Posts tagged Service workers
OP-ED: LAUSD’s unions could support policies to help all Californians
March 14, 2023 // According to the SEIU, the average annual salary for the 30,000 LAUSD service workers they represent is $25,000. But that includes all service workers, from part-time to full-time. About 75% of the members work fewer than eight hours per day, and with school in session only 180 days, or 36 weeks per year, even many of the workers with “full-time hours” are off for up to 16 weeks per year. Union representatives themselves acknowledge LAUSD’s reliance on a part-time workforce. But it raises an uncomfortable question that applies to teachers as well: If K-12 schools in California operate for the equivalent of just 36 full weeks per year, is it reasonable for people working in these schools to expect to earn enough to cover a full year of expenses? Similarly, if some of the service jobs require a worker for only a few hours each day, how can the district’s taxpayers afford to pay them for a full day?
The South Has a New Union — and Workers Have Black Women to Thank
January 17, 2023 // Union of Southern Service Workers (USSW), a first-of-its-kind cross-sector union offering membership to fast food, retail, warehouse, care, and other service industry workers across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. USSW is a continuance of Raise Up, the very active southern chapter of the Fight for $15 and a Union that formed in 2013 and took root in North Carolina. USSW will function as a part of the Service Employees International Union, a labor union that represents nearly 2 million workers in the U.S. and Canada.
Calif: Orange County bus strike averted
October 17, 2022 // "OC Bus is a critical public service for tens of thousands of Orange County residents and stopping service would unnecessarily harm those who rely upon us including students, seniors and workers who have no other means to travel," said OCTA Chairman Mark A. Murphy, also the Mayor of Orange. "For all of our riders, I'm very happy that service will continue." A best and final offer was presented to leaders of Teamsters Local 952 on Sept. 22, but it was rejected
Sodexo workers from 2 airlines at Austin airport plan to unionize
October 12, 2022 // “We’re excited to see Sodexo workers at the Austin airport stand up for themselves and we support their call for a fair process to decide on a union,” UNITE HERE Local 23 organizer Aileen Bazan said in the release. “Hospitality workers in Texas know there’s no better time than now to demand respect for the work we do.” UNITE HERE said it represents other food service workers at AUS from HMS Host, Delaware North and LSG Sky Chefs. The group’s union workers receive regular wage increases, affordable healthcare and other benefits with their union contract, the group said.
Sun Country fleet service workers could follow airline’s pilots, mechanics by unionizing
October 5, 2022 // Fleet service employees could join other groups who gained new representation in the last few years, including its pilots, who Air Line Pilots Association, International said were the “lowest-paid pilots in the industry” before the Dec. 2021 deal. Sun Country maintenance mechanics were certified with Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association this past summer and are expected to negotiate a first collective bargaining agreement for the group in the near future, according to the union.
Worker protests at airports spread nationwide over staffing and pay
September 27, 2022 // Cashiers, baristas, bartenders, cooks and lounge attendants at San Francisco International Airport launched an open-ended strike Monday over staffing levels and wages, shutting down most of one of the nation’s busiest airport’s food concessions. Flight attendants at United and Southwest airlines on Tuesday are expected to demonstrate at 21 airports around the United States, including Guam, as well as in London, to draw attention to workplace problems made worse by understaffing.
As staffing declines, Contra Costa County labor unions push for better contract
June 28, 2022 // Public defenders and district attorneys are usually on opposing sides in the courtroom, but staff members from both departments have marched in lockstep at recent rallies, urging Contra Costa County to recruit and retain more people to lighten their workloads. Nine labor unions that represent more than 6,000 workers, including prosecutors, public defenders, engineers, IT staff and public service workers, among others, have joined forces to argue for better compensation in their next three-year contract — a move that might keep employees from departing for greener pastures. Sean Stalbaum, Contra Costa County, Santa Clara County, Contra Costa Regional Medical Center, Karen Mitchoff, county Board of Supervisors, Corey Hallman,
The year workers said ‘no’
May 16, 2022 // Signs of "waking up" don't always involve unionizing. Some workers are purposefully decreasing their productivity, known as a "slow up" in pursuit of better work-life balance.
2,000 Cedars-Sinai workers begin week-long strike
May 10, 2022 //
U of I service employees set to vote on strike authorization
May 3, 2022 // It would be the first strike by university service employees since 2013, and that strike prompted the university to declare its first-ever civil service emergency. If a strike were to occur, campus trash cans would not be emptied, bathrooms in university buildings would not be cleaned and food in dining halls would not be made.