Posts tagged wages
Op-ed: Dues & Don’ts: Unions are political — and union money is again driving opposition to initiatives
August 4, 2026 // Public unions do more than bargain over wages and working conditions. They endorse candidates and ballot measures, produce voter guides, use direct mail and other member communications to urge workers and their families who and what to support. They get into all sorts of campaign fights using treasuries built with members’ wages. The current election season displays this clearly. The Washington Education Association (WEA) opposes all three statewide measures slated for the November ballot: Initiative IL26-001, concerning parental rights in public schools, Initiative IL26-638, concerning participation in athletics at K-12 schools, and IP26-645, the initiative to repeal an income tax passed by Democratic state legislators earlier this year. (Unlike candidate contributions, which come from voluntary WEA-Political Action Committee donations, member dues may be used for ballot-initiative campaigns without separately obtaining each member’s approval for that particular campaign.)
Union declares impasse on Batavia Downs contract negotiations
August 4, 2026 // The United Public Service Employees Union Local 1222 declared an impasse on contract negotiations with Batavia Downs, with over 150 members picketing outside of the casino Friday. According to Western Regional Off Track Betting Human Resources Vice President Danielle Fleming, the dispute will move to mediation with an administrative law judge in September.
Councilman seeks contract fix for JTRAN union workers
August 3, 2026 // JTRAN workers said they plan to return to the picket line until they reach an agreement with MV Transportation that they find satisfactory. Stokes said he plans to bring the issue before the next Jackson City Council meeting in hopes of resolving the conflict and moving forward with a new contract.
The Faster Labor Contracts Act: What You Need to Know
July 31, 2026 // While the FLCA may accelerate the negotiation process for both the employer and the union to reach an initial contract, faster does not always mean better, and the binding arbitration provision sidelines the interests of both parties and leaves the decisions about worker pay, benefits, and working conditions in the hands of arbitrators acting under the auspices of the federal government. The arbitrary timelines under the FLCA, while making the negotiation process move faster, may not give sufficient time for both parties to reach an initial contract that best represents the interests of both sides, given all the facts and circumstances of the working arrangement.
Second public defender union goes on strike
July 29, 2026 // The union said that during its most recent bargaining session, NDS management offered a one percent COLA and did not include no-cost healthcare over the term of the proposed three-year contract. NDS also has offices based in Texas and Michigan, where union members staged picket lines on Friday. The union was joined on their first day of striking by Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who previously worked at NDS Harlem as an investigator before winning the Democratic primary for New York's 13th congressional district in June.
Union workers rally with Yousef Rabhi at Ann Arbor city hall
July 25, 2026 // Mayor Pro Tem Travis Radina said the full-time salaried position in the city’s budget for the AFSCME union president is unique among city unions. Even the county’s larger union does not have a president position paid by taxpayers, he said. The position elimination was on the bargaining table since the beginning of the contract negotiations, before Kastner was elected president, because the city has not been able to get contractually mandated reporting about how the time is being spent, he said. Since salary increases for all AFSCME members seemed to be the union’s priority, the city considered the position elimination again because the savings it could generate could be redistributed to give all other AFSCME members an extra 1% increase, Radina said.
Wayne County public defenders launch strike over healthcare, wage fight
July 24, 2026 // The union, which represents not just lawyers but also investigators, social workers and paralegals, has been fighting to maintain cost-free health insurance in addition to a 3% annual raise, instead of the 1% raises they’ve been offered.
State workers picket outside CalHR headquarters during SEIU 1000 negotiations
July 24, 2026 // Conversation about remote work comes as state workers are now required to work in-person at least four days a week in hopes of increased productivity. However, those opposed to in-person mandates point to cost savings. Assemblymember Alex Lee, D-San Jose, proposed a bill that would allow telework, citing improved air quality from fewer commutes and reduced office space needs bringing $225 million in potential savings. “We’re able to save the state billions of dollars when we have structural deficits,” Walls said. The topic was top-of-mind Wednesday as picketers held signs reading “Telework is not political,” “I’d rather be home working,” and “No RTO.”
LAUSD deadline looms to make painful cuts after county says board actions ‘erode confidence’
July 20, 2026 // The county rejected the plan, saying it lacked specificity and necessitates “an elevated level of fiscal oversight.” Among a list of eight acute budget issues, the July 2 letter faulted the L.A. Unified Board of Education for: Approving costly labor contracts exemplifying “mismanagement of the collective bargaining process.” A failure to carry out earlier approved budget cuts that “erodes confidence.” Raiding funds from a health benefits trust against “its own staff’s fiscal advice.” As a result of these and other district actions, Duardo said, L.A. Unified faces a cash shortfall of $231 million by November 2027, increasing to a $3.5-billion deficit by June 30, 2029.
Union sues to stop $110B Paramount-Warner Bros. merger
July 16, 2026 // Wayne Winegarden of Pacific Research Institute thinks the opposition is narrow and short-sighted. The institute is based in Pasadena, which is near Burbank and Hollywood. In a phone interview Wednesday with The Center Square, Winegarden said blocking the merger could leave both Warner Bros. and Paramount as unviable, uncompetitive standalone entities. If they fail individually, Winegarden said it will result in far fewer jobs for writers than a merged, competitive company will offer.