Posts tagged union contract
Chicago teachers reach contract deal for the first time in more than a decade without a strike
April 15, 2025 // For the first time in over a decade, Chicago’s public school teachers have a new contract without a strike or threat of a walkout. The four-year agreement includes pay hikes, hiring more teachers and class size limits.
‘Trump and Musk are setting the example’: how companies are becoming emboldened to be more anti-union
April 10, 2025 // That tougher behavior under former president Ronald Reagan sped the decline of private sector unions. Today, just 6% of private sector workers are in unions, while 32% of public sector workers are. Anti-union ideologues are increasingly targeting public sector unions, which often support Democrats. “Because almost half of the labor movement is now in the public sector, the assault that we’re seeing now is really focused on the public sector,” McCartin said. “That really threatens to break the spine of the labor movement.”
A Connecticut school district is giving bonuses to teachers who show up for work
March 10, 2025 // The program has won such favor among teachers that in the first two quarters of the year, the district has already spent the $126,000 budgeted for the program. The incentive program started in July, the district's director of human resources said. Director of Human Resources for the district Kimberly Schulte said the Board of Education started the union-approved attendance incentive in response to teacher absenteeism. She said that because of open positions, the district's $38 million salary budget can cover the rest of incentive program this year.
Union contracts should not protect drunken teachers
March 6, 2025 // The Bay City union contract spelled out the process: A teacher’s first offense resulted in a written reprimand and the teacher was required to go through counseling. The second offense resulted in a three-day suspension without pay and mandatory counseling. Third offense: a five-day suspension without pay and mandatory counseling. Fourth offense: a 10-day suspension without pay and mandatory counseling. Only upon the fifth offense could the district fire the teacher. It gets worse. A teacher using illegal drugs at school got three strikes before she could be fired. Even teachers caught selling drugs could not be fired until their second offense.
Scoop: Hawley leads bipartisan pro-labor push
March 4, 2025 // "Greedy corporations will stop at nothing to keep workers from getting a fair first contract," Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien said in a statement to Axios. "Teamsters are proud to support the Faster Labor Contracts Act—real labor law reform that forces employers to bargain in good faith and holds them accountable when they don't," O'Brien continued.
Republican Senator Surprises Employers By Releasing Framework for Pro-Labor Bill: 7 Key Sections to Track
January 15, 2025 // Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) “Pro-Worker Framework,” revealed on January 10, calls for pro-labor changes historically advocated for by Democrats and mirrors many aspects of the proposed PRO Act that has been long championed by labor leaders. Is this the beginning of a true labor revolution that will upend the traditional status quo, a plan destined to go nowhere, or something in between?
Opinion: How Biden betrayed union workers by giving them what they wanted
January 7, 2025 // This would hurt the blue-collar American workers whom Biden prioritizes, many of whom wanted the deal to go through. But what’s good for rank-and-file members and what ego-sensitive union leaders want are not always aligned. United Steelworkers leaders were apparently peeved that Nippon had not sought the union’s blessing before making a takeover bid, as other prospective buyers had. (Those other suitors, however, had not offered nearly as generous terms and, in at least one case, blocked U.S. Steel from conducting due diligence on the offer.)
Lambeau Field workers win first union contract
November 7, 2024 // The beer vendors are employed by Delaware North, the food and beverage provider for the stadium. The Milwaukee Area Service & Hospitality Workers Union, or MASH, represents more than 90 people who serve beer and other beverages at Lambeau. The union said 88 percent of the vendors voted to approve a tentative three-year collective bargaining agreement that was negotiated with Delaware North.
Unions Defy Their Leadership With More ‘No’ Votes on Contracts
October 16, 2024 // Fed up with inflation and seizing a moment of labor power, workers at Boeing, AT&T and Southwest reject deals negotiated by union bosses
Interview: Independent Contractors and Union Reforms, How @VinnieVernuccio Champions Worker Choice
September 12, 2024 // Unions are stuck in this turn of the last century industrial revolution, a one-size-fits-all adversarial business model that most workers today don't want. I do see a place for unions if they embrace a voluntary business model and become like professional service organizations. Unfortunately, they're not there. If you're under a union contract, you're stuck with the wages, the benefits, the vacations, [and] the hours they negotiate for you. It's actually impossible for the employer to unilaterally say, “you're doing a great job, I'm going to give you a raise,” or “I'm going to give you a bonus,” or, “hey, you want more vacation for a little less money?”