Posts tagged Pennsylvania
Commentary: More Jobs, Fewer Workers: Is the Labor Market Strong or Weak?
November 5, 2024 // Even after factoring in the BLS’s acknowledgment that its reports overstated job gains by 818,000 from March 2023 to March 2024, there still appears to be about five times as many new jobs created over the past year as there are additional people working. While media reports and markets tend to focus on jobs reports, what matters most to the economy and to human flourishing is how many people are working. Currently only 60.2% of people ages 16 and over in the U.S. are working. This is a gap of about 2.6 million workers compared to pre-pandemic employment rates.
Philly’s largest city workers union votes to authorize strike during rush-hour rally
November 3, 2024 // During the rally, the union members held a voice vote to authorize a strike, FOX29 reported, but the union is expected to take a formal vote during a meeting in the next week. Union leaders will give Mayor Cherelle Parker's administration a 10-day notice about a potential strike, 6ABC reported. In August, District Council 33 submitted a 17-page proposal for a four-year contract that included pay raises, better pension plans, alternate work schedules, pandemic relief and a change in the residency requirement that most workers live in the city.
With much at stake, labor unions knock on millions of doors in final campaign push
October 31, 2024 // The American Federation of Teachers has sent hundreds of its members from New York to Pennsylvania and from Illinois to Wisconsin to canvass “labor doors.” The United Auto Workers has similarly deployed union members to fellow members’ homes and work sites, in addition to an aggressive phone, text and mail campaign.
Commentary- Teachers: Your Union Dues are Funding the Election
October 31, 2024 // Teachers in swing states such as Pennsylvania should be particularly aware of where unions are spending their dues. During the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), representing over 175,000 Pennsylvania teachers, spent $5.02 million on politics. This spending went primarily to progressive causes. PSEA is also an affiliate of the NEA, which means a portion of Pennsylvania teachers dues are also spent on politics by the national union.
Op-Ed Andrew Holman: Union political spending doesn’t represent all their members
October 30, 2024 // Most of Pennsylvania’s public sector unions’ certifications date back to the 1970s, meaning many of their employees have never had the opportunity to vote on their representation. Without accountability, public sector unions are free to divert resources from representation toward partisan politics with no regard for members. The rank-and-file deserves better from their unions.
What role will unions play in the 2024 presidential election? A visual guide
October 28, 2024 // Nearly a quarter of the workforce belonged to a union 40 years ago. Now that number is just over 10%. Though worker stoppages have kept up, labor union rates have steadily declined for decades. From 1983 to 2022, union membership fell by half, from 20.1% to 10.1%. "Union density reached a high of over 30% in the post-World War II decades in the 1950s and 1960s," said Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Labor Center.
Largest Public Sector Labor Unions Unite to Get Out the Vote in Battleground States
October 23, 2024 // This joint action represents a significant escalation of labor's political engagement, with the unions pooling resources and mobilizing their combined membership of several million workers and includes people of all backgrounds working across the public service – as nurses, child care providers, sanitation workers, first responders, teachers, education support professionals and higher education workers, among others.
Unions face a moment of truth in Michigan in this year’s presidential race
October 18, 2024 // Union leaders have said his first term was far from worker-friendly, citing unfavorable rulings from the nation’s top labor board and the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as unfulfilled promises of automotive jobs. They emphasize Democratic achievements in states like Michigan, including the recent repeal of a union-restricting right-to-work law enacted over a decade ago by a Republican-controlled legislature. With membership dwindling in states like Michigan, Fain will need to attract more than just union workers to secure a victory for Harris, who has campaigned in the state alongside him. If the union president cannot deliver Michigan after all these efforts, it could raise questions about his union's political influence in future elections.
Petitions for union representation doubled under Biden’s presidency, first increase since 1970s
October 17, 2024 // There has been a doubling of petitions by workers to have union representation during President Joe Biden's administration, according to figures released Tuesday by the National Labor Relations Board. There were 3,286 petitions filed with the government in fiscal 2024, up from 1,638 in 2021. This marks the first increase in unionization petitions during a presidential term since Gerald Ford's administration, which ended 48 years ago.
Philly-Area Dometic Workers Win Case Against UAW for Illegal Threats During Union-Boss Ordered Strike
October 17, 2024 // UAW officials unlawfully threatened to fire workers that didn’t go on strike, must now attend mandatory training on workers’ rights The favorable settlement for the Dometic workers forces UAW union officials to provide remedies not only for the illegal threats, but also for blocking workers from exercising their right to resign their memberships in the union and unlawfully demanding full union dues. The employees, Eric Angell, Robert Haldeman, Mario Coccie, Nancy Powelson, Joseph Buchak, Md Rasidul Islam, and James Nold received free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.