Posts tagged Nebraska
Nebraska unions gain more workers since contract renegotiations
September 20, 2023 //
Engineers frustrated with rails even as others get sick time
May 9, 2023 // Across the industry, CSX has led the way by reaching agreements with most of its unions on sick time. Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific have also announced several sick time deals. Most of these deals provide workers with four days of paid sick time and give them the option to convert three leave days into sick time to give workers a total of seven sick days a year. One of the key remaining concerns for the BLET is that even where the railroads seem willing to give engineers sick time, the railroads generally still want to hold workers accountable for missing work under their strict attendance policies. So even if workers do get sick time, they may not feel free to use it because they would still be penalized for missing work although CSX has said it won’t punish workers for taking sick time.
Planned Parenthood affiliate fires two union leaders, disciplines entire bargaining team
April 3, 2023 // The discipline stems from an allegation that confidential information about the organization was shared in the union’s private group chat. Planned Parenthood managers apparently obtained a copy of the union’s private group chat. The workers’ alleged breach of confidentiality had nothing to do with patient data, but rather about a previous employee’s termination and an effort by management to limit workers wearing union T-shirts on the job. The violations happened months ago, and the union hoped to keep the inner turmoil under wraps to avoid embroiling a revered progressive institution in a public spectacle when it’s confronting new abortion restrictions across the country.
Push in states for $20 minimum wage as inflation persists
March 30, 2023 // Cindy Lee, the owner of a bowling alley in Endicott, New York, said she’s struggling to pay off loans taken out during the pandemic that kept her business afloat. “All this cost all at once is just going to kill us. I definitely will have to cut corners somewhere with employees if wages are raised,” said Lee, adding that she’d also have to increase prices on bowling, food and liquor. The federal minimum wage in the United States has stayed at $7.25 per hour since 2009, but states and some localities are free to set higher amounts. Thirty states have chosen to do so.
Which States Are Best for Remote Workers?
March 2, 2023 // Remote work has proliferated as a work arrangement since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. While its popularity has declined since its Spring 2020 peak, remote work remains far more common today than it was before the pandemic (see Figure 1). Research from Nicholas Bloom and others found that last month, nearly 13 percent of workers were fully remote, and an additional 28 percent worked in a hybrid arrangement.
Nebraska: State employees union approves labor contract granting raises of up to 10%-27%
February 9, 2023 // State workers have ratified a new labor contract that contains the largest salary increases in at least 35 years, a contract aimed at filling critical job vacancies. Gov. Jim Pillen and the Nebraska Association of Public Employees (NAPE) announced the approval of the labor agreement, which would deliver wage hikes of 5% and 2% over the next two years for a majority of employees, and up to 10% and 27% for critical and hard-to-fill positions. NAPE’s executive director, Justin Hubly, said they represent the largest raises since the labor union was organized in 1987 and should go a long ways toward resolving worker shortages in several state agencies
Commentary: What’s Next for America’s Independent Workers?
December 15, 2022 // If various state and federal policymakers have their way, however, Ms. Rankin’s business model might be soon regulated out of existence — whether she likes it or not. Rankin, like every other owner‐operator truck driver in America, is an independent worker – someone who takes on projects or jobs from different clients, relatively free from the clients’ control.
Right-to-Work battle looms in Michigan: Businesses fear repeal by Democrats
December 5, 2022 // Michigan business groups are wary of Democrats’ calls to repeal Right-to-Work laws when they take charge in Lansing early next year, saying the state instead should focus on economic policies that attract jobs. Business Leaders for Michigan, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and chamber leaders from the state’s two largest cities — Detroit and Grand Rapids — all urge caution. But Democrats — who are backed heavily by unions including the Michigan Education Association and United Auto Workers — say the move prioritizes workers and labor rights.
Rail union approves deal offering hope of avoiding strike
November 7, 2022 // Concerns remain about the possibility of an economically devastating strike because the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division and Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen unions voted down their contracts, and many workers say these deals just don’t address their quality-of life concerns. No strike is imminent because those unions agreed to return to the bargaining table to try to work out a new deal, but those talks have been deadlocked over the unions’ demands for paid sick time and there is a Nov. 19 deadline.
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.