Posts tagged union contract
More homeless shelter layoffs
August 11, 2026 // On Aug. 15 and 31, 11 workers will have their last day. Do Good Multnomah case manager Davis Nafshun, a member of the union bargaining team, says it’s the fourth round of layoffs in the last year. During that time, the non-profit’s workforce has shrunk from about 250 to about 195, even as the number of homeless in Portland has risen. Workers at Do Good Multnomah make at least $26.30 an hour, but have received no raises since they unionized in September 2024 and began bargaining March 2025. They’re proposing raises of 5% to 10% and a pay scale that rewards years of service. On the other side of the bargaining table, Davis says management’s wage proposal would cut pay $1,500 a year for more than 90% of staff.
Newsom administration, SEIU Local 1000 failed to reach new contract, union says
July 1, 2026 // SEIU Local 1000, which covers nine bargaining units and represents nearly 100,000 workers, is the only union negotiating a new contract with the state this year. In the absence of a deal between SEIU Local 1000 and the state, the union’s existing contract conditions remain in effect.
Detroit teachers’ union touts benefit, pay gains in ratified contract
June 29, 2026 // Multiple contracts now have raised teachers' pay, which in 2017 maxed out at $65,000 a year, she said. Now, the highest annual salary in the unit will be $100,100, a record, Wilson-Lumpkins said. The base salary for a new teacher with a bachelor's degree is also increasing from $55,000 to $57,400.
Exclusive: Group warns labor bill allows govt takeover of union contract negotiations
June 14, 2026 // Institute for the American Worker President Vinnie Vernuccio called the House-passed bill an example of “gross government overreach.” “There are better ways out there, things that increase collaboration, increase penalties even, to get people to negotiate,” Vernuccio told The Center Square. “Those are far preferable than government forced arbitration.”
The Faster Labor Contracts Act Is a Backdoor for Union Leadership’s Political Agenda
May 28, 2026 // Here's what the FLCA's backers won't say out loud: mandatory arbitration doesn't just remove workers from the ratification process, it removes union leadership from the obligation to bargain in good faith. Why negotiate seriously when running out the clock gets you a government arbitrator who is far more likely to deliver the political contract provisions your members would have voted down? The FLCA doesn't just create a shortcut. It creates an incentive to stall.
Nashville council members, baristas press Starbucks on union contract
May 22, 2026 // "Starbucks is actively engaging with the union in good faith and put forward comprehensive proposals that build on Starbucks’ already competitive pay and industry-leading benefits, which includes baristas earning more than $30 an hour on average in pay and benefits, a new performance incentive of up to $1,200 per year and expanded tipping opportunities," Anderson said. The company has said it intends to bring 2,000 jobs to its Nashville office, set to take up an entire six-story building at Peabody Union just south of Ascend Amphitheater in downtown Nashville, in the next five years. Outside the courthouse, the group spoke of a growing union movement among local employees and urged the company to make good on its hiring promise. Just last week, workers at a Starbucks location in North Nashville voted to unionize.
AFP Mobilizes Grassroots in Key Districts to Oppose the Faster Labor Contracts Act
May 18, 2026 // “This bill puts a 100-day stopwatch on one of the most consequential decisions a workplace ever makes — and then hands the final call to a stranger who has never set foot inside the building. That isn’t fairness, and it isn’t faster bargaining. It’s rushed bargaining, with an outside arbitrator deciding pay, schedules, and working conditions for people whose jobs and businesses they don’t know,” said Austen Bannan, labor policy fellow at Americans for Prosperity. “Workers deserve a contract they can actually live with — not one written under an artificial clock that benefits union leadership the moment the ink dries, because that’s when dues start flowing. AFP activists are showing up in Nebraska and Pennsylvania this week to tell Reps. Bacon, Bresnahan, and Fitzpatrick what real workers in their districts are saying: oppose this bill, and don’t sign the discharge petition,” Bannan continued.
DAVIS: An Example Of A Big Government Overreach We Seriously Do Not Need
May 1, 2026 // A Mercatus Center analysis of 147 studies over three decades found that when union contracts are driven by outside pressure rather than mutual agreement, the result is slower job growth, reduced business investment, and a higher likelihood of layoffs down the road. Big wins at the bargaining table, secured by outsized union leverage rather than cooperation, have a way of costing workers more than they gained. The FLCA also isn’t a new proposal. It is a single provision pulled from the PRO Act, the Democrats’ broad rewriting of labor law. That legislation has failed to make it into law for good reason—it would hurt the very workers it claims to protect.
DUNKIRK NY: Mayor responds to contract clamor
April 26, 2026 // Dunkirk Mayor Kate Wdowiasz defended herself against city unions, stating that they are unwilling to negotiate and that city taxpayers can no longer afford their contracts. Wdowiasz said she wanted to “set the record straight” during the phone interview Thursday with the OBSERVER. Union leaders and workers turned out in force on Tuesday during the Common Council meeting. Jake Stern, representing Local 616 and its 24 uniformed firefighters, said during the meeting the union had unanimously voted no confidence in Wdowiasz and city attorney Elliot Raimondo.
Department of Defense ends union agreements at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
April 20, 2026 // The U.S. Department of Defense is terminating collective bargaining agreements for two unions representing workers at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. It's a move union leaders said could have significant impacts on employees. Workers with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and the American Federation of Government Employees said they were notified Friday of an executive order issued by President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Union presidents said these agreements have long played a critical role in ensuring safe working conditions, fair wages, benefits, and time off for their members. With those protections now ending, many workers are raising concerns about what comes next.