Posts tagged Union
Another union push from legislative staffers
September 22, 2023 // Last July, Senate President Karen Spilka refused to recognize a union push by staffers to affiliate with IBEW Local 2222. State law allows employees in the executive or judicial branch to unionize, but not those who work in the Legislature. Legislation filed by Sen. John Keenan and Rep. Patrick Kearney would change the law and allow legislative staff to unionize.
Writers, UAW, UPS strikes: Impact on economy
September 22, 2023 // U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Neil Bradley broke down what he referred to as "the summer of strikes." Bradley said, "You have these unrealistic, almost excessive demands on the part of union leadership across a whole host of industry that could ultimately be destabilizing for the entire economy."
Piscataway L’Oreal Employees Demand Vote to Remove RWDSU Union Officials from Facility
September 21, 2023 // Mark Mix. “RWDSU is still trying to impose itself on workers at the large Amazon facility in Bessemer, Alabama, despite those workers voting not once, but twice to reject the union’s presence.” “Unfortunately, the Biden NLRB is trying to make it easier for union officials who seek to undermine worker votes to cling onto power, but Foundation attorneys will continue to defend Ms. Hoyos Lopez and any other employee who seeks to exercise their individual right to vote out unwanted union officials,”
Union workers call for fair contract at Sherman Avenue construction site
September 21, 2023 // Local union members called attention to a construction project on Sherman Avenue Monday with a symbol that’s hard to miss — a 12-foot tall inflatable rat. According to members of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, the rat makes an appearance whenever union workers protest a project that doesn’t meet area standards. Strapped to the roof of a car, the giant rat drew stares and honks of support from passing cars as union members protested with signs.
Why it seems like everyone’s going on strike on Biden’s watch
September 19, 2023 // Biden was able to intervene directly in talks between railroads and rail workers since federal law gives the government a big say in that industry’s labor relations due to its economic importance. And his top Labor Department official was involved in a deal this year between West Coast ports and dockworkers. Here’s how the administration publicly stepped in — or didn’t — in some of organized labor’s most high-profile moments.
Auto workers strike would test Biden’s assertion he’s the ‘most pro-union president in US history
September 13, 2023 // Union support was instrumental in helping Biden overcome a slow start to clinch the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, and it helped him win not just Michigan but Wisconsin and Pennsylvania as he defeated Trump in that year's general election. Underscoring his commitment to organized labor, Biden's lone campaign rally since launching his reelection bid in April came in June in Philadelphia, when more than a dozen of the country's largest and most powerful unions endorsed Biden for a second term. So many unions banding together for an unprecedented joint endorsement so early in the election cycle was meant as a show of strength for the president. Conspicuously absent from the event, though, was the UAW. Fain has since said that if Biden wants the UAW's 2024 endorsement, he'll have to earn it.
HHS Appears To Forget To Redact Email Calling For Expanded COVID-19 Mandates For Students
September 13, 2023 // “It’s concerning … [if] the CDC was even seriously considering imposing COVID vaccine mandates on students nationwide,” Nelsen said. “But if they weren’t seriously considering it, then they shouldn’t have redacted or attempted to redact disclosure of the contents of that email.” A CDC spokesperson told the DCNF that Lubar “obviously was not referring to vaccines for children” but was instead referencing the testing requirement. “At the time, the vaccine was not authorized or recommended for kids under 12 years of age,” the spokesperson said. “That recommendation did not come until November 2021. She was commenting on the testing of school children to keep classrooms open and safe. Her comment came on the heels of CDC funding totaling $10 billion to make testing widely available to school districts and was concerned that not enough attention was being focused on testing of students.”
Former president of Wilmington construction company pleads guilty to payroll scheme
September 12, 2023 // Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy’s office said Frank Loconte, 62, of Beverly, defrauded union workers of more than $1 million of overtime work and the IRS of more than $3 million by not making the required payroll tax and union dues withholdings and payments. Documents filed in federal court state Loconte used the funds for personal expenses, including vehicles, household improvements, golf club memberships, and personal property taxes for houses in Beverly, Ipswich and Andover, as well as Naples, Florida. Loconte, who served as the president of NER from 2009 to 2022, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to mail fraud and failing to pay taxes, which are charges that carry a combined sentence of up to 25 years in prison.
The Starbucks Union In Ohio Is Organizing A ‘Sip-In’ To Rally Support
September 11, 2023 // Starbucks Workers United (SWU), which posted a flyer for the event on Twitter, called it an opportunity to "show up for unionizing workers." The event, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on September 10, invites customers to "occupy the cafe," but not necessarily with the picket signs and protest chants that have characterized other Starbucks union events. Instead, the store is asking customers to show their support by ordering their coffee drinks "union strong" or "union, yes," donning pro-union shirts and buttons, and talking to baristas about their union election. If SWU's recent cross-country bus tour is any indication, enlisting the help of customers is a useful tactic in bolstering union support.
Biden’s Union Problems Are a Gift to Trump
September 8, 2023 // Former President Donald Trump, who won Michigan by just under 11,000 votes in one of the biggest political upsets of the 2016 election, weighed in on the possibility of a strike over the Labor Day weekend, referring to Fain as a "respected" union head and vowing to stop the "madness" of electric vehicles. A labor action from UAW is likely to open up an opportunity for Trump to seize one of Michigan's most critical counties. Recent polls show that Biden is in a statistical dead heat against Trump. The Democrat is leading by just one percentage point, according to RealClearPolitics' polling averages. "Fain is in no hurry to endorse President Biden when a significant number of UAW members supported former President Trump in previous elections," Arthur Wheaton, the director of Labor Studies at Cornell University, told Newsweek. "Why risk fractures in union solidarity during a crucial bargaining period. No upside to endorsing now and plenty of potential downside in an extremely difficult bargaining time at the Detroit Three." Political consultant Jay Towsend said that while a UAW strike would be unlikely to damage Biden's image as a union supporter, the economic impact and turmoil that a labor action could cause would give his re-election campaign "a headache it does not need, especially in rust-belt states he must win."