Labor Rights News Thread

Post Reply
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Labor Rights News Thread

Post by caltrek »

Working in the Service Industry Always Sucked. During a Pandemic, It’s Unbearable.
Compiled by Noah Lanard and Jacob Rosenberg

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 ... r-stories/

Introduction:
(Mother Jones) In our January + February 2022 cover story, we attempted to answer a simple question: What the hell happened to labor since the pandemic began? It wasn’t one thing. But this package—through a series of worker stories as told in their own voices, interviews with experts, and dissections of media narratives—attempts to make sense of the moment. You can find the full package here.*

No industry has seen more quitting during the last two years than leisure and hospitality, the Bureau of Labor Statistics category that covers hotels, restaurants, and many other areas of the service economy. These departures, memorialized over the in the “We all quit” signs in storefronts and beside drive-thrus, drove up wages and opened the door to new benefits. Here, workers in a field that’s traditionally relied disproportionately on people of color accepting poverty wages explain why they’re striking, quitting, or seeking something better.

I Didn’t Want to Get Covid-19 at McDonald’s. So I Went on Strike.

My son was 5 at the time. One of the things I’ll never forget is him saying to me, “Mom, why don’t you hug me anymore?” I told him I couldn’t because my employer was being irresponsible.

The first person who got Covid was someone I’d worked right next to. I didn’t know she had Covid. McDonald’s hadn’t said anything about it to us. We demanded better protection and professional cleaning. I remember telling them that profits were more important to McDonald’s than their workers. I knew I had to do something. I decided to go on strike. —Lizzet Aguilar as told to Noah Lanard
*https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 ... -pandemic/ (Be sure to scroll down a bit as the introduction is very similar to the introduction to the article linked and cited above.)




.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Labor Rights News Thread

Post by caltrek »

Still think there is no difference between liberal and conservative judges?

Supreme Court Blocks Federal Mandate for Private Workers to Vaccinate or Test
by Kelsey Reichmann
January 13, 2022

https://www.courthousenews.com/supreme- ... e-or-test/

Introduction:
WASHINGTON (Courthouse News) — The Supreme Court gutted the Biden administration's pandemic-response strategy Thursday in a split decision that puts a vaccine-or-test mandate for large businesses on ice.

While no judge signed the decision granting a stay of the mandate from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito joined a concurring opinion from Justice Neil Gorsuch. Justice Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor took the rare step meanwhile of co-signing a dissent that labels Covid-19 “a menace in work settings.”

They contend that OSHA did what Congress asked it to do. “In our view, the Court’s order seriously misapplies the applicable legal standards,” the dissent states. “And in so doing, it stymies the Federal Government’s ability to counter the unparalleled threat that COVID–19 poses to our Nation’s workers. Acting outside of its competence and without legal basis, the Court displaces the judgments of the Government officials given the responsibility to respond to workplace health emergencies.”

The liberal justices said OSHA’s mandate works to prevent workplace harm, and that the mandate is necessary to tackle the dangers during a pandemic where Covid-19 poses a grave danger to the public writ large.

Skewering the majority's focus on whether OSHA has power to address a disease outside the workplace, Breyer, Kagan and Sotomayor emphasized that there is no dispute that Covid-19 poses a grave danger and that a vaccination policy is necessary to safeguard against it. They argue that nothing in OSHA’s charge from Congress supports the majority decision.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Labor Rights News Thread

Post by caltrek »

Meanwhile, in Colorado:

‘Great Resignation is Real’: Thousands of Kroger Grocery Workers Strike in Colorado
by Amanda Pampuro
January 13, 2022

https://www.courthousenews.com/great-re ... -colorado/

Introduction:
GLENDALE, Colo. (Courthouse News) — Across the Denver metropolis, 8,400 grocery workers from 77 Kroger-owned King Soopers and City Market stores are making more money per hour on strike than they would if they held their post in the store across the parking lot from the picket line.

“The Great Resignation is real, you’re seeing workers across the country say enough is enough,” said UFCW Local 7 union president Kim Cordova. “Workers have been on strike all year, even before we walked out.”

Ninety-five percent of UFCW Local 7 union members working at King Soopers and City Market stores voted to strike this month and walked out Wednesday. At issue, workers say, are fair wages, work safety and respect.

