Posts tagged Nebraska
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.
Railroads back plan calling for 24 percent raises but workers wary
August 22, 2022 // Both sides have 30 days to negotiate a new contract before federal law would allow a strike or lockout, but even if they can’t reach an agreement Congress is likely to intervene to prevent a strike that would disrupt the flow of goods across all sectors of the economy. The unions were still reviewing the 124-page report Wednesday — one day after it was issued — and didn’t immediately comment on the details. But individual railroad workers commenting about the report on Twitter said it didn’t do enough to address their concerns about restrictive attendance policies that make it hard to take days off and demanding working conditions after thousands of jobs have been cut in recent years.
Union election begins for over 400 Planned Parenthood workers
June 29, 2022 // Like other nonprofit workers who have formed unions in recent years, Planned Parenthood staffers hope to gain more control over decisions that affect their day-to-day work in support of the organization’s mission. “I am often training the same position in the same clinics over and over again, and this has been an ongoing trend for the last several years,” Clark said. “Caretakers often cannot voice issues on the job in a way that leads to meaningful change. We trudge on until we burn out, and then we leave.” Planned Parenthood workers said wages and working conditions also factored into the decision to unionize. Many of her co-workers, Brewer said, are “overworked, underpaid and undervalued.” April Clark, Mimi Arabalo, Sadie Brewer,