Posts tagged Mississippi
Memphis union workers prepare to strike ahead of AT&T negotiation deadline
August 5, 2024 // Last month, CWA members voted to authorize union leaders to call a strike at AT&T Southeast if the current contract was permitted to expire before AT&T had reached a fair agreement with its union employees. Union workers are expected to hold strike watch parties in the final hours of negotiations before the current union contract expires at 11:59 p.m.
Contractor at a NASA center agrees to higher wages after 5-day strike by union workers
July 2, 2024 // In addition to higher wages, the agreement included a broadening of S3’s life insurance policy and comprehensive health care, dental and vision options, according to a statement from the company. Workers will also receive an additional holiday.
U.S. labor secretary says UAW win at Tennessee Volkswagen plant shows southern workers back unions
April 25, 2024 // Biden is backing unions in other ways. Su noted the administration in January finalized a rule mandating unionized labor on all federal construction projects costing more than $35 million, despite complaints from nonunion contractors that the rule reduces competition and increases costs. “That’s one way that we ensure that you've got good union workers on jobs," Su said, saying union labor agreements are rising sharply on construction projects. Southern states are also pushing laws that would claw back economic incentive dollars if companies recognize unions without requiring a secret ballot election. Every major southern auto plant has received state economic development assistance.
Unions are getting bolder in targeting Big Business
April 19, 2024 // The UAW on Thursday secured a federally sanctioned unionization vote for workers at the 6,100-person Mercedes-Benz factory in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. Pharmacists at multiple CVS stores are moving to join a new union as part of a growing backlash to what they say are unsafe work conditions, Axios' Maya Goldman reports. The Actors' Equity Association is seeking a vote to organize the 1,700 live performers at Disneyland after more than two-thirds signed union authorization cards.
Op-ed: In Pursuit Of Southern Foothold, UAW Faces Resistance
April 17, 2024 // “We the Governors of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas are highly concerned about the unionization campaign driven by misinformation and scare tactics that the UAW has brought into our states,” the joint statement noted, adding that the reality in 2024 “is companies have choices when it comes to where to invest and bring jobs and opportunity. We have worked tirelessly on behalf of our constituents to bring good-paying jobs to our states. These jobs have become part of the fabric of the automotive manufacturing industry. Unionization would certainly put our states’ jobs in jeopardy – in fact, in this year already, all of the UAW automakers have announced layoffs. In America, we respect our workforce and we do not need to pay a third party to tell us who can pick up a box or flip a switch. No one wants to hear this, but it’s the ugly reality. We’ve seen it play out this way every single time a foreign automaker plant has been unionized; not one of those plants remains in operation.”
Biden’s DEI mandates on employers fail American workers
March 28, 2024 // Today, businesses have three options when evaluating apprentices’ successful completion of their programs: a time-based approach, which requires the apprentice to complete a certain number of hours of training; a competency-based approach, which requires the apprentice to achieve certain skills; or a combination of the two. This new rule removes the competency-based approach entirely and instead requires all apprentices to complete a minimum of 2,000 hours of on-the-job training and 144 hours of classroom instruction. This not only increases costs for businesses that can train apprentices in less time but also demoralizes talented workers who can achieve competency quickly.
UAW moves to hold unionization vote at Volkswagen plant in Tennessee
March 18, 2024 // The UAW said a supermajority of eligible Volkswagen workers signed union cards to call for the election at the Chattanooga plant. The facility is Volkswagen's only assembly plant in the U.S. and employs about 4,100 workers who make the Atlas and ID.4. The union added that it "is the only Volkswagen plant globally with no form of employee representation."
UAW says 30% of workers at Toyota Missouri factory seek to join union
March 7, 2024 // The company "has no way to verify or determine the accuracy of the statements made by the UAW," a spokesperson said Wednesday. "We do not believe a third party at our manufacturing facilities would enhance the results, stability or team member experience that we have achieved together. We are confident that with all of the facts, our team members would not choose union representation." Expand article logo Continue reading It was not clear when the UAW might seek a vote but it has said previously it wants to see support from 70% of a plant's workforce before pushing for a vote of employees on whether to join the union.
Commentary: Analysis shows $17 minimum wage could exacerbate rising prices, pushing child care costs up 20%
August 15, 2023 // Such massive cost increases would almost certainly price some families out of child care completely. Some parents who want to work would be pushed out of the labor force, leading to lower household incomes. Households that have only one parent and must use child care would be more likely to turn to non-licensed, typically illegal, child care. On top of that, child care jobs would be lost, even as employment among child care workers, declined by 18.2% between 2019 and 2022. While not all parents want or need full-time child care, a $17 minimum wage could also hurt families who use only part-time child care or even occasional babysitters. For example, a family who currently pays $10 per hour for 10 hours of after-school care per week would face an extra $70 per week, or $3,640 per year, in added costs.