study suggests this theory has failed in California. The question is whether DOL has learned anything from that example.
NEA Spends $4.M in Dues to Pass “Fair Share,” Amendment in Massachusetts
February 20, 2024 // Teachers may be surprised to learn that while the NEA has a state chapter in Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA), dues used to fund this ballot question were collected from NEA members across the country. This is due to the structure of NEA and its affiliates. Known as “unified dues,” members of a local union are also simultaneously members of their state and national-level unions, and the dues they pay each month are divided between all three unions. With dues climbing precipitously each year, an estimated 84.4% of dues collected at the local level in Massachusetts are funneled directly to the MTA and NEA, according to a new report from the Pioneer Institute. Given that the NEA spent less than 7% of its operational budget on local representational activities nationwide, this vast centralization of wealth has allowed the NEA to significantly influence policies and politics in key states like Massachusetts.
Commentary: For Teachers’ Unions, Strikes Are the New Normal
February 19, 2024 // Meanwhile, students trapped in blue states – or blue cities – effectively run by teachers’ union political power, remained hostages to the demands of even more funding, hazard pay, increased “teacher work periods,” etc. In many cases, the demands even included political concessions like guaranteed housing and expanding Medicare for All. Don’t forget: Some teachers’ unions had to issue reminders for teachers not to post vacation pictures while the schools were closed. Because let’s call a spade a spade: The teachers’ unions used the COVID pandemic as history’s largest and longest strike, during which they tried to exact concessions they would have never achieved at a normal negotiating table.
Teachers Union Strike in Mass. Amid Statewide Revenue Deficits
February 11, 2024 // Nearly two weeks later, and close to a million dollars in fines incurred by the illegal strike, the NTA and the District finally agreed to a 2.5 percent cost of living adjustment through fiscal year 2025, a 3.25 percent increase by 2026, and a .75 percent increase for 2027—a stepped total of 12.6 percent over four years. According to the NTA, the deal includes “the best parental leave benefits in the state,” with 10 additional paid days by the district. According to Newton officials, however, the deal cost their residents an additional $53 million more than budgeted. In March of 2023, Newton residents voted 53-47 against additional tax increases proposed to cover increased spending. Without the additional tax revenues to fund the union’s demands, Newton city Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, said during negotiations that the city would need to layoff teachers and other city employees, such as police and firefighters, to meet the bargaining demands.
Opinion: School Choice Is the Solution to Teacher Strikes
February 10, 2024 // Last year 17 states expanded or enacted initiatives that make money available directly to parents to spend on alternative schools or educational paths for their children. Such programs work to break education monopolies by opening opportunities to all that are ordinarily reserved for the wealthy. Had parents in Newton had this option, they would have been able to avoid the disruption the strike caused. And the unions would have a weaker incentive to behave disruptively in the first place. A private-sector employer feels the pain of an employee strike because customers can find another place to shop for goods or services. Employees have skin in the game, too, because they risk loss of their paycheck and possibly getting fired. In the public sector, however, the customers—in this case families and children—are the only ones who feel the pain. The teachers get what they want, every time. The result is a vicious circle. Teachers unions periodically hold children’s education hostage in exchange for ransom payments from taxpayers. The unions are never fully held accountable for these disruptions. Nor do they ever allow meaningful change to the system. The Newton Public Schools spend almost $30,000 annually on each student. Families should be able to spend that money any way and anywhere they choose. Public schools would then have an incentive to cater to the needs of the people who pay teachers’ salaries.
Newton teachers reach tentative agreement after 11-day strike
February 5, 2024 // In addition to salary losses, a judge fined the teachers association more than $600,000 for violating the state’s ban on strikes by public workers and on Friday threatened to double daily fines to $100,000 if no agreement was reached by Sunday. The school district, meanwhile, was expected to spend an additional $53 million over four years to cover the new agreement, which includes a cost-of-living increase of about 13% over that period for teachers, pay hikes for classroom aides and 40 days of fully paid family leave time. District negotiators said it also had racked up more than $1 million in court and other costs since the walkout began.