Posts tagged Minneapolis
Will more Trader Joe’s workers vote to unionize?
April 20, 2023 //
Opinion: Collective Manipulation; Whether in courts or in legislatures, public employee unions need to be reined in.
February 22, 2023 // The book contains countless examples of collective bargaining agreements effectively allowing employees to get away with gross misconduct and preventing managers from sanctioning them for lackluster work. An EPA employee was caught surfing porn in his cubicle at work and was paid for nearly two years before agreeing to retire. An IRS agent systematically denied benefits to African immigrants, repeatedly made discriminatory remarks in the office, and tried to run another employee off the road. His union lawyers got him a deal that left him with a clean personnel record when he left the agency, allowing him to get a job with the Forestry Service. “As a practical matter,” Howard writes, “almost no public employee can be dismissed without a massive managerial commitment,” and even that commitment does not guarantee success. California has 300,000 teachers and only about two or three a year lose their jobs because of poor performance. At the federal level, more employees die at work than face termination for poor performance. Public sector unions provide more than direct financial contributions to political campaigns. Howard recounts how they recruit and train candidates, manage phone banks, lead door-to-door canvassing drives, staff campaigns, and run ads. Such union political activity makes them larger and more influential than other political interest groups. The protracted legal battles former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker faced after he proposed reining in public-union power supports Howard’s thesis that union power is formidable. Walker beat a union-led recall effort against him, but union opposition to modest changes led to electoral annihilation in New Jersey in the 1990s.
Sun Country fleet service employees vote to unionize
January 9, 2023 // Fleet service employees at Sun Country Airlines (NASDAQ: SNCY) voted this week to unionize, joining the Minneapolis Local 970 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The workers, who include ramp agents and personnel that load and unload planes, approved the unionization measure by a vote of 46-32. In a statement, the union said worker priorities including securing better wages and recognition of seniority, among other issues.
1,500 U of M workers to announce whether they will authorize strike
October 12, 2022 // The union workers are advocating for three main points: at least $20 an hour for every employee, pay increases that keep up with inflation, and the opportunity to work during the summers. Aldes said some union workers are still making less than $16 an hour. U of M also recently offered refunds to students with meal plans because staffing issues have led to limited meal options and dining hall hours being cut.
1,500 U of M workers to announce whether they will authorize strike
October 10, 2022 // The university told FOX 9 that the proposal it made last Thursday represented "the highest increase it's offered the Teamsters in 26 years." It’s an average increase of more than 5 percent, bringing the average pay to nearly $21.67 an hour. U of M also recently offered refunds to students with meal plans because staffing issues have led to limited meal options and dining hall hours being cut.
Healthcare Workers at Cuyuna Hospital Successfully Petition for Votes to Remove Union
September 22, 2022 // After miscounting the signatures, the NLRB Regional Director cited the “contract bar” as a reason for dismissing the petition. Had the Region not ultimately reversed itself, that erroneous decision could have blocked a decertification vote for three more years because of the contract bar.
Why Teachers Are Going on Strike This Fall—and What Could Come Next
September 21, 2022 //
Minneapolis Metalworkers Win After Year-And-a-Half-Long Effort to Vote Out Unpopular CWA Union Bosses
August 1, 2022 // “In Mr. Downing and his colleagues’ workplace we see yet another example of union officials unabashedly stifling the will of the workers they claim to ‘represent.’ Foundation attorneys were honored to aid Mr. Downing and his coworkers as they persisted for well over a year through litigation meant to stop them from kicking out an unpopular union,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Union association should never be forced, and Minnesota legislators should pass a Right to Work law to protect workers’ right to freely choose whether to join or fund a union,” Mix added. Roger Downing
Twin Cities mental health workers gather for 1-day strike
May 25, 2022 // M Health Fairview however accused SEIU of sending its demands just four days before the notice of the strike was issued, despite negotiations having been ongoing since December.
Minneapolis Teachers Union Strike Ends
March 30, 2022 // The new contract also includes language protecting educators of color from seniority driven layoffs (“if excessing a teacher who is a member of a population underrepresented among licensed teachers in the site, the District shall excess the next least senior teacher, who is not a member of an underrepresented population,” the contract reads), and will add mentors to support educators of color in the district.