Posts tagged New York
Ex-union president for Homeland Security workers in Vermont avoids prison in embezzling case
June 3, 2025 // Leticia Russi-Shareno had earlier pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge stemming from her theft that led to a $36,000 “out-of-pocket” loss to the union, according to court filings.
Queens immigration nonprofit lays off staff, angering new union
June 1, 2025 // On March 27, Mendoza and other employees on the New York branch of the nonprofit received an email that there would be layoffs and cuts to working hours. Last week, following two months of deliberations, the nonprofit said they would be moving forward with the layoffs, effective at the end of May. The unionized workers, who belong to a local chapter of the United Auto Workers, are fighting the layoffs, believing they are a direct result of their unionizing efforts and subsequent contract.
Faculty at School of Visual Arts in New York Unionize
June 1, 2025 // Adjunct faculty make up most of SVA’s teaching corps. According to labor organizers who spoke with Hyperallergic, which first reported the news, the adjunct model has eroded both financial security and morale. SVA has cited stagnant wages, heavier course loads and the loss of retirement contributions and paid sabbaticals, as reasons for unionizing.
TCGPlayer Announces Plans to Relocate Authentication Operations from Syracuse to Kentucky
May 30, 2025 // According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, in 2024 New York State had 1.7M union members, representing 20.6% of the state’s 8M+ employees. Kentucky only has 156,000 union members out of 1.7M employees, representing just under 9% of their labor force. The minimum wage in New York is $16.50 per hour and will go up to $17 an hour in 2026. In 2027 it will continue to grow in accordance with the Consumer Price Index. The minimum wage in Kentucky is $7.25 per hour, the same as the Federal minimum wage, and has not changed since 2009.
United Auto Workers union to hold meeting in light of GM layoffs
May 29, 2025 // Meanwhile, GM is planning a massive expansion at its plant in Tonawanda, a suburb north of Buffalo, which is expected to be done in 2027. The Governor’s office says the $888 million investment will equip the plant to make V8 gas powered engines. It says 177 jobs at that plant were at risk before this investment. Employees who have been impacted by layoffs worked at the plant on Lexington Avenue producing parts for electric cars.
Chapter leaders allegedly mishandled over $100,000 in major federal union’s funds
May 28, 2025 // When Bruce took two trips from San Diego to suburban Washington, D.C., with his labor union leaders, and submitted $3,500 in expense reports for a daily rate, hotel, taxis, and airfare. His union president, who traveled separately, got reimbursed for about $8,500. But after Bruce got elected to a leadership position within the union, he found irregularities in the chapter’s records. Two iPads and an iPad mini were purchased for the chapter president in a three-year period. A $12,000 storage unit was approved by the treasurer, who made checks out to someone with her own last name to clean it out. A man with no formal position in the union signed checks, including to himself. In total, Bruce alleges that more than $116,000 went missing from the National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 212 in San Francisco, which represents about 900 workers within the Department of Health and Human Services. No one has been charged with a crime in relation to the missing funds. The Department of Labor indicated it in April it had pending "investigative proceedings" related to the chapter.
Farmworkers in NY and CA File Federal Challenges Against Statutes Letting Union Bosses Seize Control Without Employee Vote
May 28, 2025 // Workers contend that “card check” unionization method leads to false claims of majority union support, intimidation, and constitutional violations
As doormen and porters prepare for strike, NYC luxury condo labor dispute divides Cuomo backers
May 27, 2025 // Gutierrez and his colleagues said they may go on strike as early as Thursday if the board and developer Lightstone Real Estate Partners don’t agree to the new contract. It would be an unusual stoppage at a single building organized by the influential 32BJ union. There were two such strikes last year, a union spokesperson said. The dispute also reveals strange bedfellows in the race for New York City mayor. Campaign finance records show Lightstone contributed $100,000 to the SuperPAC backing Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral bid, just weeks before 32BJ formally endorsed the former governor in the Democratic primary. When asked for comment on the dispute between Cuomo’s two benefactors, his campaign referred questions to his SuperPAC, Fix the City.
Gov. Bob Ferguson signs bill giving unemployment to striking WA workers
May 26, 2025 // The governor has signed a new bill into law which creates a path to collecting benefits while on strike. Unemployment benefits wouldn't start as soon as a strike begins, however. The bill takes effect in 2026.- Striking workers will be able to collect unemployment benefits starting next year. This will make Washington the third state in the United States to pass such a bill, joining New York and New Jersey. Governor Bob Ferguson signed a new bill into law, SB 5041, which will make workers eligible for unemployment insurance while on strike.
Stellantis Announces $388 Million Investment in Metro Detroit Megahub
May 26, 2025 // The AutoStore system uses compact robots that navigate tracks above a high-density grid of storage bins to retrieve parts and deliver them to workstations, where employees pack and process final shipments. This advanced automation improves order speed and accuracy, maximizes storage efficiency and helps accelerate delivery times for customers and dealers. As part of its broader consolidation strategy, Stellantis recently sold its Michigan parts distribution centers (PDC) in Center Line and Marysville, as well as one in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Operations at these facilities will continue under a sale-leaseback agreement, providing essential support until the Metro Detroit Megahub and Warren Sherwood e-coat upfitting facility are complete.