PITTSBURGH NEWSPAPER WORKERS BEGIN THIRD YEAR ON STRIKE
Communication Workers of America strikers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette began their third year of picketing the newspaper this past October. It is one of the longest strikes in America today.
Members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh-CWA walked out two years ago after the paper unilaterally cut off the healthcare of its production, advertising, and distribution workers. Despite several court decisions favoring the union, the newspaper still refuses to bargain in good faith.
AFL-CIO HEAD CALLS FOR LABOR-CENTERED DEMOCRATIC PARTY
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler this week outlined a program calling upon the Democratic National Committee to re-orient its goals by bringing “working people back to its center.” Noting that union members voted for Democratic endorsed candidates from the top of the ticket on down at a much higher rate than the general public, she outlined a four-point program for the DNC when it elects a new slate of officers in the coming months. To see her full statement, click on the link below.
In a significant judicial victory, a judge in Wisconsin state court threw out a 2011 state law that had deprived public workers of the right to collective bargaining. The law, pushed through the legislature by the anti-labor governor at the time, Scott Walker, was enacted after Republicans won control the executive and legislative branches of the state government in 2010.
But, in a brazen political move, the law exempted police and firefighters unions, two unions that were supporters of Walker and Republicans. The law caused an uproar across the state at the time as thousands of workers turned out at the capital to protest it.
Judge Jacob Frost of Dane County Circuit Court ruled Dec. 2 that this selective choice of workers who get collective bargaining rights was a violation of the state constitution.
While former Gov. Walker condemned the decision of Judge Frost, the present governor, Tony Evers, hailed it as “great news for Wisconsin workers.” And Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale declared that “restoring union freedoms to Wisconsin workers will strengthen Wisconsin’s middle class, lift up the voices of workers and lead to better public services for our communities.”
https://www.spotlightonlabor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/icon.png500500Paul Beckerhttps://www.spotlightonlabor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/spotlight_logo_.pngPaul Becker2024-12-09 10:45:252024-12-10 13:48:03WISCONSIN JUDGE NIXES LAW THAT LIMITED UNION RIGHTS
Since 2021, the year President Biden took office, the number of union election petitions filed with the National Labor Relations Board has skyrocketed, the board recently reported. In the last year alone, the requests have jumped 29 percent from nearly 2,600 to nearly 3,600. Under the law, if 30 percent of the workers in a workplace sign union authorization cards, the NLRB is charged with reviewing the petitions and conducting an election. And if a majority of the workers select a union, the employer must bargain in good faith with that union.
The big jump in union election filings reflects the labor-friendly policies of the Biden administration and the presidential appointments to the NLRB that has changed the board’s policies.
Over the years, however, Republican appointees to the board have disproportionately been corporate-friendly lawyers, or even those advising companies on how to avoid unionization. This has severely weakened the ability of unions to get the board to enforce the law. Many unions have avoided the NLRB altogether.
The change in NLRB policies has created one big problem – a shortage of personnel to handle the huge caseload of approving petitions and supervising elections. The board pointed to the fact that when it faced a similar situation back in 2011 during the Obama administration, it had 62 percent more field staff. Cuts during the Trump years have since made the situation difficult.
https://www.spotlightonlabor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/icon.png500500Paul Beckerhttps://www.spotlightonlabor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/spotlight_logo_.pngPaul Becker2024-10-24 17:59:592024-10-24 18:02:25NLRB REPORTS BIG SURGE IN UNION ELECTION FILINGS
DECEMBER BITS & PIECES
Labor BriefsPITTSBURGH NEWSPAPER WORKERS BEGIN THIRD YEAR ON STRIKE
Communication Workers of America strikers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette began their third year of picketing the newspaper this past October. It is one of the longest strikes in America today.
Members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh-CWA walked out two years ago after the paper unilaterally cut off the healthcare of its production, advertising, and distribution workers. Despite several court decisions favoring the union, the newspaper still refuses to bargain in good faith.
CWA News, 12/5
AFL-CIO HEAD CALLS FOR LABOR-CENTERED DEMOCRATIC PARTY
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler this week outlined a program calling upon the Democratic National Committee to re-orient its goals by bringing “working people back to its center.” Noting that union members voted for Democratic endorsed candidates from the top of the ticket on down at a much higher rate than the general public, she outlined a four-point program for the DNC when it elects a new slate of officers in the coming months. To see her full statement, click on the link below.
AFL-CIO Press Release, 12/10
WISCONSIN JUDGE NIXES LAW THAT LIMITED UNION RIGHTS
Labor BriefsIn a significant judicial victory, a judge in Wisconsin state court threw out a 2011 state law that had deprived public workers of the right to collective bargaining. The law, pushed through the legislature by the anti-labor governor at the time, Scott Walker, was enacted after Republicans won control the executive and legislative branches of the state government in 2010.
But, in a brazen political move, the law exempted police and firefighters unions, two unions that were supporters of Walker and Republicans. The law caused an uproar across the state at the time as thousands of workers turned out at the capital to protest it.
Judge Jacob Frost of Dane County Circuit Court ruled Dec. 2 that this selective choice of workers who get collective bargaining rights was a violation of the state constitution.
While former Gov. Walker condemned the decision of Judge Frost, the present governor, Tony Evers, hailed it as “great news for Wisconsin workers.” And Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale declared that “restoring union freedoms to Wisconsin workers will strengthen Wisconsin’s middle class, lift up the voices of workers and lead to better public services for our communities.”
The decision is certain to be appealed.
NY Times, 12/2
NLRB REPORTS BIG SURGE IN UNION ELECTION FILINGS
Labor BriefsSince 2021, the year President Biden took office, the number of union election petitions filed with the National Labor Relations Board has skyrocketed, the board recently reported. In the last year alone, the requests have jumped 29 percent from nearly 2,600 to nearly 3,600. Under the law, if 30 percent of the workers in a workplace sign union authorization cards, the NLRB is charged with reviewing the petitions and conducting an election. And if a majority of the workers select a union, the employer must bargain in good faith with that union.
The big jump in union election filings reflects the labor-friendly policies of the Biden administration and the presidential appointments to the NLRB that has changed the board’s policies.
Over the years, however, Republican appointees to the board have disproportionately been corporate-friendly lawyers, or even those advising companies on how to avoid unionization. This has severely weakened the ability of unions to get the board to enforce the law. Many unions have avoided the NLRB altogether.
The change in NLRB policies has created one big problem – a shortage of personnel to handle the huge caseload of approving petitions and supervising elections. The board pointed to the fact that when it faced a similar situation back in 2011 during the Obama administration, it had 62 percent more field staff. Cuts during the Trump years have since made the situation difficult.
Huffpost, 10/15