Posts tagged seniority
Alaska Airlines reaches tentative labor deal with flight attendants
June 24, 2024 // The deal likely contains a significant pay raise, which has been a common demand across the airline industry and sought by unions whose members in some cases have not seen a pay increase in years. In April, the union announced to members it was seeking pay raises of between 43% to 56%, depending upon seniority, through 2026. Those pay raises would include back pay covering a period dating back a year and a half that they’ve worked under the terms of the previous contract.
Disneyland will work with union representing character performers
June 4, 2024 // While most of Disneyland's 35,000 employees are represented by 26 unions, the park's 1,100 character performers and 600 parade performers and support staff had not been unionized until now. California's minimum wage increased to $16 an hour in 2024 with the hourly rate set to rise to $18 in 2025. After a lengthy court fight, Anaheim's Measure L boosted Disneyland's minimum wage to nearly $20 an hour.
Commentary: The Teachers’ Unions Are More Political than Ever
April 18, 2024 // Americans for Fair Treatment, a national nonprofit organization that educates public employees about their rights in a unionized workplace, recently released a report detailing the National Education Association’s (NEA) financial filings from Sept. 1, 2022, through Aug. 31, 2023. The NEA declared that its political spending totaled $50.1 million during the fiscal year, though the true number is much higher. During the most recent reporting period, the union disclosed that it spent “$126.3 million on ‘contributions, gifts, and grants,’ which is where most unions detail their charitable giving.” However, a closer look at the union’s “contributions, gifts, and grants” shows that the NEA is directing more money towards political causes than it reports.
Commentary: Large Drop of UAW Membership in Michigan Is Bad for Biden and Democrats but Great for Trump
April 11, 2024 // Particularly Democrats who hailed it as a new era for union membership and a win for blue-collar workers everywhere and who traditionally have unions and those workers who support them blindly. Now it looks like their victory lap may have been premature, and the happiness may not last long-term. Since those deals were struck last October, I have started to hear grumblings that the rank and file are not as happy as they were possibly at first because of the devil in the details that they were sold on at the time. Particularly the members who do not have seniority, which guarantees them many things they thought they were going to receive.
Despite Biden’s Efforts to Empower Unions, Membership Rates and Wage Advantages Fall to All-Time Lows
January 24, 2024 // So, why have unionization rates and union wages been falling despite significant union-organizing efforts at places such as Starbucks, Amazon and Trader Joe’s, as well as President Joe Biden’s “whole of government” approach toward increasing unionization? Primarily, it’s because unions aren’t providing things that workers want or need. Many workers don’t like unions spending their dues on politics instead of representation, their not infrequent deception and coercion to gain support or their rigid structures that impede flexibility and prohibit performance-based pay. Meanwhile, by engaging directly with their employers, workers have been able to achieve stronger wage gains (albeit entirely erased by inflation), increased workplace flexibility, expanded benefits (such as paid family leave) and a multitude of educational opportunities.
Sports Illustrated Laying Off ‘Possibly All’ Of Its Unionized Staff
January 22, 2024 // atest Rambling Aside Mark Hamill Hits Ron DeSantis With A Made-Up Quote Of His Own Damning New Biden Ad Uses Nikki Haley To Show How 'Confused' Trump Is Jason Kelce Goes Full Party Mode In Absolutely Wild Celebration At Chiefs-Bills Game Sen. Tim Scott Announces Engagement, And Marjorie Taylor Greene Approves Attorney Says He Quit Trump's Legal Team Because 'I Had To Follow My Compass' Donald Trump Reacts To DeSantis Dropping Out, Makes Nickname Announcement Miami Herald Gives Ron DeSantis Ugly Truth About His Presidential Failure Valerie Bertinelli Says Food Network Ouster 'Really Hurt My Feelings' I Was Unexpectedly Widowed at 29. Then I Found Out About My Husband's Affairs. NBC's Kristen Welker Presses GOP Governor Over Head-Spinning Trump Take Trump Defends Mocking Nikki Haley's Birth Name: 'Wherever She May Come From' SUPPORT US Log In GO TO HOMEPAGE Support Us × Share Share Share Share Share Share Share Share Share Share Share MEDIA SPORTS SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Sports Illustrated Laying Off 'Possibly All' Of Its Unionized Staff The legacy magazine has long been the gold standard of sports journalism. Lydia O'Connor By Lydia O'Connor Jan 19, 2024, 05:16 PM EST 60 COMMENTS ERROR LOADING In a move that could spell the end of an iconic brand, Sports Illustrated’s corporate owner informed employees Friday that it’s laying off “a significant number, possibly all” of the magazine’s unionized staff, the union said. The magazine’s future is in the hands of Authentic Brands Group, its owner since 2019. Shortly after acquiring the magazine, ABG sold SI’s publishing rights to a company called the Arena Group, which missed a recent payment for those rights, according to the union. ABG responded