Posts tagged Washington
Commentary: Public employers should not collect dues for unions
June 3, 2024 // A bill passed last year in Arkansas is one that Washington state lawmakers should add to and propose, pass and send to the governor of our state. The Arkansas law prohibits school districts from deducting dues from employees' paychecks. Educators can pay a union on their own, of course. The new law also requires union member applications to contain a notice letting public workers — again, paid by taxpayers — know of their “rights to join or refrain from joining a labor organization.”
Unionized staff members endorse candidate opposing their current boss at WA state agency
May 30, 2024 // Seamus Petrie, a lobbyist for WPEA, told McClatchy in a phone interview that endorsements from major labor unions in the state are important because they want to make it clear that they “absolutely trust” Emily Randall to be their pro-labor candidate. Randall was endorsed by the Washington Federation of State Employees, the largest state workers union in Washington, and which represents other unionized DNR staff members on April 27. On May 18, Randall also snagged the sole endorsement from the Washington State Labor Council’s Committee On Political Education, and according to reporting by the Washington Observer, union workers at DNR made some key arguments for the endorsement for Randall stemming from concerns over worker safety and low morale at the agency.
COMMENTARY: RHODE ISLAND: CAPTIVE-AUDIENCE MEETINGS FOR ME, BUT NOT FOR THEE
May 30, 2024 // Union leaders are rightfully concerned that hearing the truth will make employees much less likely to join. And they should know because captive audience meetings have long been a staple of the union playbook for decades. In leftist-dominated states throughout the country, lawmakers have passed legislation authorizing unions to meet with newly hired public employees to make an unchallenged sales pitch about union membership. In these sessions, unions have been caught lying, misleading, bullying, and intimidating people into signing away their Constitutional rights. Our government systems have been hijacked by unions for politicization and money laundering. This affects not just bureaucrats but educators, corrections officers, Department of Transportation workers, and public employees of every kind, who increasingly find their autonomy undercut by unscrupulous union practices.
Op-Ed: Ensure long-lasting protection for workers with a Right-To-Work constitutional amendment
May 24, 2024 // Right-to-work laws are not a tool used to break up unions, but to protect workers from unions that are taking membership dues from members who disagree with union political practices and efforts. The law also protects non-members from being fired simply because they do not join a union. Instead of fighting against right-to-work laws, unions should strengthen their efforts to recruit new members by listening and following the direction of dues-paying members. A recent Harvard Study found that people living in RTW areas have higher employment, higher labor force participation, lower disability receipts, and higher population growth because of the attractive economy. All these factors are associated with lower childhood poverty rates in RTW locations.
University of WA reaches agreement with union representing student employees
May 16, 2024 // The University of Washington said on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with UAW Local 4121. In a quest for improved wages, 6,000 student workers at the University of Washington (UW) have launched a strike, suspending their duties and assembling on picket lines scattered across campus.
Revised minimum wage law for delivery drivers moves forward in Seattle, set for full council vote
May 14, 2024 // The current law is “clearly not working,” Nelson said on Thursday. She said the new legislation is an “effort to reverse the bad outcomes caused by a flawed law and catalyzed by network companies imposing a new so-called regulatory fee, which caused a drop in customer orders, a drastic reduction in worker wages, and lost revenues for restaurants and other retail establishments.” Seattle’s citywide minimum wage for employees — delivery drivers are treated as independent contractors — is $19.97. Working Washington, a nonprofit that helped pass the original legislation in Seattle, released a report this week showing how the new ordinance would result in net pay of $13.17 per hour, due in part to expenses such as payroll taxes and mileage costs that drivers pay for on their own.
Boeing locks out its firefighters amid union fight for pay
May 6, 2024 // Boeing officially locked out 125 of its Washington firefighters after the firefighter's union failed to come to an agreement with Boeing after two-and-a-half months of negotiations, primarily over pay. This is the first time in over four decades that a group of firefighters have been on a lock out in the U.S.
Republican legislative staff move first to unionize under new WA law
May 3, 2024 // Legislative assistants for GOP members of the state House and Senate want the recently formed Legislative Professionals Association to represent them. Petitions on behalf of workers in each chamber were filed with the Public Employment Relations Commission, which will certify the bargaining unit and conduct an election. Legislative assistants want to ensure their concerns are heard in a workplace where they are in the minority, Lund said. The workers don’t want to risk living with a contract they disagree with and have no say in negotiating. Nor do they want to be pulled into a union and see their dues funneled outside the state to a national group.
Some union workers at Sacred Heart are not participating in the strike
April 26, 2024 // Not all Sacred Heart healthcare union workers are participating in the current strike, according to hospital leadership. Wednesday marked the third day in an eight-day strike at Sacred Heart Medical Center. Workers are picketing in hopes of negotiating a new and improved contract from Providence, but not all union members have joined the strike. "We had several more than what is normal for a strike of this nature of current union caregivers who chose to come into the building and take care of patients," said Susan Stacey, Providence Inland Northwest's Chief Executive.
Union representing Providence Sacred Heart caregivers issues strike notice
April 16, 2024 // Approximately 500 Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center caregivers have issued a strike notice for the end of the month. According to Providence, United Food and Commercial Workers 3000, the union representing those 500 employees, issued a strike notice for April 22-30. The strike comes after months of unsuccessful negotiations between Providence and UFCW3000.