Posts tagged Pandemic
Gov. Walz orders state employees back to office, unions push back
March 28, 2025 // "We are mostly upset because there was no attempt by the governor or his agencies to engage with us at all," said Megan Dayton, president of Minnesota Association of Professional Employees. "There are not dedicated cubicles or offices anymore like there used to be pre-pandemic, so I don't know how they're going to do it." Dayton said her union has not ruled out a lawsuit. In a statement, Bart Andersen, president of AFSCME Council 5, another union, said, in part: "The administration’s decision to impose sweeping workplace policy changes without engaging our union and labor partners first is not just unacceptable – it’s an act of blatant disrespect."
Via 313’s Austin location unionizes after 3-year fight, labor board ruling
March 24, 2025 // Unionization efforts began in January 2022, reported Eater Austin, when employees alleged that management was not transparent about safety concerns related to the Omicron variant of coronavirus. A group of 46 employees across Austin signed a petition asking for sick and hazard pay, alongside improved COVID-19 safety procedures. Employees later filed for union election through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Aug. 2022.
Delta Air is Battling a Spike in Flight Attendants Calling Out Sick And It Might Spur Yet Another Unionization Attempt
March 12, 2025 // So far, at least, Delta hasn’t seen any significant operational disruption from the rise in flight attendants failing to show up for work, but the trend has clearly got the airline spooked and managers are taking action to protect the carrier’s schedule. Over recent weeks, flight attendants at the Atlanta-based airline have received emails urging them to get back to work while also warning that measures would have to be implemented to turn the situation around if sick rates didn’t improve.
Legendary Los Angeles Restaurant the Original Pantry Cafe Suddenly Closes After 101 Years
March 6, 2025 // When Riordan passed away in 2023, his family’s trust assumed ownership and planned to sell the restaurant to fund its philanthropic operations. Even after its closure yesterday, union workers protested in front of the restaurant past 6 p.m. Unite Here, which represents the workers, filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board on February 7 with allegations that the closure violates federal labor law. On February 25, the NLRB dismissed the charge due to “lack of cooperation from the Charging Party.” The union can still appeal the decision. Back in April 2023, a few weeks before Riordan died, a class-action lawsuit alleging unpaid overtime, rest, and meal breaks was filed on behalf of workers; the case remained in settlement talks as of February 2025.
Stop & Shop says it will close Mass. distribution center if no contract is reached
February 25, 2025 // The statement went on to say that if an agreement is not reached by Feb. 28, the company will outsource the warehouse work and shut the facility down. "This is not a decision we take lightly, and we care deeply about protecting these union jobs and maintaining our presence in Freetown. It is critical that the local collaborates with us in achieving the labor savings needed to do so," the statement reads.
California’s $20 Fast-Food Minimum Wage: Job Losses, Higher Food Prices, Increased Automation
February 19, 2025 // The BRG study found, “California’s fast-food restaurants lost 10,700 jobs between June 2023 and June 2024, making it the worst performing year outside of a recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, food prices at local restaurants have increased by 14.5% since the legislation was signed, nearly double the national average. AB 1228 was signed into law in October 2023 by Governor Gavin Newsom, creating the new $20 minimum wage for fast food employees – a massive 25% increase from the $16 minimum wage.
Worker rights? Racial bias? A law change for manicurists prompts debate, confusion
February 17, 2025 // Since the beginning of the year, licensed manicurists and nail salon owners in Orange County and across the state have been confused about whether a change in state law allows the business practice of renting a booth to continue or not. After an exemption expired under state law, nail salon workers are now subject to a rigorous test to determine if they are independent contractors while licensed aestheticians, electrologists, barbers and cosmetologists remain exempted from it.
As Off Broadway Crews Unionize, Workers See Hope, Producers Peril
February 11, 2025 // Striking stage crews have idled the nonprofit Atlantic Theater Company — the birthplace of the musicals “Spring Awakening,” “The Band’s Visit” and “Kimberly Akimbo,” which all transferred to Broadway and won Tonys. The strike, which began last month, comes amid a drive to unionize stagehands and crews at Off Broadway theaters. Nonprofit companies and producers fear that the unionization push could drive up costs at a moment when many are running deficits and staging fewer, and smaller, shows. Second Stage Theater and Soho Rep both recently moved out of their longtime venues and opted to share space with other companies. Another measure of the sector’s shrinkage: In 2019 there were 113 shows eligible for the Lucille Lortel Awards, which honor Off Broadway work; there are just 59 eligible shows so far this season, which, for the Lortels, closes at the end of March.
Maple Grove Hospital nurses vote to unionize with MNA
January 30, 2025 // Twin Cities hospital systems have negotiated their nurse contracts concurrently, in part to avoid one-upping each other with escalating wages and benefits, but the end result is a mega-event every three years in which the union seizes on the collective voices of so many nurses bargaining at once.
House Oversight Republicans open Congress with rants against telework, unions
January 17, 2025 // Rachel Greszler, a visiting fellow at the conservative Economic Policy Innovation Center and a former Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 contributor, described actions like the Social Security-AFGE telework contract update as an effort to “Trump-proof” agency workforces and suggested Congress should pass legislation allowing presidents to reopen collective bargaining agreements upon assuming office. And they should ban official time, the practice by which agencies agree to pay union officials their normal salary for time spent on representational duties, like in collective bargaining negotiations or representing employees during grievances or disciplinary hearings.