Posts tagged New Mexico
Commentary: Shrinking labor unions flex their muscles
August 23, 2023 // Clearly, labor unions are flexing their muscles. But every year, a smaller percentage of workers belong to a union. That’s especially true for those in the private sector. Membership is down from 10.3 percent in 2021 to 10.1 percent last year, making it the lowest on record, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The percentage of union workers has nearly been cut in half since 1983, when 20.1 percent were represented. And it’s been dropping faster than that in the private sector. Government employees now make up one third of all union members. Law enforcement officers, firefighters, teachers and library employees have the highest percentages of union workers. Those workers earn, on average, 15 percent more than workers not in a union.
Five Years Later, Janus Is Decimating Government Unions
June 30, 2023 // Government unions never should have exercised so much control over so many people for so many years. The Supreme Court righted this wrong in 2018, and five years later, more than a million public sector workers have exercised their freedom, keeping at least $720 million of their hard-earned money every year. These numbers are all but certain to grow over the next five years. Perhaps by the 10th anniversary of the Janus decision, government unions will admit how much they’re hurting and change to a less partisan and more effective model of member persuasion.
One Small Union Is Stoking Much of the Militant New Graduate Worker Organizing
May 30, 2023 // With around 35,000 members, the UE is not a huge union. It was once the third-largest — and arguably the most left-wing and democratic — member of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, with around a half-million members in core industries, until it fell victim to postwar anti-communist purges, raids from other unions and plant shutdowns. But the union revived itself by the 1990s. Famously, UE workers at the Republic Windows & Doors factory in Chicago occupied their plant in 2008, and today the union boasts a range of affiliated locals across sectors and industries from California to Vermont.
AFT’s Weingarten goes all-in on progressive politics
April 6, 2023 // The annual “Share My Lesson” virtual conference is supposed to be a forum to discuss classroom instruction strategies, curriculum ideas, or lesson plans. Instead, Weingarten used the time to highlight partisan, political rhetoric. She began her address by painting a picture about teachers unions like AFT, as being “on the side of hope, of aspiration, of humanity,” in contrast to partisan politicians. “Teachers are stewards of society,” Weingarten said, “Teachers are nation builders.” Weingarten said too many politicians are trying to “drive a wedge between parents and teachers because you think it works as a politician to get you votes.” Weingarten, who has a track record of being an outspoken critic of politicians on the political Right, then focused much of her ire on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. She claimed that DeSantis is “leading this charge [against teachers]. They’re threatening teachers with felonies and jail time if they give their students the wrong book to read.”
Union: NM calling state employees back to in-person work without much of a plan
January 17, 2023 //
Shakeup Of Teamsters Local 492 In New Mexico Continues As Hollywood’s Teamsters Local 399 Takes Over Its Film Jurisdiction
August 31, 2022 // Their resignations come in the wake of last week’s announcement, first reported by Deadline, that following an investigation and audit of Local 492’s financial records, the executive board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters had transferred Local 492’s jurisdiction over film and TV production in the state to Hollywood’s Teamsters Local 399. Sources tell Deadline that prior to the takeover, Local 492’s movie division had been run like a “dictatorship” in a state that has become a major production hub thanks to its generous tax incentives program. Local 399 has long preserved its jurisdiction over film and television work in the 13 Western States through its “Black Book” agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
Editorial: Rehiring troubled Lt. raises APD union issues
July 7, 2022 // Once discovered, an APD spokesman said Edison was untruthful about his OT and retaliated against the supervisor who initiated the investigation. Edison did not go quietly as a member of the Albuquerque Police Officers’ Association. He appealed his termination, reached a settlement agreement with the city in May and is now working in APD’s Aviation Department. Chief Harold Medina says Edison “wasn’t exactly breaking the law; he was taking advantage of the CBA.” Union membership does have its privileges. Aviation Department, Chief Harold Medina, City Councilor Louie Sanchez,,
Louisville public defenders clash with management over union effort
June 7, 2022 // It is increasingly common for the people charged with upholding that constitutional guarantee to turn to organizing their offices. In April 2020, the American Bar Association reported that unionization among public defenders was on the rise. Cities such as Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania have seen their public defenders move toward unionization. Jefferson County, Ben Basil, Leo Smith, Kentucky Bar Association, Kentucky Supreme Court, Cassie Chambers Armstrong, Lexington Herald-Leader, American Bar Association,
Union-backed Activists Push $15 In New Report, But Restaurant Workers Still Don’t Agree
April 11, 2022 // The report itself calls for a “universal $15 minimum wage.” But actual tipped restaurant employees disagree with this policy – and actively oppose movements to eliminate local, state, and federal tip credits. Why?
Smith’s strike averted with assist from Mother Nature
February 13, 2022 // Frazier said he believes a 10-day strike in January by Denver-area workers at King Soopers, another Kroger subsidiary, played a major role in the negotiations.