Labor Rights News Thread

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caltrek
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'We Are Going to Win': UK Workers Launch Largest Coordinated Strike in More Than a Decade
by Julia Conley
January , 2023

Introduction:
(Common Dreams) With organizers saying it's entirely within the power of the United Kingdom's Conservative government to ensure public sector employees are paid fairly, roughly half a million workers walked out on Wednesday in the country's largest coordinated strike in more than a decade.

About 300,000 of the striking employees are educators, and they were joined by civil servants, railroad workers, university professors, London bus drivers, museum workers, and border officials, among others, with 59% of Britons telling YouGov in a recent poll that they supported the walkout.

The strong support comes even as an estimated 85% of schools across the U.K. were closed on Wednesday. Students and parents stood on picket lines alongside teachers, whose wages have not kept up with inflation and who are struggling to teach in schools where per-pupil spending for the 2024-25 school year is now expected to be 3% lower than it was in 2010.

(See below for Twitter feed).

"It's partly about pay, which has been reduced by 11% over the last 10 years," Jon Voake, a drama teacher in South Gloucestershire, told The Guardian. "But it's also about how our workload's going up. We're all working with bigger groups. Children's education is going to suffer and enough is enough."

In the most economically deprived parts of the country, the National Education Union said, teachers' pay has gone down by more than 20% since 2010 as the rate of inflation in the U.K. stands at 10.5%—"the highest among the G7 group of advanced economies," according to Al Jazeera.
Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/uk-workers-strike


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Disney World unions vote down offer covering 45,000 workers
Source: AP

By MIKE SCHNEIDER
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Union members voted down a contract proposal covering tens of thousands of Walt Disney World service workers, saying it didn’t go far enough toward helping employees face cost-of-living hikes in housing and other expenses in central Florida.

The unions said that 13,650 out of 14,263 members who voted on the contract on Friday rejected the proposal from Disney, sending negotiators back to the bargaining table for another round of talks that have been ongoing since August. The contract covers around 45,000 service workers at the Disney theme park resort outside Orlando.

Disney World service workers who are in the six unions that make up the Service Trades Council Union coalition had been demanding a starting minimum wage jump to at least $18 an hour in the first year of the contract, up from the starting minimum wage of $15 an hour won in the previous contract.

The proposal rejected on Friday would have raised the starting minimum wage to $20 an hour for all service workers by the last year of the five-year contract, an increase of $1 each year for a majority of the workers it covered. Certain positions, like housekeepers, bus drivers and culinary jobs, would start immediately at a minimum of $20 under the proposal.


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/hospitality- ... cd219b9802
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caltrek
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Critics Slam 'Reprehensible' Iowa Bill to Expand Child Labor
by Brett Wilkins
February 7, 2023

Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Labor advocates on Tuesday decried a business-backed bill introduced by Republican state lawmakers in Iowa that would roll back child labor laws so that teens as young as 14 could work in previously prohibited jobs including mining, logging, and animal slaughtering—a proposal one union president called dangerous and "just crazy."

Senate File 167, introduced by state Sen. Jason Schultz (R-6) would expand job options available to teens—including letting children as young as 14 work in freezers and meat coolers and loading and unloading light tools, under certain conditions.

Teens under 18 would still be generally barred from employment in fields including mining, logging, demolition, and meatpacking, and from operating potentially dangerous machinery and equipment including circular saws, guillotine shears, and punching machines.

However, the Des Moines Registerreports the proposed law contains "an entirely new section" that "would allow the Iowa Workforce Development and state Department of Education heads to make exceptions to any of the prohibited jobs for teens 14-17 'participating in work-based learning or a school or employer-administered, work-related program.'"
Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/iowa ... abor-laws
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
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caltrek wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 11:10 pm Critics Slam 'Reprehensible' Iowa Bill to Expand Child Labor
by Brett Wilkins
February 7, 2023

Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Labor advocates on Tuesday decried a business-backed bill introduced by Republican state lawmakers in Iowa that would roll back child labor laws so that teens as young as 14 could work in previously prohibited jobs including mining, logging, and animal slaughtering—a proposal one union president called dangerous and "just crazy."

Senate File 167, introduced by state Sen. Jason Schultz (R-6) would expand job options available to teens—including letting children as young as 14 work in freezers and meat coolers and loading and unloading light tools, under certain conditions.

Teens under 18 would still be generally barred from employment in fields including mining, logging, demolition, and meatpacking, and from operating potentially dangerous machinery and equipment including circular saws, guillotine shears, and punching machines.

However, the Des Moines Registerreports the proposed law contains "an entirely new section" that "would allow the Iowa Workforce Development and state Department of Education heads to make exceptions to any of the prohibited jobs for teens 14-17 'participating in work-based learning or a school or employer-administered, work-related program.'"
Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/iowa ... abor-laws

The republicans literally want to return to the 18th century. It is scary as f*ck.
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Hyundai in talks with U.S. Labor Department over Alabama child labor
Source: Reuters
NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor Co said it is in talks with the U.S. Department of Labor to resolve concerns about child workers in its U.S. supply chain, and the company is taking corrective actions after a Reuters investigation found children as young as 12 working in hazard-laden Alabama factories linked to the automotive giant.

In a statement late Tuesday, Hyundai told Reuters it has held a series of discussions with the Labor Department, which has been investigating a Hyundai subsidiary in Alabama and other parts suppliers to the automaker, and its sister brand Kia Corp, for potential child labor violations.

The talks with the U.S. labor regulator have focused on "compliance measures across our supply chain," company spokesman Michael Stewart said in a statement. He also detailed several new measures Hyundai is implementing to "ensure non-compliance never happens again."

