Posts tagged wage
Make employers pay striking workers? Too silly
January 21, 2025 // Sponsored by Sen. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, and cosponsored by 12 other Democrats so far, SB 5041 is similar to last year’s House Bill 1893 and Senate Bill 5777. Those pieces of legislation had the support of nearly all Democrats but failed to pass in the Legislature’s final hours. As long as the strike is legal, union workers could receive unemployment benefits while actively on strike. (Public employee strikes are not legal, so teachers, who strike frequently, should not be able to receive unemployment insurance benefits along with the taxpayer-provided pay they already receive, even in years that they strike. I hope to see legislative talks clarify that this is so.) Sen. Steven Conway, D-Tacoma, a strong proponent of employer-financed strike benefits, told NPR-station KNKX the bill would allow workers to access the benefits starting on the second Sunday after they begin withholding their labor and would be eligible for four weeks of benefits.
SEIU’s longest strike with Essentia Health workers in Deer River
January 3, 2025 // 70 Essentia Health workers in Deer River have been on strike for the past three weeks. The Service Employees International Union is representing the healthcare workers at the bargaining table. Currently this is SEIU’s longest strike that they’ve been involved with as they negotiate for a market wage increase.
Shawn Fain was Kamala Harris’ most forceful union backer. It could cost him his job
December 30, 2024 // United Auto Workers union President Shawn Fain was one of the most prominent union leaders backing Vice President Kamala Harris in this year’s US presidential election and one of the harshest critics of Donald Trump while on the campaign trail. And because of that, he’ll have a powerful enemy when Trump takes back the White House on January 20.
Striking San Francisco hotel workers urge J.P. Morgan health conference attendees to stay away
December 12, 2024 // Housekeepers, cooks, dishwashers, servers, bartenders and other members of the union, Unite Here Local 2, are reaching out to attendees of the invitation-only J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference to be held Jan. 13-16 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel. The conference is billed as a global symposium that includes health and technology industry leaders and members of the investment community. Union spokesperson Ted Waechter said 10,000 people took part in the conference last year.
There’s a huge pay raise on the way for clean energy workers
December 9, 2024 // To qualify, projects have to hire registered apprentices, who are paid for their work and earn credentials while doing it, and pay the prevailing wage to their workers, a level of minimum pay generally set for workers on government contracts. While prevailing wage has "long applied" to federal projects, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, this is the first time it's been applied to clean energy tax incentives.
Boeing and IAM announce new contract vote on Nov 4
November 1, 2024 // With the assistance of Secretary of Labor Julie Su, the International Association of Machinist (IAM) 751 & W24 will be allowing its 33,000 members on Monday, November 4, to vote on an updated contract offer by Boeing with hopes to ending a 49-day strike that has cost billions of dollars in lost revenue.
Chicago Teachers Union’s actions affect all Illinoisans
October 31, 2024 // What exactly does Davis Gates think is “emergency” status for all of Illinois? CTU’s more than $10 billion in demands include 9% wage increases for Chicago teachers, a housing program for Chicago teachers, a 100% electric bus fleet and solar panels for Chicago school buildings – to name a few. CPS has projected just 52 of CTU’s demands would create a $2.9 billion deficit for the district next fiscal year and a $4 billion hole by 2029. Illinoisans outside Chicago may not think that’s their problem to solve.
PHILADELPHIA: SEPTA workers unanimously authorize strike
October 29, 2024 // SEPTA workers in the Transport Workers Union Local 234 -- which represents more than 5,300 employees -- announced on Sunday morning that it has authorized a strike, unless they can reach a deal with management by midnight on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. In a statement released around lunchtime on Sunday, union officials said that a "large gathering" of workers met for a special meeting and all in attendance voted to authorize the strike.
How did 50K dockworkers strike at US ports with only 25K jobs?
October 7, 2024 // There’s a massive gulf in the numbers between those who show up for work and total membership in the powerful International Longshoremen’s Association, which won a deal late Thursday for a 62% wage increase over the next six years. That’s because half of the dockworkers at the East and Gulf coast ports are allowed to sit at home collecting “container royalties” negotiated decades ago to protect against job losses that result from innovation, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Op-Ed: Biden’s Longshoreman Strike
October 3, 2024 // American ports are less efficient than most in the world owing to union work rules and restrictions on automation.