Posts tagged staffing
Nearly 1,200 Boston hotel workers walk off the job in strike’s biggest wave
September 23, 2024 // The first wave of strikes began in Boston and eight other cities during the Labor Day weekend. To date, about 2,500 hotel workers from 12 Boston properties have walked off the job in three waves of three-day strikes. Workers from the first and second strike waves are employees of the Hilton Park Plaza, Hilton Boston Logan Airport, Hampton Inn & Homewood Suites at the Hilton Seaport, Fairmont Copley Plaza, The Dagny Boston, Moxy Boston Downtown, The Newbury Boston and the W Boston.
Employment Law Landscape Could Change After Election
September 16, 2024 // During the Trump administration the NLRB majority narrowed the scope of the National Labor Relations Act in several key respects and established a more neutral approach to union organizing. The Biden/Harris administration, which styled itself as the “most union-friendly in history,” reversed virtually all of the Trump-era policies, significantly expanded the scope of the law, and tilted the organizing landscape in favor of organized labor, Hayes said.
Marion County Public Defenders want pay bump in first contract after unionizing
September 6, 2024 // The office is understaffed, and low pay is one reason why. Employees say the shortage has led to unmanageable caseloads for public defenders and delays in the justice system for the individuals they're representing. The big picture: The public defenders voted to unionize last year, adding the office's approximately 230 non-management employees to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 481.
Strikes start at top hotel chains; housekeepers seek higher wages, daily room cleaning
September 2, 2024 // The union hopes to build on its recent success in southern California, where after repeated strikes it won significant wage hikes, increased employer contributions to pensions, and fair workload guarantees in a new contract with 34 hotels. Under the contract, housekeepers at most hotels will earn $35 an hour by July 2027. The American Hotel And Lodging Association says 80% of its member hotels report staffing shortages, and 50% cite housekeeping as their most critical hiring need. Kevin Carey, the association's interim president and CEO, says hotels are doing all they can to attract workers. According to the association's surveys, 86% of hoteliers have increased wages over the past six months, and many have offered more flexibility with hours or expanded benefits. The association says wages for hotel workers have risen 26% since the pandemic.
Hotel Workers’ Union UNITE HERE Releases Travelers’ Guide to Possible Strikes as Busy Labor Day Travel Weekend Approaches
August 25, 2024 // Hotel workers’ union UNITE HERE today published a guide of travel tips to help hotel guests plan for possible strikes across the United States. Thousands of hotel workers in nine cities have now authorized strikes at Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Omni hotels, but hotels rarely notify guests of a strike, and travelers sometimes learn of a strike only upon arriving at their hotel and being met by a boisterous picket line. The union launched the travel guide ahead of Labor Day weekend, when millions of Americans are planning travel.
University of Illinois nurses authorize strike at UI Health on Chicago’s Near West Side
August 8, 2024 // More than 1,300 University of Illinois nurses cast ballots last week, with nearly 98% voting to authorize a strike, amid a stalemate with management at the bargaining table. The nurses' union, the Illinois Nurses Association, said they've seen a large rise in assaults on staff in the last four years. They are demanding safer working conditions, increased staffing, and higher pay. The union said they have offered a number of proposals in an effort to reach an agreement on a new contract, but management has responded to only a handful, and most of them have been rejected.
Crooked Media Union Stages Walkout After More Than A Year Of Contract Negotiations
August 6, 2024 // The WGAE accuses Crooked Media of excluding several staff members from the bargaining unit “in an effort to undermine the union and deprive those workers of their collective bargaining rights.” Founded in 2017 by former President Barack Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett and Tommy Vietor, Crooked Media produces podcasts including Pod Save America, What a Day, Hall of Shame and Lovett It or Leave It.
Tensions rise as Oregon nurses continue Providence picket
June 24, 2024 // When nurses expressed concerns that they would be turned away from work when they showed up to their shifts on Friday morning, Providence clarified it would notify nurses whether they had been selected to fulfill their shifts via phone calls on Thursday evening. ONA claims doing so is a violation of HB 2697, which “sets minimum safe staffing levels for nurses and allied healthcare workers.” “Providence submitted staffing plans to OHA for approval that were never agreed upon by nurses and were unilaterally adopted by management without the required approval from the nurse staffing committee,” the nurses union said in a public statement. “According to OHA, this action violates Oregon’s staffing law, as ONA-represented nurses have been claiming.
IATSE to Resume Contract Talks With Studios on June 24
June 11, 2024 // IATSE, along with Teamsters and the Basic Crafts, are also seeking new funding models for the Motion Picture Industry Health and Pension Plan, which serves all of their members. As the plan is funded by studio and union contributions that are based on the number of active film/TV productions per year, the MPI is facing an estimated $670 million shortfall over the next three years due to contributions lost during last year’s strikes. Along with wages, Teamsters 399 is expected to push for minimum staffing requirements for drivers on Hollywood productions, as well as protections against automated vehicles being used.
CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION CONTRACT COULD COST AT LEAST $10.2B TO $13.9B
June 6, 2024 // CTU wants massive pay raises, stipends and additional personnel – all of which are within the traditional scope of bargaining. It also wants the city to create new housing, levy new taxes, construct new parking garages, undertake new environmental initiatives, divest pension funds from fossil fuels, fully fund infertility and abortion care for members, subsidize weight-loss surgery and drugs such as Ozempic, add new members to the bargaining unit, offer free CTA passes for all students and employees, among many other things. The new contract also mandates certain positions to be staffed at every school, regardless of enrollment. The new positions include: librarian, librarian assistant, social worker, newcomer liaison, case manager, restorative justice coordinator, reading specialist and interventionist (elementary schools), three elective teachers (middle schools), technology coordinator, “Climate Champion,” and gender support coordinator and/or LGBTW+ lead/specialist and option to expand LGBTQ+ faculty support teams at each school. Because of the minimum staffing requirements laid out in the contract, this would constitute a minimum of 4,650 new hires. Based on the current average compensation for each type of employee, hiring the additional personnel would cost an estimated $1.7 billion.