Posts tagged severance
Adda Coffee & Tea House reaches agreement with union
February 14, 2024 // Under the preliminary agreement, the company will give employees a compensation package in exchange for the union withdrawing its petition to the National Labor Relations Board for an election to represent the workers. Adda Coffee & Tea House, which had four locations, announced in January that it was closed effective immediately. The business said it had been operating at a loss since the beginning and the pandemic exacerbated its struggles.
University of Chicago Medical Center lays off 180 employees
February 4, 2024 // With roughly 13,000 employees, the University of Chicago Medical Center let go of less than 2% of their staff on Thursday.
Grindr employees look to unionize
July 24, 2023 // Employees at the LGBTQ dating app are mounting the labor effort together as Grindr United and working with the Communications Workers of America, one of the United States’ largest unions dedicated to helping those in the news media, the airlines, broadcast and cable television, public service, higher education, health care, manufacturing, high tech, and more. Workers say the nationwide attacks prompted them to focus on fighting for numerous changes to their work experience such as gift-matching, pay increases to keep up with the economy, a professional development budget, and severance protocols.
Starbucks closures in Ithaca fuel union-busting claims
June 28, 2023 // NLRB…
NLRB General Counsel Says Confidentiality, Nondisparagement Clause Decision Applies Retroactively
March 23, 2023 // National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) Jennifer Abruzzo issued a memorandum clarifying the Board’s February 2023 decision that nondisparagement and confidentiality provisions in severance agreements are unlawful. In the memorandum, the GC states that she interprets the decision to apply to agreements already signed and that claims would not be time-barred as long as an employer maintains or enforces such terms. In McLaren Macomb, the Board found that conditioning severance agreements on the acceptance of nondisparagement and confidentiality terms and the mere proffer of such terms are unlawful because they restrict workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Open questions following the Board’s decision included what exactly it means for the use of separation agreements and whether the decision will be applied retroactively to agreements that already contain such terms. Abruzzo’s new memorandum offered further guidance on her interpretation of the impact of the decision that employers may want to consider in drafting and enforcing separation agreements. Here are some key points of the memorandum.
Op-ed: Why Employers Forcing a Return to Office is Leading to More Worker Power and Unionization
February 23, 2023 // It's important to recognize that this turn to worker power is happening in the context of massive layoffs by tech companies, which are becoming less willing to offer perks like remote work to their workforce. In fact, there's evidence that some companies such as Twitter are using return-to-office mandates to get workers to quit voluntarily, to avoid paying severance. Employers are increasingly getting the upper hand, as workers who feel anxious about the economy are reluctant to make demands for more remote work. However, such strategies may well backfire against employers in the long term if they spur increases in labor union organizing; even though individual employees might be anxious about their jobs, together they can press their case, especially given an unemployment rate of 3.4%, the lowest in over 50 years. And even tech workers are finding new jobs in three months or so, pointing to the strength of the labor market despite some shift toward employer power.
Twitter’s Workplace Practices Draw Fire as Janitors Picket and Musk Defends Bedrooms
December 7, 2022 // San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection said Dec. 6 it was launching an investigation into reports that Twitter converted several of its office spaces into bedrooms. Meanwhile, janitors are picketing this week after the company terminated their contract. Janitors told a local NBC affiliate on Nov. 5 they found themselves locked out of the building, with no prior warning the company was terminating their contract. The workers, who are represented by the Service Employees International Union, plan to picket outside of Twitter’s headquarters until their contract ends Dec. 9.
BuzzFeed Union Overwhelmingly Votes in Favor of Strike Authorization
March 31, 2022 // “People are fucking pissed, this was absolutely the most aggressive union-busting tactic our management has taken in the three years since this union pushed them to even recognize them,” BuzzFeed News Union chair Addy Baird told The Daily Beast.
Union employees at Twin Cities airports vote to strike
December 13, 2021 // Airport workers represented by Teamsters Local 320 voted to strike by 95% Sunday.