Posts tagged PRO Act
This housekeeper fought to unionize Trump’s Vegas hotel. Now, she’s fighting to keep him out of office
November 5, 2024 // “It’s important for a president to be pro-union,” said Olvera. “Without a union, a worker invests the majority of their time at work only to find they can’t afford health care for their kids. They leave work tired, have to work two jobs, and still find that the money isn’t enough.”
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.
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su Criticizes Donald Trump’s Labor Record at IOP
October 22, 2024 // Though Su declined to address the former president by name, she argued that “hypothetically,” opposition to overtime pay, sexual harassment, and support for Elon Musk are incompatible with a “pro-worker” position. “I don’t care how many McDonald’s drive-throughs you pretend to work at,” Su said, referencing Trump’s Sunday visit to a Philadelphia McDonald’s where he served fries and answered questions through the drive-through window. Su was joined by Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO to discuss the future of the American Labor Movement. Brett Story and Stephen Maing, directors of “UNION”— a documentary film that followed the unionization of Amazon workers in Staten Island, New York — were also on the panel.
The Highest Stakes Commentary: Kim Kavin
October 16, 2024 // In this version of the ABC Test, Part B states that a person can only be a legally operating independent contractor if: The person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business. That line has been an unmitigated income- and career-destroyer for Californians in more than 600 professions. It hit everyone from comedians who could no longer perform at comedy clubs to translators who could no longer provide translation services for translation companies to freelance writers who could no longer write articles for publishers. Owner-operator truckers are still battling in the courts and trying to explain how it could decimate the supply chain, with the threat of taking so many self-employed truckers off the road. The damage to people’s livelihoods was so significant that within a year—just one year—of AB5 going into effect:
J.D. Vance slammed for announcement seen as ‘attacking workers’ right to organize’
October 15, 2024 // "You asked about the PRO act. The problem with the PRO act is that in some ways it doubles down on a lot of the failed things that we have done, instead of looking at American labor policy as something that's going to be better for the 21st century than it was in the 20th century," Vance replied. ADVERTISEMENT The official presidential campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris took to social media, saying, "J.D. Vance announces he and Trump oppose the PRO Act, a bill that would strengthen the power of workers to organize and collectively bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions." The Harris campaign also shared a video of Harris in which she vows to "pass the PRO Act and end union-busting once and for all."
Wabtec cites lost jobs in Erie as evidence that Fort Worth workers should not unionize
October 4, 2024 // In a letter to employees in Fort Worth, the company says they should consider the evidence from unionized workers at Wabtec plants in Erie and Wilmerding, near Pittsburgh. According to the letter, "Employment levels are down 58% in Erie since 2011. In Wilmerding, Wabtec's former headquarters, employment levels went from 70 employees in 2020 to just 5 remaining employees today,"
Feeding the Kitty
September 30, 2024 // Unions have pursued shareholder resolutions asking for a “free and fair election process,” meaning card check and neutrality. They have also sought to pass resolutions demanding audits of a company’s labor practices. It’s not hard to see how a future resolution could explicitly try to prohibit companies from using independent contractors.
The real impact of the Teamsters’ non-endorsement
September 20, 2024 // “Union endorsements are valuable because they usually come with access to resources, particularly volunteers to knock on doors and work phone banks,” Squire said. “Leadership may be able to persuade some members to vote the way they would like, but the real value is in campaign assistance.” Besides the setback of having fewer volunteers, there’s also some possibility that the non-endorsement could sway non-union voters sympathetic to labor issues.
Employment Law Landscape Could Change After Election
September 16, 2024 // During the Trump administration the NLRB majority narrowed the scope of the National Labor Relations Act in several key respects and established a more neutral approach to union organizing. The Biden/Harris administration, which styled itself as the “most union-friendly in history,” reversed virtually all of the Trump-era policies, significantly expanded the scope of the law, and tilted the organizing landscape in favor of organized labor, Hayes said.
Interview: Independent Contractors and Union Reforms, How @VinnieVernuccio Champions Worker Choice
September 12, 2024 // Unions are stuck in this turn of the last century industrial revolution, a one-size-fits-all adversarial business model that most workers today don't want. I do see a place for unions if they embrace a voluntary business model and become like professional service organizations. Unfortunately, they're not there. If you're under a union contract, you're stuck with the wages, the benefits, the vacations, [and] the hours they negotiate for you. It's actually impossible for the employer to unilaterally say, “you're doing a great job, I'm going to give you a raise,” or “I'm going to give you a bonus,” or, “hey, you want more vacation for a little less money?”