Posts tagged unions
New Poll Shows Strong Support for Michigan’s ‘Right-to-Work’ Law as 10th Anniversary Approaches
December 6, 2022 // An overwhelming majority of Michigan residents approve of the state’s right-to-work law in a new poll commissioned by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Next week will mark the 10-year anniversary of the law’s passage. Right-to-work has strong support across Republicans, Democrats, Independents, men, and women. The support held for every age group and in every region of Michigan. Union household supported the law by a nearly 2-to-1 margin (55% to 28%).
SEIU intervenes in Wisconsin nurse unionization dispute
December 6, 2022 // Though SEIU cannot officially represent them, the union negotiated on behalf of UW Health nurses during the strike threat. The union gained concessions from UW Health and state lawmakers, ending the strike before it happened and paving the way for future unionization. The contradictions and various legal opinions surrounding this case suggest that WERC’s ruling will be appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. A UW Health spokesperson said that the hospital will seek additional legal opinion on the issue, “We believe that an expedited decision on these important legal issues will best allow us to move forward, which is why we are petitioning the Wisconsin Supreme Court for an opinion on these questions.” WERC’s ruling is a temporary legal setback, but all signs point to further legal challenges to state laws on collective bargaining.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram strike marks a major moment for Texas newsroom unions
December 6, 2022 // When 21 reporters from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram announced their intention to walk out Monday, it made headlines. But as the first open-ended newsroom strike in Texas history, it was also a big step for the state’s fledgling newsroom unionizing efforts. In addition to the Star-Telegram newsroom, reporters at the Dallas Morning News and Al Dia; and the Austin American-Statesman unionized as news guilds in the past two years. The Star-Telegram is owned by McClatchy, the Statesman by Gannett, and the Dallas Morning News and Al Dia are owned by DallasNews Corp. All three unions are in the process of negotiating contracts and all of them have cited pay issues as a major driver.
O’BRIEN, WARNOCK, AND OSSOFF TO MEET WITH TEAMSTER UPS WORKERS AT ATLANTA FACILITY
December 6, 2022 // Warnock and Ossoff have supported Teamster initiatives during their first two years in office — by voting to bolster multiemployer pensions and supporting more than $1 trillion in infrastructure investment that will employ hundreds of thousands of workers in good-paying union jobs. The senators are also co-sponsors of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which the Teamsters strongly back. The legislation would modernize federal labor law by removing current roadblocks that make it difficult for workers to unionize and negotiate better wages and benefits.
The ‘pro-union’ president risks the support of a key constituency to avert a rail strike
December 5, 2022 // Biden faces a backlash from a core of rail workers and allied groups, as some of them see his push for a measure to avoid a strike as a betrayal. He signed the measure, which passed with bipartisan support, at the White House on Friday, giving rail workers a significant raise, but denying them the paid sick leave that had been a sticking point in some of the contract talks. Hours later, he arrived at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston and was met by scores of protesters objecting to his handling of a labor dispute that threatened to halt rail service at the peak of the holiday season.
AMENDMENT 1 COULD LET ILLINOIS POLICE UNIONS UNDO SAFE-T ACT MANDATES
December 2, 2022 // In fact, government unions could override more than 350 state laws through their collective bargaining agreements. That includes at least 11 provisions related to DCFS workers and 38 provisions in the School Code aimed at protecting children. With nearly 30 state contracts expiring in 2023 – and more than 6,000 units of government in Illinois that could also negotiate union contracts in the next few years – Illinoisans could soon find out just how much power government unions have been granted. And they could see it thousands of times over.
After right-to-work’s anniversary in Arkansas, Fayetteville Starbucks becomes the state’s first location to unioniz
December 1, 2022 // Arkansas' right-to-work law turned 78-years-old on Nov. 7, and a little over a week after its anniversary, a Fayetteville Starbucks became the first location in the state to unionize. Although right-to-work effects how unions function, other factors like deindustrialization impacted the state's labor movement.
Judge tells Amazon: Stop retaliating against employees
December 1, 2022 // According to the decision, the NLRB's argument was that failing to rehire the terminated employee would result in a weakening of the ALU's ability to organize. There wasn't any evidence presented to indicate that, the judge said, adding that the employee "was terminated approximately one year before the ALU was formed." Per the judge, that means this case is distinguishable from similar ones in which reinstatement would be justified. JFK8 employees voted to join the ALU in April 2022, not long after the ALU petitioned the NLRB for the right to hold a union election. Another vote to organize a second Staten Island warehouse in May of this year failed to pass, which led the NLRB to file another complaint against Amazon in September alleging unfair treatment of union organizers. The NLRB alleges the treatment may have affected the vote, and the case is still ongoing.
ICE employees say agency canceled their union but still collected dues
November 29, 2022 // The ICE Council’s original complaint over the summer alleged that AFGE misused union money on strip clubs, solicitation of prostitutes and legal settlements to hush up allegations of sexual misconduct by AFGE’s leadership.
Biden to Congress: Intervene in labor dispute, avert rail strike that would ‘devastate’ US
November 29, 2022 // With a Dec. 9 strike deadline fast approaching, Biden urged Congress to adopt "without any modifications or delay" an agreement brokered by the White House in September between labor unions and rail operators. Four of the 12 unions have voted to reject the five-year agreement, which was intended to avoid a shutdown of the nation's freight rail system. "A rail shutdown would devastate our economy," Biden said in a statement. "Without freight rail, many U.S. industries would shut down. My economic advisors report that as many as 765,000 Americans – many union workers themselves – could be put out of work in the first two weeks alone. Communities could lose access to chemicals necessary to ensure clean drinking water. Farms and ranches across the country could be unable to feed their livestock."