Posts tagged Retirement
Industries Raise Alarm over Aging Workforces
June 28, 2023 // The construction industry is suffering labor pains similar to those of the trucking industry. "We've got a lot more people retiring than coming into the industry. We appreciate that that's not unique to construction," said Brian Turmail, vice president of public affairs and strategic initiatives at Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), a trade group for the construction industry.
BACKGROUNDER: Employee Rights Act
June 26, 2023 // Sponsored by Rick Allen (R-GA) The Employee Rights Act of 2025 safeguards and strengthens the rights of American workers. It guarantees workers’ right to a secret ballot election, ensures they can work directly with their employer if they opt-out of union membership, protects worker privacy, allows workers to choose to fund union politics or not, provides legal clarity for small business owners and independent contractors, and guarantees fair representation for all American workers.
Ex-NY state trooper convicted of stealing cash from union members that he blew on Dallas Cowboys tix, Lexus
June 1, 2023 // The pair stole, embezzled and misappropriated money from the union’s annuity fund and from individual members’ retirement accounts — making hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent transfers, the feds said. Some members’ accounts were completely wiped out because of Wynder and Brown’s theft, prosecutors alleged.
Union group home workers strike across Connecticut
May 24, 2023 // More than a thousand union group home workers walked off the job Wednesday morning, demanding a new contract that includes better pay. As the governor and state lawmakers get closer to the deadline on budget negotiations, about 1,200 unionized group home workers walked off the job at 6 a.m. Wednesday morning. SEIU District 1199NE, the New England Health Care Employees Union, represents over 25,000 caregivers in Connecticut and about 4,000 in Rhode Island. The union said that most of its workers have been without a contract for about three weeks and are demanding what they call “living wages,” affordable health insurance and better retirement benefits.
Southwest pilots union vote on potential strike underway
May 2, 2023 // The strike voting period opened Monday at noon. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association said they're still disagreeing with management on salary, benefits, retirement and other contract terms after years at the negotiating table. SWAPA President Casey Murray wrote in a statement the company's management has shown "no willingness" to address pilots' concerns related to scheduling and technology issues. “The decision to authorize a strike is not one we have taken lightly, but given the lack of accountability and dearth of leadership exhibited by our current executives, we felt that this was a last resort to try to force them to face the issues plaguing our passengers, our frontline employees, and our pilots,” Murray wrote in a statement.
NY union wants more remote work for state employees
March 17, 2023 // Spence called for New York to do more on remote work flexibility and go beyond what was proposed in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget for the Empire State. Hochul’s budget would not only consider more flexibility for public employees to work remotely, but it allocated over $18 million to address worker shortage issues. Yet it was not enough for Spence, who has been pushing for public employees to remain as remote workers on a long-term basis and has clashed with state lawmakers over the remote work issue during the past year. The union president asserted that New York public employees are leaving New York for other states that offer more remote work flexibility and have a lower cost-of-living. Neither PEF nor Spence outlined specifics about flexible remote work and which incentives could lead to higher retention rates of employees.
Americans are taking more control over their work lives – because they have to
January 6, 2023 // In research I’ve been conducting on side hustles in the sharing economy, I am finding that many people take these gigs to compensate for limited control in their “traditional” jobs. Although gig work comes with its own set of challenges – lack of benefits is a key one – people feel liberated by greater control over where, when and how they work. Switching on an app shifts allegiance from one company to another. Turning off an app ends the workday in an instant. People rely on side hustles to earn additional income but also because of the freedom that comes from being an independent worker. Another benefit of portfolioing is hedging risk. Sudden layoffs, such as those recently affecting the tech industry, leave people feeling exposed to financial hardship and identity loss from being involuntarily sent to the exit. When facing difficult times at one job, people can turn to other parts of their career portfolio for security and stability.
Healthcare Workers, Especially Physicians, Slow to Unionize in Past Decade: Study
January 6, 2023 // Some physicians, however, may oppose unions because of the cost of union dues or fears that union goals might not align with their responsibility to patients. Doctors and other healthcare workers are often concerned about the ethics of unionizing, Onello said. “They see this looming tactic of a strike or work stoppage and think, ‘I could never do that to my patients,’ ” Onello said. “But the process of collective bargaining, when it’s working well, should not lead to a strike if both sides are negotiating in good faith to reach a fair and workable agreement.”
‘Neglected for far too long’: RISD essential workers union votes to authorize strike
January 5, 2023 // But discussions over wage increases remain at the center of negotiations. According to Suazo, a vast majority of the RISD workers in the bargaining unit currently make $15 to $18 dollars an hour. “The bargaining unit members believe that they have been neglected for far too long by the school,” Suazo said, adding that no “significant move” has occurred regarding wages since the strike authorization.
Sen. Braun Introduce Bill To Maximize Americans’ Retirement Funds
November 25, 2022 // Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to require plan fiduciaries to select investments solely on pecuniary factors. If a fiduciary cannot distinguish between investments on pecuniary factors alone they may use non-pecuniary factors, but must provide participants reasoning for their decision. Pecuniary factors are defined as any factors that a fiduciary prudently determines is expected to have a material effect on the risk or return of an investment. fiduciary duty of plan administrators, ESG (environmental, social and governance) funds,