Jan
2013 31
2013 31
All Eyes on Kansas?! Missouri Faces Its Own Paycheck Deception (and Broadly Anti-Union) Battle
With all southern Midwest labor eyes on Kansas’ paycheck deception fight, a series of anti-worker bills are quietly making their way through the Missouri legislature that could could turn The Show Me State into a new battleground for controversial labor laws. It’s no coincidence that the Americans for Prosperity agenda is being thrust...
Jan
2013 30
2013 30
Chicago’s New Wage Theft Ordinance is a Model for Other Cities
A new ordinance that aims to crack down on wage theft in Chicago and Cook County passed city council on January 17th. The ordinance creates a scenario in which businesses guilty of such charges could lose their licenses to operate. It was proposed by Alderman Ameya Pawar. Pawar’s Ward 47 has had just 14 reports ...
Jan
2013 23
2013 23
In Texas, Members of Both Parties are Beginning to Recognize the Danger of Employee Misclassification
In Texas, select politicians have been looking to tackle the problem of employee misclassification for the past few years only to encounter hurdle after hurdle. In 2013, though, a revamped push to change the state’s laws is finding bipartisan support meaning the passage of House Bill 372, the Workplace Fraud Prevention Act, may be imminent ...
Jan
2013 17
2013 17
NightmareLiner: Boeing Ignored Skeptics, Outsourced Production of 787, Put 1000s at Risk
UPDATE: The FAA has grounded the Dreamliner in the U.S. If you take a look at the last few years, you’d think industry giant Boeing has been as much a pioneer of union-busting as it has been of aviation. After infamously moving an entire production facility from worker-friendly Washington to “Right-to-Work” South Carolina in...
Jan
2013 16
2013 16
NY Joins CT in Creating a “Green Bank” to Accelerate Alternative Energy Industries
During his State of the State address last week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced plans to create a $1 billion “greenbank” that would help accelerate the state’s clean energy industry. The state-sponsored fund would match public funds in order to spark investment in green technologies and would make New York the second...
Jan
2013 15
2013 15
Teamsters Organizing Victory, Contract at L.A. Port Boasts Breakthroughs in Pay, Leave, Benefits
L.A. Toll Group drivers have ratified their first contract as members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters marking the first such contract in the dryage industry in 30 years. The workers, who haul apparel and merchandise from the L.A. Ports, will receive a $6 raise, paid sick leave, paid overtime, guaranteed shift hours, a pension ...
Jan
2013 10
2013 10
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis’ Resignation Letter
via Dave Weigel @ Slate.com… Dear Colleagues: Over the Christmas and New Year holidays with my family in California, I enjoyed my first opportunity in years to reflect on the past and my future, with an open mind and an open heart. After much discussion with family and close friends, I have decided to begin ...
Jan
2013 10
2013 10
December Jobs Report Shows One Fifth of Added Jobs are in Construction
Buried in the numbers produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) December 2012 jobs report is the fact that nearly one-fifth of the 155,000 jobs added in the past month were in the construction industry. After five years of hemorrhaging jobs the construction industry has been rebounding over the past three months, a sign ...
Jan
2013 8
2013 8
NLRB: Ford, UAW Colluded to Force Teamsters Out of Jobs So They Could Underpay New Workers
As of this week, the total back-pay would be about $5.3 million, plus interest, but that is a conservative estimate since more workers may be found eligible. Teamsters who were forced out of their jobs at a Ford plant in Louisville, KY will be returning to work after the NLRB ruled that collusion between Ford ...
Jan
2013 7
2013 7
Included in “Fiscal Cliff” Deal: WIND ENERGY PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT EXTENSION!
As part of the deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff,” Congress passed an extension of the Wind Energy Production Tax Credit which will allow one of the fastest growing energy sources in America to continue to thrive. America’s 75,000 wind sector employees can finally take a collective deep breath following months of uncertainty...
Jan
2013 3
2013 3
Nearly 1,000,000 Americans Seeing Minimum Wage Increases (of Varying Degrees) This Year
Nearly 1 million American workers will see their pay increase in 10 states this year thanks to minimum wage raises. Of those states, nine will see a slight increase due to legislation that links or “indexes” their state’s minimum wage to inflation. In Rhode Island, a bill signed into law in June (that took effect ...
Jan
2013 2
2013 2
Want to Know Which GOP Lawmakers Tried to Destroy Construction Wages Over Christmas?
While the bulk of us were soaking up the family vibes and licking our anti-worker wounds from a hard-fought 2012 go of it, a select group of lawmakers were doubling down on efforts to undermine the middle class. Did I say select group? I meant Republicans. See, on December 28th, the Senate — led by ...
