Posts tagged Wisconsin
Biden, Trump battle for blue-collar voters as steel merger looms
June 30, 2024 // But Rudy Sanetta, a maintenance worker at US Steel, prefers Trump on the economy and because of his stance on gun rights. "I like him for his resistance to the politicians," Sanetta said of Trump. "The other guy, I have no confidence." Working class voters "are the most pivotal because they're the ones who have actually demonstrated that they're willing to select either Trump or Biden," said Jonathan Cervas, a political scientist at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Teaching doctors to unionize
June 27, 2024 // Once mostly self-employed or part of physician-owned groups, doctors are increasingly employees of hospitals or private equity firms. And, as employees, they have a right to organize, prompting unions of all stripes to make the case. Doctors who’ve joined say they’re persuaded by a desire to reclaim control over their lives, and to bargain for better pay and work conditions that they believe private equity and hospital ownership threaten.
Workers at Americold Logistics Win Campaign to Remove Teamsters Union from Workplace
June 10, 2024 // Garcia filed the petition on May 16 with the NLRB, the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal labor law, which includes administering elections to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Garcia’s petition contained support from a majority of employees, which is more than is required to trigger a decertification vote under NLRB rules. When it became clear that the election would be scheduled, Teamsters Local 695 disclaimed recognition on May 23, 2024, stating in an email to the employer that the union “unequivocally disclaims its interest in representing and collectively bargaining for the unit at Americold in Darien, Wisconsin…that this will end processing of the Petition.” On May 24, NLRB Region 18 acknowledged the union disclaiming recognition, meaning no election would be needed since the workers’ desired result – the removal of the union – had already been accomplished.
Strike Halts Work At Many SE Wisconsin Construction Sites
June 10, 2024 // Roughly 800 members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139 went on strike last Saturday for better pay. That’s caused work stoppages at construction sites in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, Kenosha, Washington and Ozaukee counties. Some of the job sites where work came to a standstill include a parking garage near Froedtert Hospital, apartments on the east side of Milwaukee, the Milwaukee County Human Services building and a new recreation center at Marquette university, union officials said.
‘Fearful, divisive, scary’: Madison employer accused of union busting by employees for layoffs
June 3, 2024 // OPEIU Local 39 said the employer has retained the services of Littler Mendelson, a law firm known for helping companies like Starbucks avoid unions. The losses of OPEIU representation at ACU has alarmed the workers as declines in union membership are correlated with wage stagnation and rising income inequality. Nationally, union density has declined from 20 percent of all wage and salary workers in 1983, to 10 percent as of 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Wisconsin unions argue for overturning 2011 law that ended nearly all collective bargaining
May 30, 2024 // Public worker and teachers unions argued Tuesday that their lawsuit seeking to strike down a Wisconsin law that drew massive protests and made the state the center of a national fight over union rights should be allowed to proceed, even as the Republican-controlled Legislature sought to have it dismissed. It is the first challenge to the law known as Act 10 since Wisconsin’s Supreme Court flipped to liberal control last year.
Workers at Milwaukee’s Trade hotel seek union, accuse employer of unfair labor practices
May 24, 2024 // The employer had not filed a request for an election as of Thursday afternoon, and the complaint filed with the NLRB was not available on the agency’s website.
Citing ‘burnout,’ doctors with ChristianaCare file papers to form system’s first labor union
May 15, 2024 // The petition, which only required a 30% vote, was delivered to the NLRB office in Philadelphia late Tuesday. The union would be the first in the 136-year history of ChristianaCare, Delaware’s largest private employer with about 11,600 staff members. Should the doctors elect to form a union, the next step would be collective bargaining on a contract to address duties, wages and other issues.
Penske Truck Rental Employees in Minneapolis and Nashville Seeking Votes to Remove IAM Union Officials
April 18, 2024 // Employees of Penske Truck Rental have submitted petitions seeking votes to remove International Association of Machinists (IAM) union officials from power at Penske locations in the Minneapolis, MN, metro area, and in Nashville, TN. Penske employees Kyle Fulkerson and David Saylor filed the petitions at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
Dept. of Justice: Custom apparel business owner sued for unpaid wages owed to former employees
April 11, 2024 // The Wisconsin Department of Justice, on behalf of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, today filed a lawsuit against Jeremy Kruk for unlawful labor practices as it relates to his former custom apparel business, Crushin It Promotions, LLC. Kruk is facing multiple civil counts in the lawsuit after he allegedly fired his employees for unionizing, refused to pay them what they were owed, and then dissolved his business and reopened it under a different name.