Posts tagged retirement benefits
Opinion: Biden to Apprentices: You’re Fired
December 21, 2023 // About half of apprenticeship programs are jointly run by labor and management, typically governed by collective-bargaining agreements. Yet unions accuse non-union employers of using apprenticeships “to find cheap labor,” as DOL puts it. Its proposed rule aims to make it harder and more expensive for employers to use non-union apprenticeships.
GM workers ratify new deal narrowly; analyst expects less drama with Ford, Stellantis
November 17, 2023 // "It was really closer than it should’ve been," said Mike Martinez. Nevertheless, General Motors workers voted to ratify the UAW contract - with nearly 55 percent of the membership voting yes. "This wasn’t pretty, there was a 46-day strike," said Martinez. "They got chippy."
Here’s why the UAW’s record deals with GM, Ford and Stellantis aren’t getting full support
November 16, 2023 // At least three major assembly plants representing 9,730, or 21%, of GM’s 46,000 UAW-represented employees have voted against the pact. They include 61% against at Lansing Delta Township plant in Michigan, which builds Buick and Chevrolet crossovers; 67.5% rejection at a Cadillac and GMC crossover plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee; and 52% opposed at GM’s Flint, Michigan, truck plant. A handful of other smaller plants also have voted against the deal. At Ford, the automaker’s Kentucky Truck Plant — its largest in terms of employment and revenue — had 54.5% of members vote against it. The UAW reached tentative deals with each of the automakers, so each is voted on separately. One or more could fail, while another ratifies. They are not contingent on one another.
How UAW’s Unrealistic Contract Demands Would Backfire on Union
September 13, 2023 // In the current talks, Fain demanded a 46% increase in base pay for hourly workers. With base wages currently ranging from a reported $17 per hour for temporary workers to $32.32 for top-scale assembly workers, the 46% jump would put the range between $24.82 and $47.18 per hour, or $51,600 to $98,100 a year in annual pay. But that’s just the start. The union is demanding a 32-hour work week, for which workers would receive 40 hours of pay. That’s like paying for five days’ worth of groceries, but receiving only four days of food. The UAW’s “pay more for less” demands would bring the true hourly range for workers to between $31.02 and $58.98 per hour. The median hourly wage for all manufacturing workers across the U.S. is $26.59 per hour. At nearly $59 per hour, UAW workers could earn 50% more per hour than registered nurses and 59% more per year than elementary teachers.
CUNA Mutual workers go on strike as contract negotiations stall
May 22, 2023 // The union is characterizing the walkout as an unfair labor practice strike — a significant distinction because, if upheld by the National Labor Relations Board, it would prevent the company from permanently replacing strikers. Members authorized a five-day strike initially, Bartlett-Mulvihill said. “Could it go longer?” she added. “Absolutely. If we see no movement at the table from the employer, you know, those are options that the members are looking at.” The walkout comes as CUNA Mutual is in the midst of rebranding its business under the name TruStage, reflecting an expansion beyond its original customer base of credit unions. Bartlett-Mulvihill and Joe Evica, the union’s chief steward at CUNA Mutual, told reporters at a picket-line news conference that the principal issues remained job security, wages, pension benefits, health care and a pay equity review for union employees, including stronger efforts to expand the diversity of the workforce. The union has also sought to maintain remote work policies that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. The union has criticized company management for its handling of contract negotiations, which began in February 2022.
Union to Defense Chief: You Aren’t Using Your Own Employees Enough to Help Meet Global Threats
April 4, 2023 // AFGE called on the Biden administration and Congress to align the Federal Wage System’s locality pay map with that of the General Schedule and advance legislation to improve Defense Department civilian police pay. elley called for the Biden administration to waive laws that AFGE claims favor non-competitive contracts, as well as reform the compensation of tens of thousands of underpaid Defense Department employees. Specifically, AFGE renewed its call for the Biden administration to align the locality pay map of employees on the Federal Wage System, commonly called wage grade workers, to that of the General Schedule. At issue is the fact that, unlike the General Schedule’s locality pay areas, which are tweaked on a nearly annual basis to account for changing regional costs of living and commuting patterns, the Federal Wage System’s map is still based mostly on a decades-old map of domestic military bases and other facilities.
GE workers rally for better pay, job security
October 26, 2022 // Hundreds of General Electric workers from plants around the country held a rally in Schenectady on Tuesday to call for better protection and compensation ahead of contract negotiations in 2023. Workers said the company needs to stop outsourcing jobs to other countries, raise wages in response to rising inflation, and protect retirement benefits. Employees are also concerned about the company’s plan to split into three next year. One will focus on aviation, another on healthcare, and another on energy.