Posts tagged wages
Downtown business leader says union push for state worker telework disrupts revival efforts
February 19, 2026 // More than 100,000 people worked in Downtown Sacramento before the pandemic. Now, that number is only at about 60% of its pre-pandemic high, according to the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. Michael Ault, executive director of the organization, is still advocating to put state workers in offices four days a week. “We would love to see the employees come back as much as we can,” Ault said. While he recognized that many workers enjoy the flexibility of remote and hybrid work, he said that the lack of public employees Downtown has noticeably hurt small businesses.
Seattle’s gig worker law was supposed to boost pay. It did at first, until orders dropped
February 17, 2026 // Things slowed down. Orders weren’t coming in; they still aren’t coming in like they used to. One worker told me she can be logged on for hours without receiving an order. Customers still want the convenience, but many balked at the fees that the apps tacked on after the new law. The companies say the fees are necessary. That pattern is consistent with a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research —wages were higher in the first few months and then dropped. The study also found that months later, drivers have more unpaid idle time, and drive longer distances between orders.
No love lost at JBS: Greeley meatpackers spend Valentine’s Day preparing to strike
February 17, 2026 // Workers vote 99% to authorize a walkout, saying what they want most is safety and respect as talks resume Friday, Feb. 20
SF Ghirardelli workers hold Valentine’s Day strike outside iconic chocolate and ice cream shop
February 17, 2026 // Employees picketed all day Saturday at Ghirardelli's longtime ice cream and chocolate shop at Ghirardelli Square. Union workers want a new contract with better wages and the ability to keep their current union health plan. The one-day picket line got lots of attention outside Ghirardelli's famous chocolate and ice cream shop. It's no coincidence this labor action is happening on one of the busiest days for chocolate.
MEGHAN PORTFOLIO And FRANK RICCI: Teachers Union Uses ‘Crises’ To Reshape School Governance
February 12, 2026 // We wrote an MOU in a day, which in our district is definitely a record.” Under normal circumstances, agreements of this magnitude take weeks or months to negotiate and approve. That MOU now locks the district into a new operating framework. Unlike formal contracts, MOUs typically require only a single management signature and a single union signature. State labor laws and collective bargaining agreements often reduce school board authority to one individual, allowing grievance settlements or stipulated agreements to be implemented without the board’s deliberation, vote, or public input.
Hampton Roads mayors want Virginia localities to keep control over collective bargaining
February 4, 2026 // Bills moving through committees in the General Assembly, however, would remove that power from localities. If signed into law, Virginia would create a state-level public employee relations board to oversee the process and arbitrate disputes. The bills could shrink Virginia’s public-sector pay gap, which is among the largest in the U.S., according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute; public employees in Virginia make more than 25% less than private-sector workers with similar schooling and backgrounds. The EPI’s report, published in January, found closing the pay gap could also lead to better public services, less turnover and improved racial and gender pay gaps.
3 UAW officers ordered to pay $50,000 back to union after audit
February 2, 2026 // Instead, Gjokaj and two other local officers appointed then are each facing an order to repay almost $50,000 dollars to their union for “overpayment of lost time,” because the wages they were paid were not written properly into the local’s bylaws. “Lost time” refers to hours spent working on behalf of the union when a local officer would otherwise be working for the company. Gjokaj, who is contesting the order to repay the $49,954.73 he received over 13 months spanning 2023 to 2024, said he understands why there is concern over the wages he earned, though he had no idea the union was violating rules. The amount he’s been ordered to repay is more than half of his total compensation he took home during that time (UAW officers are paid by the company when working in the factory, and paid by the union when staffing the local union hall).
Op-Ed: Contentious union politics eroding Washington’s classrooms
January 29, 2026 // Right now, the WEA, through its support of the Washington Families for Freedom coalition, is actively campaigning against two citizen-initiated measures to the Legislature filed by Let’s Go Washington. The first (IL26-001) would restore broader parental rights in public schools by repealing recent legislative changes to the original Parents' Bill of Rights. The other (IL26-638) seeks to protect fairness in girls’ athletics by requiring biological sex verification and barring students defined as biologically male from female competitions. Supporters turned in far more than the number signatures required to qualify for a spot on the ballot, 416,201 for IL26-001 and 445,187 for IL26-638, on Jan. 2. Reports of harassment and threats against signature-gatherers surfaced repeatedly during the process, yet overwhelming public support prevailed.
Recology union authorizes strike after ‘failed’ negotiations, say members
January 29, 2026 // Hundreds of San Mateo County Recology union workers could go on strike after representatives said that the garbage company has continued to make failed attempts at negotiations. Recology serves San Mateo County, including unincorporated areas such as North Fair Oaks. A strike would threaten the continuation of waste services in the area.
Hospital chaos looms as tens of thousands of California nurses threaten walk off job despite proposed wage hikes
January 26, 2026 // In an effort to prevent the walkouts, Kaiser proposed a 21.5% wage increase, but the the union said the company refused to bargain in good faith