Posts tagged Miami
Fenway, MGM concession workers vote to authorize strike
June 17, 2025 // "Boston is a union town, and it's time to bring all Fenway workers' wages up to standard," said Carlos Aramayo, president of UNITE HERE Local 26, which represents the Fenway workers. "Local 26 hotel workers fought for, and won, $10-an-hour raises last year, and Local 26 university dining workers will be making a minimum of $30 an hour by 2028. There's no reason for Fenway workers to be left behind. They deserve raises and respect!"
Brightline files lawsuit challenging onboard attendants’ unionizing effort in Florida
January 23, 2025 // The National Mediation Board ruled in favor of the union in November, thereby rejecting Brightline’s argument that they did not fall under their jurisdiction. A mail ballot election began last November, lasting through Tuesday, Jan. 14. A vote count revealed that onboard attendants voted 30 to 17 in favor of unionization, with 36 additional eligible voters sitting the election out.
Commentary: Workers of the World, Vote!
September 3, 2024 // Labor Day is the traditional start of the campaign season, which means labor unions will soon hold get-out-the-vote efforts among their members. Yet a new study from the Institute for the American Worker finds that 95.1% of private-sector union members never voted to join their union. Worse, unions are getting more unrepresentative. Based on one estimate, the percentage of private-sector union members who have voted in a unionization election at their workplace has declined by 2 points since 2009. The lack of workplace democracy isn’t an accident. As unions have acknowledged, they have sought to organize more workers through card check, a process by which they can pressure workers into supporting unionization. Card check—a public form of signature gathering—deprives employees of secret-ballot elections, which would allow them to express their preferences without fear of being ostracized.
America’s freelance capitals, ranked
May 22, 2024 // Freelancers account for 4.1% of the U.S. labor force, per the report — and many seem to be finding success, with 43% reporting a revenue bump last year... What they found: The country's freelancers seem a generally optimistic bunch, with 55% expecting to earn more this year than in 2023. 29% of freelancers also have a traditional job, though the share who solely freelance hit 71% in 2023, compared to 61% in 2021. A "striking" 75% of freelancers with a full-time gig say they're highly satisfied with their side hustle, per the report, compared to just 47% who feel the same way about their day jobs.
Commentary: Florida Teachers’ Union Fights Re-Certification Vote
February 6, 2024 // With an annual budget of $11.5 million, that means UTD sends nearly half of the dues it collects from its members out of the district. Of the $6.2 million it keeps in Dade County, UTD spends more than $5 million on salaries for officers and staff (Hernandez-Mats alone pulls down $223,000). Once its other overhead costs are factored in, the union has only a tiny fraction left to spend advocating for its dues-payers.
Commentary: America’s Third Largest Teachers’ Union Heads for the Largest Decertification Vote in History
January 2, 2024 // On Dec. 19, UTD President Karla Hernandez-Mats confirmed the union hadn’t been able to persuade 60 percent of the 30,000 teachers it officially represents to become dues-paying members. A few days earlier, she claimed the union had increased its numbers to just more than 58 percent, including 800 new members. What she didn’t explain was that the union had to kick out all the substitute teachers from the bargaining district in order to increase their membership percentage, and still fell short. Hernandez-Mats declined to disclose the final tally. The 60 percent requirement was imposed under Senate Bill 256, the most aggressive state labor reform bill since Wisconsin’s Act 10 under then-Gov. Scott Walker. SB 256 also prohibits public agencies like school districts from deducting dues directly from employees’ paychecks on behalf of the union representing their bargaining unit.
Miami-Dade’s Largest Teachers Union, Faces Decertification after Failing to Meet New Membership Law Requirements
December 21, 2023 // The UTD is now compelled to demonstrate that a minimum of 30% of its members desire union representation by collecting "showing of interest cards," a move in pursuit of certification eligibility. In a statement obtained by CBS News Miami, UTD described its ongoing activities: "From the strongest position regarding union solidarity and the fight for our collective wellbeing, we are now gathering Showing of Interest cards to be on the PERC Ballot to be certified as the union for education professionals in order to maintain our contract, wages, and benefits."
DHL Express workers extend picket lines across US
December 17, 2023 // The Teamsters represent more than 1,100 DHL employees who load and unload freighters at CVG, and 6,000 workers nationwide. Workers voted in April to join Teamsters Local 100 after a yearlong campaign and began collective bargaining for their first contract in July. They went on strike Dec. 7 after demands for better pay and safety conditions as well as an end to alleged union-busting activities were not met. The labor action comes at the busiest time of year for parcel carriers, who are in the final sprint of delivering online purchases and personal gift exchanges in time for the holidays. DHL brought in temporary workers and managers to pick up some of the labor slack in Cincinnati and diverted cargo jets to other gateways in its air network in an effort to maintain service schedules.
A Tale of Two Teachers’ Unions
November 17, 2023 // Efforts to decertify the teachers’ union in Miami are possible because conservatives won elections and passed a good law that limits public-sector unions’ power. States with conservative governments should follow Florida’s lead and pass similar laws. States with progressive governments will continue to struggle under the burden of unrepresentative teachers’ unions.
Op-Ed: Will Miami Teachers Free Themselves from Union Shackles?
November 8, 2023 // UTD claims that its current membership stands at 57 percent of the Miami-Dade educator workforce, up from 52 percent this summer. However, this increase in membership — assuming there really is one — doesn’t indicate the union has successfully recruited new members or won recommitments from old ones. Instead, UTD has been expelling substitute teachers from the bargaining unit in an attempt to swing the percentages back in its favor. The union’s membership numbers have been trending in the opposite direction for years, which presented an opportunity for the Freedom Foundation. But any disenchantment the teachers have with the union is its own fault. If UTD ultimately dies, its wounds will be self-inflicted.