Category Archives: Union
Finally Some Positive Labor News
Beginning tomorrow a new Obama administration rule that will speed up the process for workers to unionize will take effect, and it could have a big impact on unionization.
An Obama administration rule that speeds up the process by which employees can unionize will take effect Tuesday after Republicans last month failed to block the measure.
Under the new National Labor Relations Board rules, employees could potentially organize a union in less than two weeks, compared to the previous average of 38 days between the time a petition is filed and the election is held.
Labor groups say this will prevent management from needlessly delaying union elections. But Republicans and business groups contend it will not give companies enough time to prepare for union elections.
Outraged Republicans and business groups are accusing the Obama administration of promoting ambush union organization, but the reality is that the new NLRB rule was put into place to address a serious problem. Anti-union businesses have used the period between elections to foot drag, delay, and mount campaigns filled with thinly veiled threats of job loss in order to discourage unionization.
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, unionized workers earn $200 a week more than non-union workers. When benefits are included unionized employees earn $425 a week more than non-union employees. Increasing private sector unionization rates is an essential component to any plan to grow the middle-class. Any change that makes it easier for workers to unionize is a positive development.
Over the last three decades, the deck has been stacked by Republicans against unions. President Obama’s new rule is an important step towards unions finally being able to fight back.
That’s What I Said
Thanks
36 Reasons Why You Should Thank a Union
Weekends
All Breaks at Work, including your Lunch Breaks
Paid Vacation
FMLA
Sick Leave
Social Security
Minimum Wage
Civil Rights Act/Title VII (Prohibits Employer Discrimination)
8-Hour Work Day
Overtime Pay
Child Labor Laws
Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
40 Hour Work Week
Worker’s Compensation (Worker’s Comp)
Unemployment Insurance
Pensions
Workplace Safety Standards and Regulations
Employer Health Care Insurance
Collective Bargaining Rights for Employees
Wrongful Termination Laws
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
Whistleblower Protection Laws
Employee Polygraph Protect Act (Prohibits Employer from using a lie detector test on an employee)
Veteran’s Employment and Training Services (VETS)
Compensation increases and Evaluations (Raises)
Sexual Harassment Laws
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
Holiday Pay
Employer Dental, Life, and Vision Insurance
Privacy Rights
Pregnancy and Parental Leave
Military Leave
The Right to Strike
Public Education for Children
Equal Pay Acts of 1963 & 2011 (Requires employers pay men and women equally for the same amount of work)
Laws Ending Sweatshops in the United States
Retirees better listen up
Dear Retiree,
As I write this Teamster retirees from across the Midwest and South are marching in Chicago to defend workers’ pensions.
They’re rallying at a meeting called by the Central States Pension Fund to brief Teamster officials on plans to cut retiree benefits.
Can you make a one-time contribution today to support actions like this to protect our pensions?
“We’re here today because we worked hard, sometimes gave up raises, to earn a decent pension,” said Greg Smith, from Akron Ohio.
Teamsters like Greg are the life-blood of the growing movement to defend our pensions—and TDU has their back.
TDU Organizer Peter Landon is on the ground today in Chicago helping to organize the rally. TDU has been working with pension committees in various states and providing the logistics for today’s rally.
TDU is going to continue to press the fight to defend pensions.
We’re going to keep making noise and making sure Teamster voices are heard from the Central States Pension Fund to Washington, DC—along with our allies at the Pension Rights Center, AARP and other unions.
In solidarity,
Ken Paff
Common Sense
The good old days
It ain’t over til it’s over
Logic is a sin
If It’s Pushed By the Republicans, It’s Not Good For The Working Man
Thom’s blog
Why Unions Are the Seeds of Democracy
Scott Walker has struck another blow against democracy.
On Monday, the Republican Wisconsin governor signed into law a bill that made Wisconsin the nation’s 25th right-to-work-for-less state. For Badger State workers, this is nothing short of a disaster. Contrary to what you might hear on Fox So-Called News or read in The Wall Street Journal, right-to-work-for-less laws are not a recipe for economic success.
In fact, according to the Economic Policy Institute, “8 of the 10 worst states in terms of quality of life are [right-to-work] states.” And that’s not even the worst of it.
Studies also show that workers in right-to-work-for-less states make less money, get skimpier health benefits, and are more likely to die on the job than workers in Union Security states. Republicans, of course, like to argue that all this doesn’t matter because right-to-work-for-less states have lower unemployment rates.
But that claim doesn’t really hold up to much scrutiny.
In reality, 7 of the top 10 states in terms of unemployment rate are right-to-work-for-less states, and if anything, the lower unemployment rate in some right-to-work-for-less states probably has more to do with population size than union-busting.
So whatever way you look at it, right-to-work-for-less laws like Wisconsin’s are a raw deal, both for workers and the states they live in. They also pose a mortal threat to a democratic workplace, and that’s arguably a much bigger problem. That’s because the real purpose of right-to-work-for-less-laws isn’t to lower wages or gut health benefits – although those are some nice side benefits as far as corporate America is concerned.
No, the real purpose of right-to-work-for-less laws is to totally gut the negotiating power of unions, the most important check we have against concentrated wealth and power.