Posts tagged Sick Leave
Fair pay for Uber drivers belongs on ballot, Massachusetts court suggests
May 7, 2024 // A group supported by Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart is promoting ballot initiatives that would establish that the companies’ drivers are contractors who are exempt from the state’s employment laws — which means that they aren’t entitled to minimum wages, overtime, paid sick leave, unemployment insurance or health benefits. Meanwhile, an initiative promoted by drivers would allow them to form a union and engage in collective bargaining. Both sides claim the other is trying to confuse voters and “logrolling” by combining unrelated provisions into one petition. The state attorney general’s office approved all the initiatives and found itself in the odd position of defending both sides in court.
Andover teachers sign new contract, ending strike after 5 days of negotiations
November 16, 2023 // While the School Committee expressed its excitement about the end of the strike, it also noted that with the increased teacher salaries provided under the new contract terms that were agreed upon, it must consider cuts to programs, services and school department staff beginning with the next academic year. "We heard clearly from the teachers and many in the community that teacher and instructional assistant pay was the priority in this agreement and we responded accordingly," Spruce said in her statement. "At the same time, the final agreement is inconsistent with the principles of the town’s long-range financial plan so, to live within our means, we will need to make meaningful program, service, and staff reductions." The School Committee stated that Andover's long-range financial plan includes 3.75% annual increases to the school department's budget allocation and that without budget reductions, the tentative agreement with the Andover Education Association will push the town past that figure.
Student workers at Cal Poly Humboldt, other Cal State schools, get the OK to hold a union vote
October 4, 2023 // California State University student workers are one step closer to unionizing after announcing Tuesday that the California Public Employment Relations Board has deemed there is enough student support to trigger a union vote. After vetting thousands of union cards submitted by student assistants, the board notified the CSU Employees Union on Sept. 27 they met the threshold following a wave of organizingthis past year. Over 19,300 student assistants will soon vote on forming one of the largest student worker unions in U.S. history. Their ranks would more than double the size of the employees union, which already represents 16,000 support staff across the 23 campuses.
Why it seems like everyone’s going on strike on Biden’s watch
September 19, 2023 // Biden was able to intervene directly in talks between railroads and rail workers since federal law gives the government a big say in that industry’s labor relations due to its economic importance. And his top Labor Department official was involved in a deal this year between West Coast ports and dockworkers. Here’s how the administration publicly stepped in — or didn’t — in some of organized labor’s most high-profile moments.
Op-ed: Workers Rights Won by Unions, From the 8-Hour Workday to Overtime Pay
September 11, 2023 // The overall proportion of unionized workers in the United States remains relatively low, with only one in every 10 workers in the country belonging to a union. But whether you're a union worker or not, you may benefit from policies for which unions have fought long and hard — and they continue to fight. Labor organizing has helped secure everyday benefits that many of us now take for granted. And these efforts have shown people what kind of protections they can hope to secure in the workplace.
Will Starbucks’ union-busting stifle a union rebirth in the US?
August 28, 2023 // Many baristas say one Starbucks strategy in particular has discouraged workers from unionizing. In May 2022, Schultz announced that Starbucks would give certain raises and benefits to workers at its more than 9,000 non-union stores, but not offer those raises and benefits to its unionized workers. Starbucks insists it would be illegal to impose any raises or benefits on its unionized stores without first negotiating about them, but the NLRB’s general counsel asserts that this policy constitutes unlawful discrimination against Starbucks’ unionized workers. Under this policy, Starbucks has given its non-union workers, but not its unionized ones, a more relaxed dress code, increased training, faster sick leave accrual and, most important, credit card tipping. (Workers at the first few Starbucks stores to unionize had asked early on for credit card tipping.)
American Airlines boosts offer to pilots union as air industry travel woes mount
July 25, 2023 // The negotiations between pilots and airlines come amid a travel season that has seen numerous weather-related disruptions that have been exacerbated in part by a shortage of pilots and air traffic controllers, as well as overscheduling by airlines looking to satisfy the rising demand for flights. Earlier this year, the Federal Aviation Administration and airlines moved to reduce their flight schedules in the Northeast by about 10% to give airlines more flexibility when flights are delayed and canceled due to inclement weather. In early July, thunderstorms along the East Coast and in the Midwest disrupted tens of thousands of flights. This summer’s Fourth of July holiday period broke travel records for the number of passengers moving through TSA checkpoints at airports.
Workers at Georgia school bus manufacturer Blue Bird begin voting to form a union
July 10, 2023 // Organized labor represents an even smaller portion of Georgia workers, with only 4.4% of workers unionized. That’s the eighth-lowest union rate in the country, which is part of a belt of southern and western states where workers and employers have long resisted unionization. Union organizers at Blue Bird have filed formal complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that the company’s anti-union campaign exceeded legal limits and unduly threatened and harassed employees.
Opinion: Connecticut Business Sickened by Bad LABOR BILLS
June 6, 2023 // Two pernicious bills, S.B. 6668 and S.B. 1178, mandate expanded paid sick time for employees of small businesses. If passed, the General Assembly would effectively be functioning as a labor union, completely ignoring their obligation to taxpayers. The language in both bills is almost identical, with S.B. 1178 expanding the way employees can utilize paid sick leave beyond their immediate family. The bill requires employers to allow for paid time off for employees to care for someone the employees themselves determine “whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of any such family relationship.”
UCSB dining hall employees campaign to unionize amid poor conditions, low pay, harassment
May 23, 2023 // UCSB Residential Dining operates four dining commons — Carrillo, De La Guerra, Ortega and Portola — that serve over two million meals a year and employ a part-time student staff of under 500. The Nexus spoke to five Student Dining Labor Union (SDLU) organizers, including second-year sociology and history of public policy double major and lead organizer Cole McCarthy and second-year financial math and statistics and data science double major Christopher Pang. The other students spoke on condition of anonymity. The push for unionization quietly began in April 2022 with the meeting of a small cohort of Ortega Dining Commons workers. McCarthy said the effort “developed rapid support” and expanded to the other three dining halls.