Among them: Hyundai said it will roll out new employment training programs throughout its U.S. supply chain, validate identification documents for job applicants, set up anonymous tip hotlines, and discourage the use of third-party staffing agencies. Reuters found those agencies sometimes placed underage workers in the suppliers' plants.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 023-02-08/
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Tesla fires employees in retaliation to union campaign - complaint
Source: Reuters
Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) on Wednesday laid off dozens of employees from its Autopilot department at its Buffalo plant in New York, a day after workers launched a campaign to form a union, according to a complaint filed with a government agency.

Earlier this week, Tesla workers in New York said they will unionize with Workers United Upstate New York, which would help give them a voice at their workplace.

The Workers United Upstate New York union in a filing with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Wednesday accused the world's most valuable automaker of hitting back by terminating some of the employees "in retaliation for union activity".

The company fired more than 30 employees, the union said in the statement, adding that the workers also received an email with an updated policy, which prohibits them from recording workplace meetings without all participants' permission.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 023-02-16/
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Federal officials say more than 100 children worked in dangerous jobs for slaughterhouse
Source: NBC News

The Labor Department said Friday it found 102 children as young as 13 working hazardous overnight jobs cleaning slaughterhouses in eight states in what it called a “corporate-wide failure” by one of the largest food sanitation companies in the country, Packers Sanitation Services Inc.

In a statement, the company said, "We are pleased to have finalized this settlement figure as part of our previously announced December resolution with the Department of Labor (DOL) that ends their inquiry. We have been crystal clear from the start: Our company has a zero-tolerance policy against employing anyone under the age of 18 and fully shares the DOL’s objective of ensuring full compliance at all locations."

"As soon as we became aware of the DOL’s allegations, we conducted multiple additional audits of our employee base. ... Our audits and DOL’s investigation confirmed that none of the individuals DOL cited as under the age of 18 work for the company today, and many had separated from employment with PSSI multiple years ago. The DOL has also not identified any managers aware of improper conduct that are currently employed by PSSI."

"We are fully committed to working with DOL to make additional improvements to enforce our prohibition of employing anyone under the age of 18." Packers Sanitation Services has paid a $1.5 million fine for the violations. The fine amount is dictated by the Fair Labor Standards Act, which allows a penalty of $15,138 for each minor who was employed in violation of the law, according to the Labor Department.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fe ... -rcna71171
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Ninth Circuit Reverses Itself, Strikes Down California Ban on ‘Forced Arbitration’ Clauses
by Hillel Aron
February 15, 2023

Introduction:
(Courthouse News) — In a major reversal, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals now says a California law banning "forced arbitration" clauses is preempted by federal law and therefore unenforceable.

The California Legislature has tried for nearly a decade to ban companies from adding "forced arbitration" clauses into their workers' contracts. The clauses prevent employees from suing in the event of a dispute and instead funnel them into an arbitration process, which is often secret. The first two efforts at such a ban were vetoed by then-Governor Jerry Brown, who said the laws “plainly” violated the Federal Arbitration Act.

A third version of the bill was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, only to be struck down by a federal judge, though that ruling was partially overturned by the Ninth Circuit in 2021. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a petition for rehearing en banc. In the meantime, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, which found that parts of another law, the state's Private Attorneys General Act, was preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act. In the wake of that ruling, the Ninth Circuit took the unusual step of withdrawing its own opinion and granting a rehearing.

Passed in 2019, Assembly Bill 51 attempted to sidestep the question of federal preemption by making it a criminal offense for an employer to require an employee or job applicant to agree to an arbitration clause, rather than saying those clauses are unenforceable.

"AB 51 does not expressly bar arbitration agreements," U.S. Circuit Judge Sandra Ikuta, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote in a majority opinion published Wednesday. "There is no doubt, though, that AB 51 disfavors the formation of agreements that have the essential terms of an arbitration agreement. Because a person who agrees to arbitrate disputes must necessarily waive the right to bring civil actions regarding those disputes in any other forum, AB 51 burdens the defining feature of arbitration agreements."
Read more here: https://www.courthousenews.com/ninth-c ... -clauses/
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Amazon mandates return to office for 300,000 corporate staff
Source: The Register
Amazon boss Andy Jassy is demanding a return to the office for the "majority" of the company's 300,000-strong corporate workforce, with an expectation that employees will spend "at least" three days on site each week.

Various parts of the business have operated under different rules during the pandemic, warehouse staff – for example – work full time in-person, while corporate group employees work remotely or mix it up.
Read more: https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/20/ ... to_office/
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Toyota accepts union demands for biggest wage hike in two decades
Source: CNN
Toyota Motor, the world’s biggest automaker, said on Wednesday it would accept a union demand for the biggest base salary increase in 20 years and a rise in bonus payments, as Japan steps up calls for businesses to hike pay.

As one of Japan’s biggest employers, Toyota (TM) has long served as a bellwether of the spring labor talks, which are in full swing at major companies. Many are expected to conclude swiftly as the government seeks inflation-beating wage hikes to ease burdens on consumers.

The automaker’s incoming president Koji Sato said the decision to accept the union’s demands in full at the first round of talks was meant not just for Toyota but “also for the industry as a whole, and in the hope that it will lead to frank discussions between labor and management at each company.”

Within hours of Toyota’s announcement, rival Honda (HMC) Motor said it had agreed to union demands for a 5% pay increase. The average monthly base salary rise of 12,500 yen ($92.70) at Honda (HMC) is the biggest jump since at least 1990.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/23/cars/toy ... index.html
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