Posts tagged Strikes
Teachers are fleeing partisan unions that some say undermine public education
January 11, 2023 // Teachers are fleeing unions in droves, citing the political partisanship of the organizations that charge $750 to $900 a year in membership fees. The National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers lost a combined total of 59,000 union members during the 2021-22 school year. And they lost 82,000 members the year before.
Worker strikes and union elections surged in 2022 – could it mark a turning point for organized labor?
January 10, 2023 // The increase in strike activity is also important. And while the major strikes that involve 1,000 or more employees and are tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics arouse the greatest attention, they represent only the tip of the iceberg. The bureau recorded 20 major strikes in 2022, which is about 25% more than the average of 16 a year over the past two decades.
Year in Review: Worker strikes surged in 2022 amid new unionization wave
December 27, 2022 // There were 374 worker strikes in 2022, according to researchers at Cornell University, a hefty 39% increase from the year before. There were several factors at play in the growth, a major one being that workers had far more leverage this past year due to mass labor shortages. Healthcare workers made up a big contingent of the organized labor movement in 2022. In September, 15,000 nurses in Minnesota staged a three-day walkout in what was likely the largest private-sector nurse strike in the country’s history. There were several other strikes by healthcare workers over the past year as well.
Teachers are fleeing partisan unions that some say undermine public education
December 20, 2022 // Teachers are fleeing unions in droves, citing the political partisanship of the organizations that charge $750 to $900 a year in membership fees. The National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers lost a combined total of 59,000 union members during the 2021-22 school year. And they lost 82,000 members the year before.
If the Teamsters union strikes, will UPS close its doors?
December 19, 2022 // Things are different this time around. UPS has informed its managers not to schedule any paid time off during July and August in case parcels are required to be moved, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. UPS did not respond to a request for comment. The move sends a clear signal that UPS, under CEO Carol B. Tomé, plans to continue operating even if the union goes on strike.
How inflation is fueling a nationwide labor movement
September 16, 2022 // “Widespread underlying inflation is still not under control, and Americans are paying far too much for everyday goods and services,” Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) said Tuesday. “While the White House celebrates the mislabeled ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ today, economic data show that food costs rose 11.4 percent over the past year, the largest 12-month increase since May 1979.” The Labor Department announced Wednesday that wholesale inflation was up 8.7 percent, a decrease from 9.8 percent in July, but still high. Since most economists attribute the current inflation more to supply than demand factors affecting the economy, this number also suggests that the inflationary pressures affecting the labor market are set to continue.
COMMENTARY America’s seeing a historic surge in worker organizing. Here’s how to sustain it
September 7, 2022 // Likewise, strikes by public-sector workers in the 1960s produced state-level statutes endorsing collective bargaining. Similar policy changes will be needed to sustain contemporary worker efforts, both by fixing the basics of existing labor law to ensure that workers who want collective bargaining are successful in achieving contracts, and by opening up labor law to new forms of worker voice in workplace affairs and corporate governance. But legal changes won’t lead the process. As in the past, policymakers will respond to pressure for change coming from the workforce, a broad base of public interest groups, and ultimately some in the business community.
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,
PRO ACT WOULD CAUSE MORE SUPPLY CHAIN, WORKFORCE CHAOS
July 6, 2022 // The problem with the President’s position on the PRO Act is that it cuts completely against his mission to ensure supply chain resilience. Specifically, the PRO Act would allow for secondary activity including picketing, strikes, and boycotts directed at neutral third parties that are not involved in a labor dispute. For example, the Teamsters could picket and block shipments to a retail warehouse because they want to organize a trucking company. Allowing secondary activity aimed at a neutral retailer would cause significant economic impact throughout the supply chain where multiple businesses including retailers, suppliers and distributors work together to get goods to consumers. ILWU, PMA
The history of right to work, 75 years later
June 27, 2022 // “Right to Work is on the move,” Mix said despite Big Labor’s efforts. Five states passed Right to Work laws over the past decade and the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in a NRWLDF-won case in 2018, he notes. In Janus v. AFSCME, the U.S. Supreme Court held that forcing any public sector worker to pay union dues as a condition of employment violated their First Amendment rights. Mix and others are urging Congress to instead to pass the National Right to Work Act, which would eliminate forced union dues powers from federal law and provide Right to Work protections for employees nationwide.