Posts tagged Utah
Nevada: Labor unions push back on proposal to allow licensure reciprocity for nurses
April 10, 2023 // But the compact faces strong resistance from labor unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO that say joining the compact benefits hospitals over workers, undermines collective bargaining, and fails to address bigger problems like patient-to-nurse ratios. “We need to be discussing working conditions,” said Grace Vergara-Mactal, executive director of SEIU 1107, which represents more than 8,000 nurses and health care workers in Nevada. “Right now the grueling working conditions of nurses is the number one barrier to addressing the nursing shortage. Often our health care members are working 12 to 14 hours a day and seeing 10 patients an hour.” AB 108 is not the only compact bill being considered by the legislature this session. Assembly Bill 158 would have Nevada join an emergency medical services (EMS) compact, Senate Bill 97 would have Nevada join a physical therapist (PT) compact, and Senate Bill 442 would have Nevada join a teachers compact.
How Utah Is Protecting Workers Without the Baggage of Unions | Opinion
March 28, 2023 // Utah's Portable Benefit Plan is a national breakthrough for independent contractors, establishing a legal pathway for entities to offer fully voluntary benefits plans that self-employed workers can open on their own. Unlike employer-sponsored health plans for traditional employees that are tied to jobs, Utah's self-employed workers instead will soon have access to a variety of new benefits plans that are entirely their own and entirely portable for their evolving careers. The possibilities of products that may be established are broad, including the potential for health insurance, unemployment insurance, and disability insurance related products. There is even a pre-existing financial tool known as a "Utah medical care savings account" that self-employed Utahns may conveniently use to pay for their portable health insurance benefits and medical expenses. Many opponents of independent contracting argue that such workers are exploited and deserve the health care and other benefits that many traditional employees receive.
Op-Ed: Just why are Utah teachers unions against school choice In Utah?
February 3, 2023 // Utah Education Association President Renée Pinkney said members of the state’s largest teachers association are carefully monitoring the legislative process with respect to HB215. “If it passes tomorrow, we will be devastated. Our hearts will be broken,” she said. UEA members are “incredibly upset” that the salary increase was not decoupled from the choice scholarship so each could be considered on their respective merits, she said.
From Coast to Coast, What’s Going On with State & Local Teacher Union Affiliates
January 24, 2023 //
Right-to-Work battle looms in Michigan: Businesses fear repeal by Democrats
December 5, 2022 // Michigan business groups are wary of Democrats’ calls to repeal Right-to-Work laws when they take charge in Lansing early next year, saying the state instead should focus on economic policies that attract jobs. Business Leaders for Michigan, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and chamber leaders from the state’s two largest cities — Detroit and Grand Rapids — all urge caution. But Democrats — who are backed heavily by unions including the Michigan Education Association and United Auto Workers — say the move prioritizes workers and labor rights.
19 Republican governors oppose proposed Project Labor Agreement rule
October 31, 2022 // Nineteen Republican governors wrote a letter to President Joe Biden (D) on October 17, 2022, opposing a proposed federal rule to mandate the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) for federal construction projects. The letter was signed by governors from Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming. The proposed rule follows an executive order that was signed by Biden in February 2022 that aimed to require PLAs for large-scale construction projects. A group of Republican governors wrote a letter in April 2022 opposing the executive order, arguing that it granted a monopoly to unions and discouraged competition. The proposed rule would amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the executive order and mandate the use of PLAs for federal construction contracts exceeding $35 million.
Utah Democratic Party, Salt Lake County Democratic Party workers unionize
August 4, 2022 // As efforts to unionize among Democratic political staffers and congressional staffers have increased nationwide, employees of the Utah Democratic Party and Salt Lake County Democratic Party have officially unionized. Ben Peck, Salt Lake County Democratic Party executive director, said he worked on unionizing political staffers for more than a year before he started his job with the county party. He immediately started the process after he was hired. Union benefits will only apply to paid staff, not volunteers or unpaid interns, Peck said. Utah Democratic Party Chairwoman Diane Lewis, Democratic Party platform,
TEENS ARE MISSING OUT ON JOBS. AND YOUR STATE COULD BE TO BLAME
April 18, 2022 // Research shows that teenagers who work for even a single year have incomes that are 14% to 16% higher in their 20s, and working for several years multiplies the benefits. Teenage work also leads to decreased drug use and increased graduation rates. And then there are the intangible benefits that accompany work. Keeping a schedule, getting along with co-workers, learning personal strengths and weaknesses – the sooner teenagers learn these skills, the better.
‘Just transition’ bill for oil industry workers exposes labor rift
February 27, 2022 // Trades leaders say that beginning to dismantle the industry now will only push workers into lower-paid jobs. Instead, Trades officials say, the state should invest in big-ticket infrastructure projects such as high-speed rail and offshore wind projects that will create comparable jobs to what workers have been doing for decades.
Union membership hits new low
January 24, 2022 // Those numbers have fallen steadily, if not uniformly, over the last two generations, even as the number of American workers has increased substantially. Today, there are about 50 million more workers in the American economy than there were in 1983, and 3 million fewer union members.