by pulling the Arena Group’s publishing license, leading to Friday’s mass layoffs. “This is another difficult day in what has been a difficult four years for Sports Illustrated under Arena Group (previously The Maven) stewardship,” the union, which has about 80 members, said in a statement. “We are calling on ABG to ensure the continued publication of SI and allow it to serve our audience in the way it has for nearly 70 years.” Some employees were immediately terminated, while others will work through a 90-day notice period, the notice to staff obtained by The Washington Post said. When reached for comment about SI’s future, ABG did not address the layoffs but said it plans to maintain SI’s editorial presence. “Authentic is here to ensure that the brand of Sports Illustrated, which includes its editorial arm, continues to thrive as it has for the past nearly 70 years,” the company said in a statement. “We are confident that going forward the brand will continue to evolve and grow in a way that serves sports news readers, sports fans, and consumers.” The SI union also vowed to put pressure on its owner. “We have fought together as a union to maintain the standard of this storied publication that we love, and to make sure out workers are treated fairly for the value they bring to this company,” NFL editor and union chair Mitch Goldich said in a statement. “It is a fight we will continue.” SI launched in 1954 under Time Inc. and has long been seen as the gold standard of sports journalism, featuring in-depth, long-form articles and distinctive photo spreads. But the magazine has floundered in its attempts to serve online readers, and has been passed around to different owners in recent years. Time Inc. sold SI to the Meredith Corporation in 2018, which then sold it to ABG the following year. ABG has no background in journalism, and its monetization plans for SI included resorts, sports betting and “brain formula” nutrition supplements. In November, the magazine came under fire for accusations it was deceptively publishing artificial intelligence-generated content, even going so far as to include AI-generated author photos and bylines. SI isn’t the only media brand facing turmoil this week. On Friday, The Los Angeles Times union planned a walkout to protest looming widespread layoffs. Management is fighting to gut seniority protections in its contract with the union in an attempt to widen the pool of workers to lay off. It’s the newsroom’s first union work stoppage in the paper’s 143-year history. Earlier this week, Condé Nast announced it was folding legacy music outlet Pitchfork into the men’s magazine GQ. At least eight staffers were laid off as a result of the merger.
COMMENTARY: Good news: 2023 won’t mark a union revival
January 3, 2024 // The decline of union membership has been remarkably steady over the last four decades. Since 2000, the year-to-year change in the unionization rate has been positive only six times, and those small gains have quickly been reversed. Moreover, the latest data show that unionization is increasingly concentrated in the government sector, especially local services such as K-12 education and public safety. Only 6% of private sector workers are union members.
COMMENTARY: By Ending Forced Representation, New Proposal in Congress Could Benefit Workers and Unions Alike
December 14, 2023 // Exclusive representation muffles the voices and denies the rights of at least a minority of workers, and imposes undue burdens on unions. Prioritizing workers’ choices and reducing government barriers to work pursuits are crucial to elevating workers’ voices, improving their well-being, and expanding their opportunities.
Commentary: ‘Worker’s Choice’ Is the Way Forward
December 13, 2023 // Employees trapped in union contracts need true freedom in the workplace, or what advocates have long called “worker’s choice.” That’s why on Wednesday, Rep. Burlison will introduce The Worker’s Choice Act of 2023. It would give workers a real alternative to union membership. Under this reform, employees at unionized companies could still become union members with union contracts. But if they opt out of union membership, they would negotiate contracts directly with their employers, as workers at nonunion companies do. The legislation wouldn’t affect non-right-to-work states, where workers are still required to pay union fees. It also wouldn’t apply to railroad and airline employees, who are required by federal law to pay union fees, or to government employees, who would qualify for worker’s choice only via state law. Every worker would win under this policy. Those opting out of union membership could negotiate the contract that’s best for them.
UAW secures nearly $8M in back pay
December 13, 2023 // According to a July 2022 letter, also on the UAW’s website, the union was informed that month an arbitrator determined GM violated its national agreement with the union when it closed the plants; the decision, the letter states, was an “important victory.” It states as a result of GM’s breach, the arbitrator found that certain members who kept working with the company at other locations, but experienced some period of layoff were entitled to be made whole. The award does not resolve an issue over mutually satisfied retirement for members the arbitrator previously found was not subject to arbitration, but the Dec. 5 letter states “we continue to fight for MSR’s for all eligible members.”