Posts tagged wage
OP-ED: LAUSD’s unions could support policies to help all Californians
March 14, 2023 // According to the SEIU, the average annual salary for the 30,000 LAUSD service workers they represent is $25,000. But that includes all service workers, from part-time to full-time. About 75% of the members work fewer than eight hours per day, and with school in session only 180 days, or 36 weeks per year, even many of the workers with “full-time hours” are off for up to 16 weeks per year. Union representatives themselves acknowledge LAUSD’s reliance on a part-time workforce. But it raises an uncomfortable question that applies to teachers as well: If K-12 schools in California operate for the equivalent of just 36 full weeks per year, is it reasonable for people working in these schools to expect to earn enough to cover a full year of expenses? Similarly, if some of the service jobs require a worker for only a few hours each day, how can the district’s taxpayers afford to pay them for a full day?
Some US Caterpillar workers plan possible strike once contract expires
March 2, 2023 // Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) said on Wednesday it had reached a tentative agreement with a union that represents workers at four of its facilities, dodging a possible walkout at a time when companies across the United States are dealing with widespread labor shortages. The construction equipment maker's new six-year agreement, which needs to be put to a vote by employees, comes after some union workers had threatened a strike as they negotiated wage increases, improved safety measures and better healthcare benefits.
Portland city laborers rally outside Portland City Hall ahead of planned strike
January 30, 2023 // More than 600 Portland workers in the wastewater, parks and transportation fields plan to strike on Feb. 2, starting at midnight. The groups of workers planning to go on strike, according to the union, include: About 280 Bureau of Transportation workers, from concrete finishers to asphalt rakers to utility workers About 200 Parks & Recreation workers, from park technicians and turf technicians to horticulturalists and park rangers About 100 Bureau of Environmental Services workers, namely sewage and wastewater employees Other city employees, including fleet and vehicle workers
CNH Industrial union workers at two U.S. plants reject proposed contract
January 9, 2023 // The union did not disclose how many workers at the two plants rejected the four-year deal, which included wage increases of 25% to 38% according to CNH on Sunday. Still, union members said the proposed contract failed to provide enough of a raise to combat inflation, additional vacation days or better healthcare coverage.
Will offshore wind bring “good-paying, union jobs”? Texas workers aren’t so sure
October 25, 2022 // The Biden administration is gearing up to turn the Gulf of Mexico, long a hub for offshore oil and gas drilling, into a new city of skyscraping offshore wind turbines. Opening up the Gulf to wind development is part of President Joe Biden's goal to employ "tens of thousands of workers" to establish 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030. But in Texas, workers are worried that the new industry will continue the low-wage, unsafe, exploitative conditions that pervade the construction and offshore oil industries there. For the past year, a coalition of Texas labor unions, along with their allies in Congress and in the environmental movement, have been lobbying the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, to make sure that doesn't happen.
Teamsters, University of Minnesota reach tentative deal, avoiding strikes in Twin Cities and Duluth
October 24, 2022 // Union members are set to vote on the new agreement in the next few weeks. It includes a $20 minimum wage for union members and at least 13% pay hikes over the next three years.
Opinion: Unions And Stress—What Businesses Should Learn
June 23, 2022 // Unionization is often a sign of discontent more than wage/benefit dissatisfaction. And workers have plenty to be discontented about. Demand for goods and services is up, but the working-age population is not. Many workers toil in short-staffed offices and shops. Add to that all the people who changed jobs in the Great Resignation and have not yet come up to speed at their new positions. More experienced workers have to take up the slack created by new employees. A further problem is poor hires. Companies have been so desperate to hire that they may bring in people not well suited to a particular job, or not suited to any job at all. Pressure to get more done is high, and staffing across the country is not adequate. Bill Conerly
UPS, pilots union strike deal on two-year labor contract extension
June 17, 2022 // The pilots union’s leadership is giving “an unqualified recommendation for ratification” of the tentative agreement by rank-and-file members, after the executive board unanimously approving and endorsed the deal. If approved, the contract that originally ran through Sept. 1, 2023 would be extended for another two years to Sept. 1, 2025. Atlanta Journal Constitution, Kelly Yamanouchi,
Could Netflix be the next big tech company to unionize?
May 20, 2022 // Netflix’s updated dictum is a clear message that it doesn’t plan to change its content menu to cater to the tastes of its workforce. But as the Netflix worker demand list indicates, some employees are simply looking to influence company culture, which may, as a byproduct, influence the choices the company makes.
$30 per hour to start? Staten Island Amazon union has high hopes, but could face a tough road after victory
April 29, 2022 // Among other things, the nascent Amazon Labor Union, or ALU, has said it wants longer breaks for warehouse employees, more time off and a dramatically higher minimum hourly wage of $30, up from just over $18 an hour now at the Staten Island facility.