Posts tagged strike funds
Fetterman introduces bill to allow striking workers to collect SNAP benefits
July 28, 2023 // The Food Secure Strikers Act comes amid a summer wave of union organizing activity — from locomotive plant workers in Erie to Hollywood writers and actors. A strike by newsroom workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Fetterman’s hometown newspaper, has been going on for nearly a year. “Every union worker who is walking the picket line this summer needs to know that we have their back here in Washington,” Fetterman said in a statement. “The union way of life is sacred. It’s what built Pennsylvania and this nation. It is critical for us to protect workers’ right to organize, and that includes making sure they and their families have the resources to support themselves while on strike.”
UPS Teamsters strike threat lingers, here’s how a strike could impact non-union workers
July 14, 2023 // Non-union workers are likely to see additional workload expectations in the event of a strike. Management, supervisors and other clerical staff that may not be covered by the Teamsters contract "could be told to keep the packages moving" while the union members walk the picket lines, Morris said. Clark said UPS could try and lean on the non-union workers to keep the company afloat during a strike.
Teamsters Union Allocates $2M to Aid Members During Writers Strike
June 29, 2023 // https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/teamsters-financial-aid-writers-strike-2m-1235524076/#:~:text=Many%20members%20of,activities%20at%20studios.
Prominent auto analyst on UAW contract talks: ‘I think we’re going to see a strike’
June 22, 2023 // Auto analysts at Bank of America feel confident in the likelihood of a United Auto Workers strike of at least one of the Detroit automakers later this year — and they expect the union to secure wage and benefit improvements that result in 25% to 30% higher labor costs for the companies over the four years of the contract. That's according to comments made Wednesday by John Murphy, managing director and lead U.S. auto analyst in equity research at Bank of America, during the financial institution's annual "Car Wars" presentation. The event was hosted by the Automotive Press Association. John Murphy, managing director and lead U.S. auto analyst in equity research at Bank of America, expects UAW members to be on the picket lines this September against at least one of the Detroit Three automakers. “I think we’re going to see a strike on Sept. 15," said Murphy. The UAW's current contracts with Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV expire Sept. 14. Talks on a new agreement are slated to start this summer. Murphy said he's highly confident in at least one strike happening, and that the chances of a subsequent strike at one of the other automakers is "much higher than normal."
Sodexo management allegedly orchestrated a ‘no-union’ rally at Rollins College, after workers filed to unionize
May 2, 2023 // Stewart added, quite passionately, that union reps have been harassing employees, following them to their cars, following them after they get off work. “If they don’t stop, I’m going to call the police,” she said. In fact, Sodexo management already has called the police, albeit on student organizers from the University of Central Florida who were issued trespass warnings by Winter Park police for passing out pro-union flyers on the private campus. Union staff have also been kicked off campus by campus security multiple times, according to union staff who Orlando Weekly previously spoke with. Granted, it’s common for union staff and pro-union workers to find time outside of work hours to approach fellow coworkers about unionization during union drives — and that may not always be welcome.
Two former high-profile SEIU staffers allege they were fired in retaliation for role in strike
February 7, 2023 // The terminated employees played high-profile roles in the strike — on the picket line, at the negotiating table, and on social media. They both say they were fired in retaliation for those roles. “Our terminations sent a message: don’t do too much, or there will be consequences,” said Jazmine Reyes, an SEIU communications specialist who lost her job along with Alex Sanchez, an SEIU organizing representative.
One of the biggest strikes in US history is brewing at UPS
September 9, 2022 // Contract negotiations are set to begin in the spring between UPS and the Teamsters Union ahead of their current contract's expiration at the end of July, 2023. Already, before the talks have even started, labor experts are predicting that the drivers and package handlers will go on strike. "The question is how long it will be," said Todd Vachon, professor of Labor Relations at Rutgers. "The union's president ran and won on taking a more militant approach. Even if they're very close [to a deal], the rank and file will be hungry to take on the company." If that happens, a strike at UPS would affect nearly every household in the country. An estimated 6% of the nation's gross domestic product is moved in UPS trucks every year.
Damning Report Shows Unions Have Plenty of Money to Organize—They Just Don’t Spend It
August 11, 2022 // The $29.1 billion in net assets for unions, by the way, does not include the value of union pensions — which hold trillions of dollars in assets themselves. (Those pension assets could and should be strategically invested with the goal of strengthening the labor movement, but that is a topic for another day.) Those tens of billions, though, could accomplish a lot. Bohner, in his report, has a few suggestions: Hiring 20,000 new union organizers ($1.4 billion per year), supercharging spending on strike benefits ($1 billion per year), and funding “a new $3 billion entity (or entities) that could engage in riskier civil disobedience activities, like illegal strikes, secondary boycott activities, or defying restrictive court injunctions on picketing and protest.” One can quibble over the specific numbers, but these are all, frankly, very good ideas. We must enable vastly more union organizing; we must enable more strikes; and we must be able to take militant labor actions that fall outside the law, so long as the law is designed to handcuff labor. These things are not pipe dreams — they are all, as this report details, financially possible. So what is lacking? Leaders to make them happen. ” Chris Bohner, Radish Research,
Workers United says it will waive bargaining rights over some Starbucks benefits
August 4, 2022 // In addition to the benefits Starbucks announced in early May, the company said later that month it would also cover travel expenses for workers seeking gender affirming healthcare or abortions. sip-ins, Workers United International President Lynne Fox, 15-day long strike in Boston,
UAW delegates, in departure from past, make nominations for top offices
July 28, 2022 // For the first time, delegates from union locals around the country walked to microphones and nominated candidates for the union’s top offices, including president, secretary-treasurer and vice president. They didn’t actually pick the leaders. That will happen later this year when members get to cast ballots, a result of the changes brought about by the consent decree with the government resulting from the corruption scandal. Margaret Mock, LaShawn English, Brian Keller, Jim Coakley, John Guinan, Frank Stuglin,