“They called us essential workers when the pandemic started, then they took away our hazard pay after three weeks,” said Candice Haywood, a manager at a store in Aurora. Haywood said customers coughed and spit on her when she tried to enforce the store’s mask requirement,

“Some people say well, you should get a better job and let teenagers do this. Well, teenagers should also be able to make a living wage and take care of their families,” Haywood, who has been with the company nine years, said.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Labor Rights News Thread

Post by caltrek »

...and in Chicago, where bureaucratic headwinds were encountered:

Despite Misgivings, Chicago Teachers Ratify School Safety Deal
by David Byrnes
January 13, 2022

https://www.courthousenews.com/despite- ... fety-deal/

Introduction:
CHICAGO (Courthouse News) — The rank-and-file members of the Chicago Teachers Union finished voting Wednesday night to accept the tentative pandemic school safety deal reached Monday between the union and Chicago Public Schools that allowed students to return to classrooms.

Unlike Monday, and unlike on Jan. 4 when the union announced it would not comply with the district's in-person learning plan, the announcement of Wednesday night's ratification was subdued, posted to the CTU website without fanfare or much national media attention.

In truth, the deal remains unpopular even with many rank-and-file union members. Of the 70% of union members that voted on the deal between Tuesday and Wednesday, only 55% voted to accept it while 45% opposed it. Union leadership also seemed unhappy with the deal, even as early as Monday night. CTU President Jesse Sharkey called the agreement "imperfect," and the process of reaching it "unpleasant."

“This agreement covers only a portion of the safety guarantees that every one of our school communities deserve. Put bluntly, we have a boss who does not know how to negotiate, does not know how to hear real concerns and is not willing to respect our rank and file enough to listen to us when we tell her we need more protection," Sharkey wrote in a Wednesday statement accompanying news of the deal's ratification, directing his ire at Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

On Monday, CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates bemoaned how much it took from union members to get what she considered very little.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Labor Rights News Thread

Post by caltrek »

Amazon Facing Formal Complaint from Labor Board Over Worker Firing
by Kim Lyons
January 21, 2022

https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/21/2289 ... ker-firing

Introduction:
(The Verge) The National Labor Relations Board is preparing to issue a complaint against Amazon alleging the company illegally fired a worker at one of its New York warehouses, unless the company settles the case first. At issue is whether Daequan Smith, an organizer with the newly-formed Amazon Labor Union (ALU), was fired for trying to organize.

As first reported by Bloomberg, NLRB spokesperson Kayla Blado confirmed Friday that the agency’s regional director Kathy Drew King determined allegations by the ALU that Smith was fired illegally had merit and would issue a complaint if the case doesn’t settle. “The complaint would allege a discharge because of union and other protected concerted activities, among other allegations,” Blado said.

Amazon didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment from The Verge.

The ALU Is awaiting a hearing on its petition to hold a union election at four of Amazon’s warehouses in Staten Island. Smith was a worker at one of the Staten Island warehouses, and the ALU tweeted Friday that since his firing, Smith has been left homeless. The NLRB has the authority to reinstate workers fired for organizing, but it’s not yet clear whether it would do so in this case.

The NLRB ordered Amazon to redo a union election at its warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, after finding the company interfered in the first election in April 2021. That redo, which will be carried out by mail and supervised by the NLRB, begins February 4th.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Labor Rights News Thread

Post by caltrek »

National Labor Relations Board Indicates Amazon Workers in Staten Island Have Gathered Enough Employee Signatures to Hold a Union Vote
by Isobel Asher Hamilto
January 27, 2022

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/compani ... uxbndlbing

Introduction:
(MSN)
  • Amazon workers in Staten Island have enough signatures to hold a union election, the NLRB said.
  • The Amazon Labor Union has been campaigning for a union vote since April.
  • Amazon said it is "skeptical that there are a sufficient number of legitimate signatures."
Amazon workers at a warehouse in Staten Island can officially ask for a union election, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) confirmed on Wednesday.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Labor Rights News Thread

Post by caltrek »

One-Day Strike Nets $5+ Hourly Raise for Mississippi Bus Drivers
by Kenny Stancil
January 27, 2022

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/ ... us-drivers

Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Poorly paid bus drivers in a rural Mississippi school district went on strike last Friday morning and by the end of the day, they had won an hourly pay raise of at least $5, lifting their wages to $20 an hour.

