Posts tagged seniority
Rhode Island’s New Workplace Laws: Menopause Protections, “Captive Audience” Meeting Ban, Minimum Wage Hikes, and More
August 5, 2025 // Under the new law, employers in the state with at least four or more employees: must, upon request, make reasonable accommodations for a current or prospective employee’s condition related to menopause or a related medical condition (including, but not limited to, vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats), unless the accommodation would pose an undue hardship on the employer; are prohibited from denying employment opportunities based on a woman’s need for such accommodations;
Pa. Worker Sues Union, State Over Mishandled Promotion
June 13, 2025 // Veteran state employee Todd Burns was in line for a well-deserved promotion until state officials allegedly violated his employment contract to promote someone less qualified but who had close ties to management. Burns turned to his union for help, only for AFSCME, Council 13, to refuse to defend the contract, despite his many years as a dues-paying member. Now, Burns is suing his union for violating state law by failing to provide him with fair representation and his employer, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), for breaking his employment contract.
MVH nurses speak out against unionizing efforts
June 4, 2025 // But some at Miami Valley Hospital say they are happy with the current management. Three clinical nurses from MVH reached out to 2 NEWS, saying they believe a union would cause them to lose more than they would gain. They say their fellow nurses should consider the consequences of this decision on the entire staff if union terms were negotiated.
Commentary: Teachers Need to Ditch Their Union
April 16, 2025 // The California Teachers Association, which considers itself “the co-equal fourth branch of government,” per former Democratic State Senate leader Dom Perata, is no better. As the Freedom Foundation notes, the union reports its political expenditures under three separate filings: The Issues Political Action Committee (PAC); The Association for Better Citizenship (ABC); and, The Independent Expenditure Committee (IEC).
‘Puts everything we hold dear at risk’: Libbey Glass workers frustrated after 6 months of contract negotiations
March 18, 2025 // "If people vote to strike, there will be no strike pay, there will be no unemployment," the employee said. "What's going to happen? Are they eventually going to close the plant or what?" they added. "Anything could happen. Look what's happened with other places that have closed. Our plant manager has closed plants before, so what's going to happen with us? It's scary." That employee said many people they know are looking to find other jobs, worried about their job security.
‘We’re gonna fight for our members’: Unions respond to Oakland layoffs
February 3, 2025 // This week’s layoffs are the latest in several steps Oakland has already taken in an attempt to emerge from its financial crisis. The city has also slashed OPD overtime spending, temporarily closed fire stations, and cut the arts budget, while credit ratings agencies have put the city on notice that it faces a potential ratings downgrade. Layoffs were discussed last year and not unexpected, said Blue, but she assumed the city would give advance notice so unions could negotiate with management. City officials have previously said they’d do whatever they could to avoid axing front-line staff.
Half a century later, ILA returns to strike mode
September 13, 2024 // The ILA is one of the least aggressive unions when it comes to coastwide strikes, especially relative to its militant West Coast counterpart: the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which orchestrated stoppages and slowdowns just last year to attain its desired contract. In many respects, then, the ILA is riding the wave of labor’s recent successes that were achieved through hard-line tactics. In August 2023, the Teamsters celebrated the ratification of a new agreement with UPS. A few months later, the United Auto Workers secured large pay raises and other benefits for its members after a 46-day strike against Ford, Stellantis and General Motors.
Back to school, back to the union? Commentary
September 9, 2024 // Union membership is a personal decision, and for a variety of reasons, thousands of Minnesota educators across the state have said no thanks to what the union is prioritizing. Just as educators encourage their students to be independent thinkers and hold true to themselves, so too should educators be trusted by their colleagues to make decisions that are best for them and their families. The right to say “no” to union membership is just as important as the right to say “yes” to it — but educators first need to know they actually do have a choice. And it’s important that respect exists for that choice.
Workers Say Plant Eligible for $2 Billion in Public Funds Is Union-Busting
September 4, 2024 // Eos’s Pittsburgh-area battery plant got subsidies aimed at ‘good clean jobs.’ Its workers say they’re getting fired for unionizing.
Commentary: Unions are bad for cities
August 16, 2024 // The truth is that unionization doesn’t even increase wages for all union members. Single-salary schedules ensure that senior members earn the most and new members the least, regardless of value or merit. While union leaders may brag about the union member premium — the ostensibly higher wages that unionized workers earn — it only exists for older members, where it exists at all. What’s more, unions’ seniority layoff system protects longer-serving union members before anyone else. The most junior employees are the first to be let go and the last to be rehired. Last-in-first-out layoffs do nothing to improve productivity, but they do a lot to protect senior members.