Posts tagged Mississippi

    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.

    ‘It’s about damn time’: College workers organize amid nationwide labor unrest

    February 8, 2023 // A historic strike at the University of California kicked things off in November. And the six-week standoff among 48,000 campus workers, a broader surge in labor strikes across industries, a depleted pandemic workforce and a friendlier atmosphere in Washington has culminated in a wave of uprisings.+

    19 Republican governors oppose proposed Project Labor Agreement rule

    October 31, 2022 // Nineteen Republican governors wrote a letter to President Joe Biden (D) on October 17, 2022, opposing a proposed federal rule to mandate the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for federal construction projects. The letter was signed by governors from Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming. The proposed rule follows an executive order that was signed by Biden in February 2022 that aimed to require PLAs for large-scale construction projects. A group of Republican governors wrote a letter in April 2022 opposing the executive order, arguing that it granted a monopoly to unions and discouraged competition. The proposed rule would amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the executive order and mandate the use of PLAs for federal construction contracts exceeding $35 million.

    The Motor City is moving south as EVs change the automotive industry

    August 15, 2022 // Detroit is the city that “put the world on wheels,” but it’s towns like Spring Hill and others in neighboring states that are attracting the most investments from automakers in recent years, as production priorities shift to a battery-powered future with electric vehicles. Companies more than ever want to build EVs where they sell them, because the vehicles are far heavier and more cumbersome to ship than traditional models with internal combustion engines. They also want facilities for battery production to be close by to avoid supply chain and logistics problems. SPRING HILL, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Hyundai Motor, Rivian Automotive, workforce, supply chain and logistics, lowest electricity prices,

    Organized labor gets big backing from foundations

    July 13, 2022 // In turn, it will boost nascent organizing efforts, according to LIFT’s executive director, Jennifer Epps. “Right now, there is a worker- and community-led movement happening across the country and philanthropy is using its position and resource to help meet this moment alongside grassroots and labor partners to ensure a more just and democratic economy for workers,” she said. Epps said the collective’s funding will primarily go to support organizing and advocacy campaigns in five Southern states: Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. “This is our starting point to learn more about the region and invest in multi-racial coalitions advancing a more just economy and democracy that increases worker power, racial justice, and economic solidarity,” said Epps. Daisy Chung, Jennifer Epps, Amy B. Dean, ABD Ventures, Pierre Omidyar, eBay, Omidyar Network, Ford Foundation, Solidago, Open Society Foundations, Rebecca Greenberg, Solidago,

    Ex-top MS Coast labor union official accused of embezzlement in 29-count indictment

    July 8, 2022 // The former secretary and treasurer of a Mississippi Coast labor union pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal charges in a 29-count indictment accusing her of forging checks or other securities to embezzle over $33,000. Lisa Michelle Bennett, 50, had an arraignment in federal court in Gulfport on Tuesday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert P. Myers appointed a federal public defender to represent Bennett before she pleaded not guilty to one count of embezzlement and 28 counts of uttering forgery. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Meynardie

    Analysis: How Much School Funding Goes to Salaries & Benefits? Does Urban vs. Rural Make a Difference? Red State vs. Blue? Strong Union vs. Weak? Some Surprising Answers

    December 1, 2021 // New York City and Little Rock, Arkansas, are as dissimilar as can be. But in one respect they are very much alike. Little Rock spent 75.3% of its education funding on employee salaries and benefits in 2018-19. New York spent 75.5%