Posts tagged retirement benefits
GOP senator, labor secretary visit Louisiana alligator farm touting new pro-worker legislation
August 16, 2025 // Fresh off helping pass that bill, Cassidy is championing his pro-worker legislation, the Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act, introduced last month with senators Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Rand Paul, R-Ky. The bill seeks to modernize federal labor laws, granting gig workers and independent contractors access to health benefits, paid sick leave and retirement plans, among other provisions.
UPS buyout details: What’s in the offer, how many jobs are affected and what Teamsters say
July 30, 2025 // UPS is offering a voluntary buyout program to U.S. full-time drivers for the first time in its history. The Teamsters union criticizes the buyout, calling it "insulting" and a violation of the 2023 contract. UPS attributes the buyout to restructuring efforts following revenue decline and increased costs. The buyout, called the "Driver Voluntary Separation Program" is available for consideration by full-time, U.S.-based drivers, and is the first time in the company's history this sort of offer has been made to drivers, UPS said in a statement.
House food service workers, Democrats stage boycott in fight to keep union jobs
July 24, 2025 // Congressional Labor Caucus co-chairs Reps. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) joined food service employees in front of the Capitol building after final votes Thursday to protest the new vendors’ delay in recognizing the Unite Here Local 23 bargaining unit’s existing agreement. Union members are asking lawmakers, staff and Capitol visitors to boycott six of the new venues: Starbucks, Pakistani food restaurant CHA Street Food, Jimmy John’s, Common Grounds, Java House and PX Tacos.
Postdoctoral scholars and research assistants at Penn vote to unionize
July 24, 2025 // Research Associates and Postdocs United at Penn would join the United Auto Workers labor union, which represents over 120,000 academic workers across the country, including 4,000 graduate workers at Penn who voted to unionize last year. Will Drayer, a postdoctoral researcher in materials science and engineering at Penn and a forefront member of the campaign to unionize, said the next steps include democratically electing a bargaining committee and surveying members to establish clear priorities before entering contract negotiations with the university.
As threat of mass strike looms, some NYC legal service providers reach tentative agreements with unions
July 23, 2025 // Aaron Eisenberg, the political director at United Auto Workers Region 9A, told amNewYork that he hopes the agreements at Bronx Defenders and NYLAG will encourage other legal aid providers to meet demands and avoid a mass strike. Various union chapters within the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys-UAW are in active bargaining with management and have threatened to strike. A mass public interest attorney strike could take about 2,000 lawyers out of court, about 1,100 of whom work at the Legal Aid Society, where unionized employees have set a Friday deadline for a contract before walking out.
Hearing | Freedom to Work: Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers
July 17, 2025 // Patrice Onwuka, director of Independent Women’s Center for Economic Opportunity, will testify before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). In a hearing titled “Freedom to Work: Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers,” Onwuka will discuss portable benefits and supporting America’s independent contractor and freelance workforce.
What Got Cut from the White House Spending Bill That Benefits Federal Employees
July 11, 2025 // The Senate stripped out: Changes to FERS contributions and pension formulas The at-will employment requirement for new hires The MSPB appeal fee Provisions affecting federal labor unions
Legislation helping independent workers access portable benefits introduced
July 10, 2025 // Currently, while 80 percent of independent workers would like access to workplace benefits, decades old federal labor and employment law prevent them from doing so. The legislative package is supported by independent worker organizations like Flex Association, the Institute for the American Worker and the National Retail Federation, to name a few. “The Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act is an important step toward addressing some of the federal legal hurdles that complicate efforts to connect independent contractors with portable benefits while ensuring that the millions of Americans who choose to earn on their own terms can continue doing so without risking the independence and flexibility they value. Flex looks forward to working with Senator Cassidy and other forward-thinking policymakers as there is additional work to be done on this issue at the state and federal levels,” Kristin Sharp, CEO of Flex Association.
Chair Cassidy, Scott, Paul Release Legislative Package Empowering Independent Workers to Access Portable Benefits
July 7, 2025 // “We applaud Sen. Cassidy for striving to ensure independent contractors can be protected and receive benefits similar to employees without jeopardizing their entrepreneurship or independence. The Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act supports independent contractors and freelancers by allowing businesses to provide benefits without redefining worker status. In today’s evolving economy, flexible work shouldn’t come at the cost of healthcare or retirement security. This legislation helps ensure that all American workers – regardless of classification – can have access to benefits like health care and retirement plans,” said F. Vincent Vernuccio, J.D., President, Institute for the American Worker.
UPS offers buyout to union drivers, drawing ire from Teamsters
July 7, 2025 // The package offered through its “Driver Voluntary Severance Plan” is in addition to any retirement benefits, including health care and pension disbursements, according to a company emailed cited by Bloomberg. But according to the Teamsters union -- which represents 340,000 UPS (NYSE:UPS) drivers -- the “illegal” plan violates the contract between UPS and the Teamsters signed in August 2023, and would be less than what rank-and-file Teamsters now earn and could continue to make over the life of the current agreement.