Labor Rights News Thread

[weatheriscool]

It's Not Just Wages. Retailers Are Mistreating Workers in a More Insidious Way.

The NYT has an article today on how major corporations are impoverishing workers, and it’s all legal. We need better worker protections.

“Most of my co-workers had been at the store for years, but almost all of them were, like me, part time. This meant that the store had no obligation to give us a stable number of hours or to adhere to a weekly minimum. Some weeks we’d be scheduled for as little as a single four-hour shift; other weeks we’d be asked to do overnights and work as many as 39 hours (never 40, presumably because the company didn’t want to come anywhere close to having to pay overtime).

The unpredictability of the hours made life difficult for my co-workers — as much as, if not more than, the low pay did. On receiving a paycheck for a good week’s work, when they’d worked 39 hours, should they use the money to pay down debt? Or should they hold on to it in case the following week they were scheduled for only four hours and didn’t have enough for food?”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/19/opin ... =url-share

[caltrek]

UAW Commits $40 Million to Organizing EV Battery Workers
by Julia Conley
February 21, 2024

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) With the electric vehicle battery industry expected to add tens of thousands of jobs in the coming years, the United Auto Workers announced Wednesday its plan to ensure the new workers will benefit from labor protections and fair wages.

The UAW's International Executive Board voted Tuesday to commit $40 million to help support and organize nonunion autoworkers and battery workers, said the union.

(See linked article for Twitter feed)

The decision reflects that "organizing the unorganized and fighting for a just transition for workers in the emerging EV industry are our union's top priority!" said Chris Brooks, an adviser to UAW president Shawn Fain.

Thanks to a surge in organizing activity, including a six-week "Stand Up Strike" last fall that pushed the "Big Three" automakers to provide employees with improved pay and working conditions, said the UAW, "new standards are being set" as the battery sector begins to expand.
The union announced during the strike that EV workers would be included in its national agreement.

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/uaw-battery-workers

caltrek’s comment: This sort of thing is very critical for society to move forward in a progressive manner. An undesirable alternative would be for reactionaries to take advantage of the future shock caused by the conversion to new technologies. Transitioning is tough enough as it is. A net decline in wages an deterioration in working conditions would be even worse.

[caltrek]

Eiffel Tower in Paris Set to Reopen After Six-day Strike
by Emily Atkinson
February 25, 2024

Introduction:

(BBC) The Eiffel Tower in Paris was expected to reopen to visitors on Sunday after six days of closure due to strikes.

Workers first walked out on Monday in a dispute over the way the tower was managed.

Its operator, Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), said a deal was reached with unions on Saturday.

It is the second such strike at the iconic landmark in the last three months, as Paris looks ahead to hosting the 2024 Olympic Games this summer.

SETE apologised to ticket holders and said they would be reimbursed for bookings impacted by the action, which resulted in the loss of some 100,000 admissions.

Read more here: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68396481

[caltrek]

The Essential Workers Missing from the Farm Bill
February 14, 2024

Introduction:

(Food & Environment Reporting Network) Farm work has long been among the most dangerous jobs in America. But while Congress has had many chances to bolster labor protections in the 18 versions of the farm bill it has passed since 1933, it has instead largely ignored the needs of the workers who plant, tend, harvest, and process the nation’s food.

As climate change worsens, this disregard for the food system’s “essential workers” is increasingly hard to justify. Several studies have associated extreme heat with excess cardiovascular deaths. Last July, during a record-breaking heat wave in Florida, farmworker Efrain Lopez Garcia told his coworkers he was feeling sick. They found his body a few hours later near a grove of longan trees where he’d been picking fruit. That same month, Dario Mendoza collapsed and died in the fields outside Yuma, Arizona, where most of the country’s winter vegetables are grown; the heat index that day had hit 116 degrees.

Both of these men would have benefited from increased worker protections — safeguards the farm bill could provide. The legislation has long supported farm owners, through federal crop insurance and other programs; when things go wrong for farmers, the government is there to help. Yet Congress continues to treat labor as being outside the legislation’s purview. The farm bill has 12 titles, and labor is not among them. The Senate Agriculture Committee, which runs point on the bill every five years, does not include labor in the long list of issues that fall under its jurisdiction. The House Agriculture Committee launched a new labor task force last year, but its focus is ensuring a steady workforce for farmers, not expanding farmworker rights. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which administers most of the farm bill’s policies, generally considers farm owners to be its constituents, not farmworkers.

The USDA has a single “Farmworker Coordinator” on staff to represent the nation’s 2 million farmworkers, and the position is not adequately resourced.

Read more here: https://thefern.org/2024/02/a-farm-bil ... workers/

[wjfox]

[firestar464]

More on that by Reuters:

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu ... 024-02-28/

[caltrek]

'Not a Radical Idea': Bernie Sanders Unveils 32-Hour Workweek Bill
by Jake Johnson
March 13, 2024

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday introduced legislation that would establish a 32-hour workweek in the U.S. with no loss of pay, a change the Vermont senator said is necessary to ensure the working class benefits from massive productivity gains and technological advances.

A 32-hour workweek "is not a radical idea," Sanders, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said in a statement, noting that productivity gains have far outpaced wage growth in recent decades.

"Today, American workers are over 400% more productive than they were in the 1940s. And yet, millions of Americans are working longer hours for lower wages than they were decades ago. That has got to change," said Sanders. "The financial gains from the major advancements in artificial intelligence, automation, and new technology must benefit the working class, not just corporate CEOs and wealthy stockholders on Wall Street."

"It is time to reduce the stress level in our country and allow Americans to enjoy a better quality of life," Sanders added. "It is time for a 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay."

Sanders introduced the Senate bill alongside Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.). Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who has led 32-hour workweek bills in previous sessions, unveiled companion legislation in the House.

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/sand ... workweek

[firestar464]

sadly the house isn't gonna be too cooperative though

[weatheriscool]

Georgia Republicans Pass Bill Punishing Union-Friendly Employers
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/georgia- ... 7420ad1a58

GOP lawmakers in Georgia passed a bill Wednesday to punish employers that make it easier for workers to form unions, sending the legislation to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature.

Senate Bill 362 would bar companies from receiving state economic incentives if they voluntarily recognize a union instead of requiring employees to vote in a secret-ballot election. It is aimed at discouraging a process known as “card check,” whereby workers can unionize simply by showing that there’s majority support in the form of signed union cards.

The legislation passed the state Senate last month by a vote of 31-23. It cleared the House on Wednesday 96-78. Both votes fell mostly along party lines.

Although Kemp has indicated that he backs the legislation, it is likely to face legal challenges on the grounds that it conflicts with federal labor law. Long-standing interpretation of the National Labor Relations Act, the 1935 law governing private sector collective bargaining, allows for employers to recognize a union and immediately start bargaining when employees have made their wishes clear.

[firestar464]

Ok, HOW HAS TENNESSEE NOT BEEN SUED BY NOW FOR THEIR VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW?