Posts tagged wages and benefits
The Future of Electric Vehicles Looms Over Negotiations in the US Autoworkers Strike
October 12, 2023 // So far, neither Ford nor Stellantis has agreed to the change, which would pull employees at all 10 U.S. battery factories proposed by Detroit automakers into national contracts with the UAW, all but assuring they'll be unionized. Fain also wants workers at the plants to make top UAW assembly plant wages, which now are $32 per hour. With the UAW strike now in its fourth week, EVs and their potential impact on job security have become central to union negotiations with the automakers. Contract talks are likely to determine whether those plants — mostly joint ventures with South Korean battery companies — are union, which may have long-lasting consequences as the auto industry transforms itself.
Hospitality workers, Las Vegas casinos in crunch time for labor talks
October 4, 2023 // The Las Vegas unions are among the most powerful in the United States, covering workers who wait tables, clean hotel rooms and prepare food. Their demands mirror similar activity in the shipping, rail and auto industries where employees have sought better compensation due to the higher cost of living as unemployment stays low. "The companies have an opportunity to do the right thing and step up and get a contract done, but if not, there could be a strike any time after that," said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the culinary union. "Any time after October 6th, there could be a strike," he said.
UAW strike 2023 against Detroit automakers: Live updates, news from the picket sites
September 15, 2023 //
Teamsters overwhelmingly ratify UPS contract
August 23, 2023 // According to the Teamsters, 86.3% of voters ratified the contract, the largest margin in the long history of collective bargaining agreements between the two sides. It is unclear how many of the 340,000 unionized UPS workers cast ballots. All 44 supplemental agreements were ratified, except for a supplement covering 174 members in Florida. The national, or “master,” agreement will go into effect once the supplement is renegotiated and ratified, the Teamsters said. Each supplement covers specific regions of the country and is tailored to the needs of Teamsters members in the respective regions.
Stellantis’ Plans To Build $25,000 EV In US Clash With UAW Demands
August 16, 2023 // On a livestream last week, Fain threw a copy of proposals from Stellantis into a trash can, saying the carmaker "spit in the face" of UAW members by seeking stricter attendance rules, reduced healthcare coverage, and other concessions. UAW's current four-year contracts with Stellantis, General Motors and Ford Motor Company expire September 14. There's no $25,000 EV available in the US at the moment, with the least costly option being the outgoing Chevrolet Bolt EV, priced at $27,495 including shipping. Stellantis plans to launch two affordable EVs in Europe priced around 25,000 euros (approximately $27,300). The Citroën e-C3 will arrive in early 2024, followed by a Fiat Panda-inspired model to be unveiled in July 2024.
A big clash is coming for Detroit’s Big 3 automakers as their workers’ union gears up for another round of contentious negotiations
July 27, 2023 // "We have to be able to do whatever we have to do if you want to have these gains. The companies aren't going to freely give it," Fain said in June. Escalating tactics at the UAW predate Fain. In 2019, at the height of the union's corruption scandal, the UAW initiated a 40-day strike at GM's more than 30 US factories. The work stoppage helped the union notch wins on wages and job security, even as the company won the ability to close several factories. In the end, GM lost some $3.6 billion due to the strike. The union, which also covers workers in other industrial industries and some academic institutions, has also had high-profile work stoppages at John Deere in 2021 and the University of California in 2022. Fain has said he is not ruling out a strike in this round of talks, potentially at more than one company.
OP-ED: BIDEN IS INVESTING IN GREEN ENERGY ACROSS THE SOUTH — THROWING SWING STATE UNION WORKERS UNDER THE BUS
July 12, 2023 // The success of the climate program will require continued federal commitment. Biden is placing a bet that clean energy investments could ultimately work the same way as the military-industrial complex. The military and its allied contractors have made sure to set up bases and/or manufacturing facilities in nearly every congressional district in the country, with extra attention paid to areas represented by key lawmakers. That has produced durable support for ever-expanding military budgets. Whether the same could be accomplished for the clean energy industry is an open question, but so far, Republicans from districts that have won federal awards have nevertheless voted to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, which funds the tax breaks. By subsidizing the decline of union jobs, the Biden administration risks empowering lawmakers who will then move to end the subsidies altogether. “The total lack of consideration for workers could certainly make the difference in 2024.” “What Biden is doing is politically insane, environmentally bankrupt, and it’s poor economics,” Larry Cohen, former president of the Communications Workers of America and board member of Our Revolution, told The Intercept.
These long-term care workers in CT didn’t get the wages they wanted. Will their strike continue?
June 16, 2023 // "The union wanted to preserve its right to strike again next year," Simon said. "We felt as though the agency, our clients, the people we serve, the students, the parents, had all gone through enough trauma. And so we did not want to give the right to strike again next year." Simon said the state budget provided enough money to pay the workers $18.45 per hour, but Oak Hill extended an offer of $18.50 and an "enhanced" retirement package, but the union did not accept the offer. While the workers have been on strike, temp workers and members of the Oak Hill administration team have been staffing the facilities, costing the company "probably $150,000 more a day" above normal operating costs, according to Simon. Oak Hill negotiations have proven to be especially sticky, according to Oak Hill CEO Barry Simon. After nearly eight hours of talks, negotiations between Oak Hill and the union stalled. Of the 1,700 workers who were on strike, 700 are from Oak Hill. The others are spread between Mosaic, Whole Life, Network, Caring Community and Alternative Services, Inc.
Unions take on UPMC in antitrust complaint
June 2, 2023 // On Thursday, SEIU along with a coalition of labor unions filed a 55-page complaint against Pennsylvania’s biggest nongovernmental employer, alleging that its size has allowed UPMC to hold down wages and benefits, “drastically increased workloads,” and kept workers from leaving for other jobs through a “draconian system of mobility restrictions.” The union is asking the Justice Department to investigate UPMC for antitrust violations, made possible by its dominance of the health care market in Pittsburgh, Erie and other parts of Pennsylvania, something called monopsonization. For every 10% increase in market share, wages for UPMC workers falls 30 cents to 57 cents an hour on average, according to the complaint. At the same time, the ratio of workers to patients has steadily increased, making UPMC’s staffing ratios on average 19% lower than at non-UPMC facilities.
Teamsters at RISD plan open-ended strike amid fight for first contract
April 3, 2023 // Teamsters Local 251 announced Sunday, workers from Rhode Island School of Design will begin an open-ended strike starting April 3. Union members said the strike is in response to RISD’s failure to negotiate with its employees. The proposed strike comes less than two weeks after RISD employees held a one-day unfair labor practice strike. Teamsters Local 251 said they have since filed ULP charges against RISD for failing to pay a general wage increase and changing starting rates for employees without giving them notice or a chance to bargain. The group has worked for the last several months to secure their first contract but has been unsuccessful.