Posts tagged overtime
Huge N.J. refinery locks out 400 union workers amid contract talks, negotiators say
October 20, 2026 // Negotiators for Houston-based Phillips 66, which owns Bayway, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union Local 877, which represents 400 workers at the refinery, had reached a tentative agreement on a new contact. However, a narrow majority of rank-and-file union members declined to ratify the deal in a vote on Friday, prompting the company to block union workers from entering its gate on Park Avenue in Linden on Monday at 4 p.m. Phillips issued a statement Tuesday saying it was “disappointed” by the situation, but that the refinery would continue operating without disruption using, “properly trained and qualified personnel to meet all customer requirements.”
Congress Just Learned an Important Lesson About Collective Bargaining
October 14, 2026 // Eight congressional employees negotiating with a strongly pro-union member of Congress took four years to get their agreement right. FLCA essentially gives private-sector workers and employers roughly four months before the process can move toward having outsiders determine the terms for them. And those agreements can be vastly more complicated than a congressional office contract.
Ken Girardin: To Deliver Public Excellence, Mamdani Must Challenge Public-Sector Privilege
October 8, 2026 // Meanwhile, the city pays more than $1 billion annually into union-managed “welfare funds” meant to provide dental, vision and other benefits for current workers and retirees. Former Comptroller Brad Lander all but stopped conducting oversight reviews of these funds, even after a trio of union officers became guests of the federal government for swiping money from one of the funds. Instead of turning over cash to dozens of union funds, the city could cut out the middlemen and administer benefits directly. That would allow it to achieve greater economies of scale and avoid further embezzlement and abuse—though it would trim the number of patronage jobs union executives can hand out.
Boeing offers 10% raise to WA workers to head off union strike
September 14, 2026 // Boeing has issued its final contract proposal to SPEEA, covering over 16,000 engineers and technical workers. The deal offers an immediate 10% wage hike upon approval, a 4% raise in 2027, and guaranteed 4% minimum annual increases through 2030. SPEEA leadership is advising members to vote "Yes," though the official schedule for the ratification vote is yet to be announced.
Sanders introduces bill to make workweek 32 hours
September 14, 2026 // Congressman Mark Takano, D-Calif., and Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., reintroduced the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act this week to make the workweek 32 hours.
Tucson arts workers ratify first union contracts
September 10, 2026 // Workers at The Loft Cinema and Arizona Theatre Company ratified their first union contracts, while True Concord musicians await bargaining talks.
Sugar strike that prompted ports shutdown ends, longshore union returns to negotiations
August 4, 2026 // Tensions escalated on July 22, when a protest outside the refinery turned confrontational and nine protesters were arrested. By late July, federal mediators had entered the picture, and both sides met for marathon bargaining sessions. On July 27, C&H and ILWU Local 6 issued a joint statement announcing a return to work and a 6-day extension of negotiations. C&H agreed to withdraw its impasse declaration, which had cleared the way for more aggressive use of replacement labor.
Commentary: California’s War on Goats Could Worsen the Wildfire Crisis
July 30, 2026 // State lawmakers intervened by passing legislation to allow goat herders to be paid the same alternative minimum as sheep herders until July 1, 2026. Now that the exemption has expired, goat herders must be paid according to traditional overtime rules. Given the 24/7 availability required for herding, this means that Golden State goat herders are now set to be paid $20,000 per month, which works out to $240,000 annually. (For comparison, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's salary currently sits at $245,000). An effort to extend the goat herding exemption beyond 2026 stalled in the state legislature due to opposition from labor unions. Goat-herding businesses have been left scrambling. Western Grazers, a company that deploys roughly 5,000 goats across Northern California, says the new rules push the annual cost of employing each herder above $250,000 once room and board, food, and other expenses are included.
Union and Troubled Home Care Company Maintained Close Partnership, Records Show
July 21, 2026 // Home health aides the company employs have decried missed paychecks, glitchy software, and hours-long waits on the phone, among other issues. Last month, PPL agreed to a $162 million settlement to resolve claims of wage theft, and the US Department of Justice sued the company, alleging Medicaid fraud. The powerful health care union 1199SEIU is currently seeking to unionize PPL’s roughly 200,000 workers, who care for disabled and elderly New Yorkers. But 1199 has also been working closely with the PPL for years, according to internal records obtained by New York Focus.
California: First ILWU strike against sugar giant in decades
June 29, 2026 // A walkout by workers with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union over pay and benefits marked the first strike in decades against a major California sugar producer. The ILWU strike at C&H Sugar in Crockett led by Warehouse Local 6 reportedly is over healthcare, retiree benefits, sick leave, overtime rules, and union protections as part of a new three-year contract.