Posts tagged vacation
JD Vance Courts Sean O’Brien and the Teamsters
June 1, 2026 // Mr. O’Brien is desperate for a win in Washington to sell to his 1.3 million members as he runs for re-election. Some Republicans in Congress seem eager to give him one—maybe two—as they seek to burnish their bona fides as defenders of the working class. These Republicans are doing more to help Democrats—the primary beneficiaries of Teamster campaign donations—than workers. The Teamsters’ membership has shrunk by nearly half since the 1970s amid a broader decline in organized labor. Technology has improved productivity. At the same time, jobs have migrated to states with right-to-work laws, which prohibit unions and employers from making union membership a condition of employment. The Teamsters have also lost rank-and-file support. Between 2016 and 2025, members filed 373 petitions to decertify the Teamsters, according to Reason magazine. Some 60% of the decertification elections succeeded. You can’t blame union members for wearying of paying dues that bankroll Democratic candidates and lavish lifestyles of union leaders. In the 2023-24 election cycle, 92% of Teamsters PAC donations to federal candidates went to Democrats, as did 91% of the union’s contributions to party committees.
NYC hotel maids now make more than rookie cops, firefighters, teachers — as union averts strike following new salary agreement
May 27, 2026 // Hotel maids in NYC already out-earn rookie cops, firefighters and even teachers with master’s degrees — and they just got a raise. The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, the union representing 22,000 city hotel workers, ratified the new contract Thursday that will bring housekeepers to $77,113 on July 1 with $110,000 in salary alone in the sixth year. The agreement made last weekend with the hotel owners averted a strike that was already throwing a wrench into the city’s America 250 celebrations and the FIFA World Cup as visitors said they were afraid to make reservations if a strike was at hand.
Racketeering trial starts for former KC-based union leaders accused of $20M theft
May 4, 2026 // “What makes this trial so significant is that it is not only about the individuals who were indicted,” he said. “It is also about the system and the culture that allowed this to ever happen. “Newton Jones and what federal prosecutors have described as the ‘Jones Enterprise’ would not have been able to allegedly racketeer, embezzle, or misuse union resources if the people sworn to uphold their constitutional duties had taken that oath seriously.” The Boilermakers deserve better, Sulivan said. “This trial should be a turning point, not just for accountability for the past, but for rebuilding and restructuring our organization for the future,” he said.
Freight rail engineers vote in favor of new contract
January 5, 2026 // According to the BLET, 70 percent of its more than 12,000 members voted approved the five-year agreement. The union says the contract addresses rates of pay and other issues and that there were no concessions or work rule changes in the new agreement. The contract covers BLET employees with major freight railroads, including Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (NS) and Canadian National.
5,800 Sharp HealthCare workers to strike in California
November 17, 2025 // “While it’s unfortunate that the union leaders have rejected our generous economic proposal, our highest priority is making sure our patients continue to receive outstanding care should a strike actually occur,” Rita Essaian, DM, MHA, senior vice president and chief people officer at Sharp, said in a statement. “If a strike takes place, it’s important for San Diegans to know that we will ensure adequate staffing levels at all times with Sharp staff and the specially trained traveling nurses.”
Many commuters left stranded as Martz Gold Line workers go on strike
April 25, 2025 // More than 80 ATU 689 union members took to the picket lines today to strike and protest against their employer’s reported unfair labor practices. The Martz workers say they are grossly underpaid compared to their other transit counterparts. By how much we don’t know. Picketing wrapped up early on Thursday but said they’ll be back Friday morning at 4 a.m.
Workers at Bay Area UC campuses join statewide strike over wages, conditions
April 3, 2025 // Workers at Bay Area UC campuses join statewide strike over wages, conditions sanfrancisco By Tim Fang Updated on: April 1, 2025 / 11:33 AM PDT / CBS San Francisco Workers at University of California campuses and medical facilities in the Bay Area joined thousands of employees statewide Tuesday in a one-day strike, claiming unfair labor practices. About 20,000 employees represented by the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) and nearly 40,000 workers with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees began their strike around 7 a.m. UC Berkeley, UCSF, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory were among the Bay Area locations where workers were striking.
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.
Providence, nurses union reach new tentative deal in 6-week-long strike
February 26, 2025 // The strike, which started Jan. 10, is the longest in Oregon’s health care history. Nearly 5,000 nurses walked off the job at Providence’s eight hospitals in Oregon in Hood River, Medford, Milwaukie, Newberg, Seaside and Oregon City and two in Portland. The strike also included nurses, physicians and other staff at Providence’s six women’s clinics in the Portland area and hospital physicians at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in southwest Portland. The physicians and clinic union members approved their deals but the nurses rejected the early agreement by more than 80%.
Costco Increases Pay to Over $30 an Hour for Most Store Workers
January 30, 2025 // Workers at the bottom of the scale will get raises of 50 cents to $20, according to the memo. The changes apply to employees at non-union locations. Costco, which is based in Issaquah, Washington, declined to comment. The company and the union that represents thousands of its workers are in negotiations over a new collective bargaining contract. The current contract is set to expire on Friday, and Costco Teamsters — which represents less than 10% of the company’s roughly 219,000 employees in the US — has voted to authorize a strike, demanding better pay and benefits.