Posts tagged overtime
Common Roots employees respond to its abrupt closure after unionization attempt
January 4, 2023 // Dan Schwartzman made the shock announcement Wednesday that he was immediately closing his cafe after 15 years in business, citing challenging financial conditions both before and during the pandemic, but also his staff's plans to form a union.
Noble Knight Games voluntarily recognizes employees’ union
December 7, 2022 // The union, called Noble Knight Games United, was organized through Communications Workers of America. It will consist of 58 workers, including those who provide customer service, ship online orders from its warehouse and work at its storefront at 2835 Commerce Park Drive, among others. The company has around 75 employees, but some are excluded because they are supervisors. The union alleges that management repeatedly held mandatory “union-busting” meetings in the weeks after it announced its unionization effort. Workers are seeking higher pay, “affordable benefits … healthy work-life balance, fair and transparent policies and procedures,”
Pour One Out For The Bosses: Activision Blizzard Loses Second Union Vote
December 5, 2022 // Activision Blizzard’s playbook came up short again. Despite delays, legal appeals, and threats to workers that organizing would lead to lower pay raises, quality assurance developers at the Diablo production studio Blizzard Albany voted 14-0 to unionize today. The Game Workers Alliance Albany are now the second group inside Activision Blizzard to form a union, and the latest testament to a growing labor movement within the larger gaming industry. Among the 18 staff eligible to vote, 14 voted in favor with one vote disqualified and three more challenged by the employer. Both sides have five days to file any objections to today’s results. If neither objects, the group will go on to be represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and begin the tough process of bargaining with Activision Blizzard on its first contract over issues like pay, overtime, and health benefits.
Biden’s regulatory machine wants to stifle the freedom of the American worker
October 31, 2022 // Frankly, workers are not helpless. They are perfectly capable of choosing their own lifestyles and can evaluate their labor choices along with the compensation and benefits each provides. We currently have an economy in which, for the entirety of 2022, the number of job openings has nearly outnumbered unemployed workers 2-1. If these “gigs” were so horrible, these people would seek other employment. Moreover, the Biden administration’s mandated reclassification would significantly increase the cost of doing business for both small businesses and large companies such as Uber, Doordash, and others that provide unique economic opportunities for gig workers. This heavy-handed regulatory approach will discourage entrepreneurial innovation and result in added costs that will be passed along to the consumer.
Railroad Strike Threat Shows How Unions’ Rigid Rules Often Hurt Workers
October 6, 2022 // Railroad companies would almost certainly have raised compensation to maintain the workforce they needed, but they’ve been locked in by union contracts that prevent them from increasing workers’ pay—or any other benefits—until a new contract is reached. The lack of flexibility to respond quickly to changing circumstances and conditions has almost certainly hampered railroad companies’ ability to find workers throughout the pandemic.
Providence firefighter made $142,000 in overtime, pushed his total pay to $230,000
July 12, 2022 // Many fire departments have a minimum staffing clause in their union contracts. The contracts often require that there must be a minimum number of firefighters on duty and any absences that bring staffing below the minimum must be replaced with overtime. Providence Fire Chief Steven Pare, base pay, Providence
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,,
Pfizer worker launches drive to unionize global manufacturing facility in Portage
June 21, 2022 // The employee, who isn't being identified for fear of losing his job, said 30% of the plant's workers would need to support the union to bring it up for a vote. A majority of eligible workers must consent to form a union, which would require Pfizer to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with its workers. The employee leading the effort to unionize has worked for Pfizer for 24 years. Portage, Michigan, Franklin, Ohio, John Getz, Pearl River, New York
Labor of Love: EWOC is Pioneering a New Model for Empowering Workers
May 26, 2022 // EWOC is most strongly concentrated in California, Illinois, Texas and New York. In New York City, the group has over 500 people — workers, volunteers and trainees — involved in its network. Its volunteer organizers have successfully organized workers at Sara Lawrence College and at Bright Horizons, the nation’s largest provider of employer-sponsored child care. Some of the REI-Soho worker-organizers who would eventually see through a successful union drive with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union went through EWOC’s training program. EWOC volunteers also help to funnel Starbucks workers who reach out to them to Starbucks Workers United, the newly-formed, independent Starbucks union.
Does Democrats’ support for unions extend to their own employees?
April 22, 2022 // The CWU, a group of staffers that launched a union drive earlier this year, wants the House to vote on a resolution guaranteeing staffers protections as soon as next week. Currently, the Congressional Accountability Act allows staffers to organize, but doesn’t offer them any shield from retaliation, meaning staffers could be fired and blacklisted if they do so. Thus far, Pelosi’s office has not commented on when a floor vote could be scheduled on the resolution.