The strike happened after the Jefferson Davis County school board authorized paying $25 per hour to drivers hired on an emergency basis, Magnolia State Live first reported Wednesday.

The emergency pay proposal—meant to incentivize retired teachers, coaches, and bus drivers to help alleviate an ongoing labor shortage—passed 4-1. However, the pay bump didn't apply to existing drivers, some of whom were making as little as $12 an hour—less than half the newly established emergency rate.

"I have zero problem with having anyone that is willing to drive our busses," said Bobby Wilson, the lone District 2 school board member to vote against the measure. "I do have a problem with $25 an hour. I would like to know why we are doubling the salary for certified personnel to drive versus the $12-$15 for our regular drivers."

On Friday morning, the bus drivers went on strike. After one hour, district superintendent Ike Haynes "met with the bus drivers at the bus shop over their pay concerns," according to Magnolia State Live.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Labor Rights News Thread

Post by caltrek »

Union Vote by GM Workers in Mexico a Test for Labor Rights
by Mark Stevenson
February 1, 2022

https://www.latinorebels.com/2022/02/01/mxgmunion/

Introduction:
MEXICO CITY (AP via Latino Rebels) — Workers at a General Motors plant in northern Mexico were voting Tuesday on whether to form one of the first truly independent auto labor unions in Mexican history.

The vote among the roughly 6,500 employees of GM transmission and pickup plants in the northern Mexico city of Silao is a major test of whether a measure of freedom has come to Mexican labor practices.

For almost a century, Mexican unions have been largely a sham, with sold-out leaders guaranteeing low wages that drained manufacturing jobs out of the United States. Mexican auto workers make one-eighth to one-tenth of the wages of their U.S. counterparts, spurring a massive relocation of auto plants to Mexico.

Under changes to Mexican labor law required under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade pact, workers can now in theory vote out the old, pro-company union bosses.

But independent labor activists still face threats and pressure tactics. Just two days before the voting began, thugs threatened a union activist and told her not to show up for the vote.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Labor Rights News Thread

Post by caltrek »

Progressive Lawmakers Back Union Push by Hill Staffers
by Julia Conley
February 4, 2022

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/ ... l-staffers

Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Progressives in Congress offered their full-throated support to Capitol Hill staffers as they launched a unionization effort on Friday, with several lawmakers acknowledging that low pay and poor treatment are common in many congressional offices.

"I'm proud to pay my staff a living wage and offer the most generous benefits Congress has to offer," tweeted Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.). "But that's the exception. That's why we need to allow congressional staff to unionize."

Following numerous anonymous social media posts by Hill staffers about racial and gender discrimination at work and struggling to afford essentials in Washington, D.C.—among the most expensive cities in the U.S.—the newly-formed Congressional Workers Union publicly announced Friday that workers plan to organize individual offices of lawmakers as well as congressional committees to join the union.

The staffers are unionizing "in solidarity with our fellow workers across the United States and the world," said the group.



Image

https://twitter.com/Congress_Union/stat ... l-staffers
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
User avatar
caltrek
Posts: 6509
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 1:17 pm

Re: Labor Rights News Thread

Post by caltrek »

Failure to Pass Protecting the Right to Organize Act Makes Amazon Union Vote in Alabama Even Harder, Says Sanders
by Julia Conley
February 4, 2022

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/ ... ys-sanders

Introduction:
(Common Dreams) As the National Labor Relations Board began sending out union election ballots to Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama on Friday—less than a year after the workers lost an initial election and the board accused the company of illegal interference—Sen. Bernie Sanders condemned the U.S. Senate's failure to pass proposed legislation that would strengthen unionization efforts.

"We're seeing efforts around the country for people to become unionized and we're seeing corporations responding in sometimes absolutely illegal ways," the Vermont independent senator told The Hill. "Workers need protection and of course we've got to give them that protection through the PRO Act."

The Senate has thus far failed to pass the PRO Act, or Protecting the Right to Organize Act, whose provisions are included in the stalled Build Back Better social spending and climate package. Due to the legislative filibuster—and right-wing Democrats' opposition to reforming the tool—the Democrats need 60 votes to pass the legislation.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
Post Reply