Posts tagged pay
NY reaches tentative deal to end prison strike by suspending anti-solitary confinement law
March 2, 2025 // A law restricting the use of solitary confinement in New York’s prisons would remain partly suspended for 90 days if corrections officers accept a tentative agreement the state reached with their union to end an ongoing wildcat strike. There will be no departmental discipline for any of the thousands of corrections officers if they return to work by Saturday, according to a memo the governor released. The agreement also includes provisions to reduce mandated overtime, increase the overtime pay rate and temporarily hire retired corrections officers to assist in transporting incarcerated people.
Gov. Hochul to send National Guard into NY prisons if correction officers don’t end illegal strikes
February 19, 2025 // A prison workers’ union, NYS Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, said it did not sanction the illegal jobs actions. But upstate Republican lawmakers said they remain in support of the protesting officers and blasted the Democratic governor for her alleged inability to safeguard state prisons. “New York’s prisons are becoming war zones due to the Hochul Prison Crisis. Correctional facilities are on the brink of collapse,” state Sen. Peter Oberacker said in a statement, claiming assaults on officers have hit record highs and staffing levels have been gutted.
Federal correctional officers driven to ask Congress for a raise
February 9, 2025 // Union says pay scale is 'non-competitive' with other law enforcement agencies
REI Greensboro, NC, workers vote to unionize
February 3, 2025 // Greensboro workers began the process after REI reduced the workforce by 275 company wide in October 2023. Most of the cuts were "leads," who are the most experienced in the chain, with the Greensboro store losing two. According to the RWDSU, Greensboro joins 10 others fighting for fair pay, guaranteed hours, a path to full-time status, and transfer opportunities within REI. The vote to unionize was conducted Friday by the National Labor Relations Board.
Conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court justice steps aside in pivotal union rights case
January 31, 2025 // A conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court justice said Thursday he will not participate in a pending case that will determine whether tens of thousands of public sector workers regain collective bargaining rights that were taken away by a 2011 law. Justice Brian Hagedorn drafted the law, known as Act 10, when he was chief legal counsel for then-Gov. Scott Walker. His decision to recuse himself from the case leaves the court with four liberal justices and two conservatives.
Costco Increases Pay to Over $30 an Hour for Most Store Workers
January 30, 2025 // Workers at the bottom of the scale will get raises of 50 cents to $20, according to the memo. The changes apply to employees at non-union locations. Costco, which is based in Issaquah, Washington, declined to comment. The company and the union that represents thousands of its workers are in negotiations over a new collective bargaining contract. The current contract is set to expire on Friday, and Costco Teamsters — which represents less than 10% of the company’s roughly 219,000 employees in the US — has voted to authorize a strike, demanding better pay and benefits.
Elon Musk’s Doge accused of ‘illegal’ job posting by federal workers’ union
January 29, 2025 // Government vacancy announcements are typically required to include key information around pay, security requirements, qualifications, and the number of available roles, according to the office of personnel management. The Doge page does not contain such details. It includes a brief paragraph explaining that it is looking to hire “world-class talent to work long hours identifying/eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse”, and a form to submit personal details. A checkbox indicates the roles are based in Washington DC, and available only to US citizens.
Clock ticks for NJTransit, engineer’s union to reach labor deal
January 22, 2025 // The agency and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen are in a two-month-long cooling period. The two sides have been locked in ongoing talks for more than four years without success, leading to former President Joe Biden calling in two presidential emergency boards to help break the ice. The first board sided with NJTransit but recommended that the agency raise its initial wage offer. A second board is set to release its own recommendations on Wednesday.
How lavish benefits pushed by NY teachers’ unions ramped up school spending — to highest in nation at $36K per kid: reports
January 21, 2025 // Empire State teachers were the second-highest compensated in the US during 2024, raking in an average of $92,696, according to a National Education Association study. And their generous pay has only increased from the 2020-2021 school year, when New York teachers’ $87,738 was the highest average pay in the nation, the Empire Center for Public Policy found. Employee benefits at that time were between 200% and 250% higher than the national average, according to the report from the Albany-based government watchdog group.
Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino Employees Push for Union Representation
January 7, 2025 // In the last decade, a number of cases have reached courts across the country with similar concerns. Unsurprisingly, the courts have ruled that employees of Tribal casinos and resorts fall under the National Labor Relations Act, which means that they can join forces to be represented by unions. Now, as announced by the Niagara Gazette, workers at Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino are in talks with Teamsters Local 449. Discussions with the union date back to December. One former employee and organizer of the initiative, Vernon Lohan, said on the matter: “You’re not given a fair handshake over there.” The former employee also alleged that workers at Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino may be terminated in cases that may only require a warning.