Posts tagged mediation
MINNESOTA: 1,400 U of M workers prepared to strike as students move in
August 18, 2025 // If an agreement is not reached by Tuesday at midnight, a spokesperson for Teamsters Local 320 said workers could go on strike on Wednesday in Duluth and then on Monday in the Twin Cities, just in time for new students to move in on campus.
A ‘War’ on the Civil Service or Controlling a Powerful Union Political Machine?
May 17, 2025 // Fed unions remain unable to strike — enforced by President Reagan’s firing striking air-traffic controllers — so unions became powerful in more subtle ways. A study by the Institute for the American Worker documents how Federal government unionization works today. “Generally, federal employees are not permitted to strike, and their unions are limited in what conditions of employment they may bargain over.” Management rights and other matters “specifically provided” for by federal statute are still not bargainable. “This includes pay, health insurance, retirement, and certain workplace insurance (e.g., workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance), among other benefits.” The study continues,
Federal mediation board calls NJ Transit, engineers’ union to D.C. to try to avert strike
May 13, 2025 // Absent a contract, Congress could intervene in different forms, such as forcing a deal or preventing a work stoppage. If a strike occurs, NJ Transit plans to spend $4 million a day for supplementary bus service and beef up its current routes, but that would help only about 20% of rail riders. Freight railroads and Metro-North riders who use west-of-Hudson service through NJ Transit territory would also be affected.
Podcast Newt Gingrich, Vinnie Vernuccio; Episode 837: Protecting the American Worker
May 5, 2025 // Newt’s guest is Vincent Vernuccio, president and co-founder of the Institute for the American Worker. They discuss the significant labor policy developments and legislative efforts aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in both public and private sectors. Their conversation covers the introduction of the Start Applying Labor Transparency (SALT) Act, which seeks to amend the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 to ensure greater transparency in financial transactions between unions and labor consultants. Vernuccio also explains the implications of President Trump's executive action, Schedule F, which aims to make certain federal employees at-will to enhance accountability. They also discuss the challenges posed by public sector unions and the potential impact of Senator Josh Hawley's Faster Labor Contracts Act, which could impose arbitration on private sector union negotiations. Vernuccio emphasizes the need for modernizing union models to align with today's workforce demands for flexibility and merit-based advancement.
Federal labor mediation agency cuts staff down to ‘skeleton crew’
March 26, 2025 // The Trump administration is cutting almost the entire workforce at a small, independent agency that handles collective bargaining disputes in the private sector and across the federal workforce. The Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service is terminating most of its employees and services by the end of the day Wednesday, according to four employees who spoke to Federal News Network.
Inside The Now-Shuttered Federal Agency Where Employees Lived ‘Like Reigning Kings’
March 20, 2025 // The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) occupied a nine-story office tower on D.C.’s K Street for only 60 employees, many of whom actually worked from home, prior to the pandemic. Its managers had luxury suites with full bathrooms; one manager would often be “in the shower” when she was needed, while another used her bathroom as a cigarette lounge. FMCS recorded its director as being on a years-long business trip to D.C. so he could have all of his meals and living expenses covered by taxpayers, simply for showing up to the office. FMCS is a 230-employee agency that exists to serve as a voluntary mediator between unions and businesses. As an “independent agency,” its director nominally reports to the president, but the agency is so small that in effect, there is no oversight at all
Trump Targets Spending on Labor Union Talks in Latest DOGE Move
March 18, 2025 // President Donald Trump’s administration is mandating federal agencies report how much they spent negotiating labor union contracts for the past year, a sign that collective bargaining agreements could be the next target in a government cost-cutting push. An Office of Personnel Management memo sent Monday directs federal agency heads to report the amount spent on the collective bargaining agreement process, including how much they paid their employees involved in the negotiations, fees for engaging in mediation or arbitration and the fair-market-value of the office space used for the talks.
Op-ed: Josh Hawley’s union-friendly bill may open the door to right-to-work
March 17, 2025 // Hawley, who opposes right-to-work laws, may be inadvertently laying the groundwork for a national version of that same policy, protecting private-sector workers across America from getting fired for not paying union fees. Hawley’s Faster Labor Contracts Act—which the Teamsters union has already endorsed—is billed as a means of stopping employers from delaying negotiations with labor unions. Under current law, businesses and unions are required to negotiate in good faith, and there’s no deadline for an agreement because workers and job creators need time to reach the best deal.
VTA asks for Gov. Newsom’s intervention to force striking union employees back to work
March 17, 2025 // The VTA, whose buses and light rail trains have been idled since workers walked out Monday, also disclosed Saturday filed March 10 for a Superior Court injunction to "stop the irreparable harm to the community." The transit authority argues that Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, representing more than 1,500 VTA workers, violated a "no strike" clause in its contract, even though the agreement expired at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
Providence and nurses at 8 Oregon hospitals reach tentative agreement after 26 days of strike
February 6, 2025 // Providence and nurses at its eight Oregon hospitals have reached a tentative agreement after 26 days of strike, in what the state's nurses union has described as the largest health care strike in state history.