Teamsters at Three Railroads Ratify Contracts
(NOVI, Mich.) – Workers at three railroads represented by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division (BMWED) of the Teamsters Rail Conference have ratified new contracts. Teamsters at the Colorado and Wyoming Railway unanimously voted to ratify a contract securing higher wages and improvements to vacation, bereavement and personal leave, and holidays. “It was […]
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IAM Union Stands with People of South Korea Amidst Attack on Democracy
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2024 – Brian Bryant, International President of the 600,000-member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), issued this statement following a dangerous attack on democracy by the South Korean President: “The IAM Union stands firmly for the principles of democracy, both here at home in the United States and Canada and
The post IAM Union Stands with People of South Korea Amidst Attack on Democracy appeared first on IAMAW.
Postal Workers Improve Election Mail Delivery, Show the Postal Service Works When Given Proper Tools, Staffing
December 9, 2024On Dec. 2, 2024, the Postal Service released its post-election analysis of how the USPS handled election mail and ballots in the 2024 General Election. Here are the results.
Elections
On Dec. 2, 2024, the Postal Service released its post-election analysis of how the USPS handled election mail and ballots in the 2024 General Election. Despite natural disasters and concerns from state election officials, postal workers were able to deliver results that were even better than election mail in 2022 and 2020. Like election years past, postal workers moved heaven and earth and proved once again that Vote-by-Mail is safe, secure, and an effective way to vote and why the Post Office remains one of the public’s most trusted institutions.
The report highlights several key numbers:
The Postal Service processed 99.22 million ballots in the 2024 General Election
99.88 percent of ballots were delivered from voters to election officials within seven days
99.64 percent of ballots were delivered from voters to election officials within five days
97.73 percent of ballots were delivered from voters to election officials within three days
Less than two days on average for ballots to deliver from election officials to voters
One day on average to deliver ballots from voters to election officials.
“Postal workers proved once again just how essential our work is. We worked with postal management to ensure that ballots were delivered both timely and securely, including quickly addressing the few problems when they arose,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “Our demand is that all mail, all year, receive the same care, attention, and speedy service that ballots received this election.”
The success of election mail proves that, working together, postal workers and postal management can do incredible things to move mail quickly. Postal workers want the same care and attention paid to all of America’s mail so that postal workers can deliver the good quality postal services the public deserves every day when we’re properly staffed and given the resources we need.
Postal Workers Improve Election Mail Delivery, Show the Postal Service Works When Given Proper Tools, Staffing0
Read More....Joint Statement from UAW International and UAW Staff Council Union
Today, the UAW International and UAW Staff Council Union reached a tentative agreement with the UAW’s temporary organizing staff represented by the union.
The post Joint Statement from UAW International and UAW Staff Council Union appeared first on UAW | United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America.
Unions, members of Congress to rally for WEP/GPO repeal
Those fighting to restore fairness in Social Security are uniting to demand the Senate act on the unfair penalties harming millions of retired public service workers.
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🔧 Machinists on the Hill: Fair trade push — Golden’s HQ tour — IKEA workers strike
Click Here to view this edition of Machinists on the Hill.
The post 🔧 Machinists on the Hill: Fair trade push — Golden’s HQ tour — IKEA workers strike appeared first on IAMAW.
One-Day Strikes Are In: The Working People Weekly List
One-Day Strikes Are In: The Working People Weekly List
Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List.
Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Workers Finalize First-Ever Union Contract: “After nearly two years of negotiations, Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corporation and its unionized employees have reached an agreement. ‘Pittsburgh is a union town, and we are proud to serve it as a unionized station,’ workers said in a press release. ‘We believe this is a strong first contract that rewards the dedicated professionals at WESA and WYEP with immediate wage increases, while also helping to shape the stations’ direction for years to come.’”Danbury Firefighters Get 2.85% Raises, City Residency Stipend in New Union Contract: “The city’s firefighters union has a new contract, giving firefighters a new 2.85% annual general wage increase that starts in the current fiscal year and continues over the next three years. The City Council approved funding for the city’s new four-year pact with the Local 801, International Association of Fire Fighters, AFL-CIO, union Tuesday night. The vote was unanimous, with Democratic City Council member Jeffrey Tomchik, who is a city firefighter, abstaining.”U.S. Looks to End Subminimum Wage for Workers with Disabilities: “Federal law currently allows the agency to issue certificates that let employers pay certain workers less than the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour based on the notion that their disabilities hinder productivity. Intended to help those with disabilities gain employment, the law currently has about 40,000 American workers laboring for half the minimum wage or less, according to the Labor Department.”A Wisconsin Judge Just Ripped Up Scott Walker’s Anti-Union Law: “Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale announced, ‘Nearly 14 years after Scott Walker, in his own words, “dropped the bomb” on Wisconsin public employees, Wisconsin workers can celebrate as the judicial branch restores collective bargaining rights to public employees in Wisconsin. Declaring Wisconsin’s union-busting Act 10 unconstitutional and void, over 60 sections of the 2011 anti-union law have now been struck down.’”One-Day Strikes Are In: Why Unions Are Keeping It Short on the Picket Line: “Strikes can be long, grueling wars of attrition to see who blinks first—the workers or the employer. They can also be a party. Nurses from LCMC Health System’s University Medical Center New Orleans went with the latter in October. Their picket line included a stage, live music and a DJ in front of the university hospital’s campus. ‘It’s multiple holidays rolled into one,’ said Terry Mogilles, a nurse at the hospital’s trauma orthopedic clinic. ‘Mardi Gras. Christmas. Birthday.’ Another way strikes can be different? Keeping them brief. This strike was scheduled to only last 24 hours. While long-running strikes have dominated the headlines in the Gulf South region in the past few years, short strikes have become the norm. Since at least 2021, most strikes have lasted less than five days, according to the labor action tracker run by Cornell University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The majority of those short strikes last no more than a day.”Rigging the Tax Code: “Of all the attacks working people can expect from the incoming Trump administration, none will come as fast and furious as their attempt at ‘tax reform’—their code for further rigging the tax code in favor of billionaires. On Nov. 20, I testified before Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s banking subcommittee and told our elected officials what working-class people already know: A repeat of Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 would be a disaster for families across America. Let’s be clear: Our tax code is already massively unfair. While 60 percent of workers live paycheck to paycheck and 100 million of us are being crushed by medical debt, billionaires in this country are paying a lower tax rate than most teachers and retail workers. Trump’s 2017 law did nothing but expand the gap between the uber-rich and the rest of us.”Maryland Video Game Studio Reacts to Volatile Industry by Unionizing: “Welling said that in addition to the personal devastation of layoffs, there are also ‘downstream effects’ for the industry. ‘People who are trying to get into the industry are now finding it hard to get their foot in the door because they have to compete with people who have a bunch of experience. So that’s difficult for them, but then it’s also difficult for the people who don’t get laid off, because… they’re expecting us to do the same amount of work in the same amount of time with fewer people involved.’ Bethesda then became a leader of another burgeoning trend in the video game industry: unionization. Unionization efforts at Bethesda began in November 2023 following management’s decision to require three in-person work days, Welling said. By July 2024, Bethesda was recognized as ‘the first wall-to-wall union at a Microsoft video game studio,’ Communications Workers of America (CODE-CWA) said in a news release.”Culinary Union Hosts Thanksgiving Dinner for Virgin Las Vegas Strikers: “On the 16th day of the ongoing strike, the Culinary Union hosted a holiday dinner for Virgin Las Vegas strikers on Saturday. Some Virgin Hotel employees spent Thanksgiving protesting in front of the resort. ‘Tonight is different because it’s the holidays so the Union brought us all together, showed us that we could all be strong together and we just all enjoyed a meal all together,’ said culinary union strike worker Alaia Lopez. ‘It gives us reassurance to see people like Dina [Titus] and other senators come out here and support us.’”
Kenneth Quinnell
Fri, 12/06/2024 – 10:04
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Workers at Whiteboard Geeks to Form a Union with the Animation Guild (IATSE)
Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Workers at Whiteboard Geeks to Form a Union with the Animation Guild (IATSE)
Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
A group of 11 workers at Whiteboard Geeks in Virginia filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to form a union with The Animation Guild (TAG), an affiliate of the Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).Whiteboard Geeks specializes in hand-drawn whiteboard animation videos. The group of workers looking to join TAG includes script writers, video editors, production assistants and managers. They are seeking to improve workplace conditions, secure fair wages and enhance the rights of animation professionals in Virginia.“We have already come together to declare our intentions and are determined to see our strength recognized at the bargaining table,” said script writer Phillip Hilliker. “As the first animation union in Virginia, we hope this action will not only improve the working conditions at WBG but also help set a new, sustainable path for creatives across the Commonwealth.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Fri, 12/06/2024 – 08:29
Teamsters Applaud Introduction of Bipartisan Corporate Bankruptcy Reform Legislation
(WASHINGTON) – The Teamsters Union commends Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) for introducing the Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act in the U.S. Senate, which would correct abuses of the corporate bankruptcy process that rob employees and retirees of their hard-earned wages, benefits, and retirement savings. “Corporate bankruptcy law […]
Read More....Health Plan Open Season Enrollment Extended to Dec. 13
December 5, 2024Through union advocacy, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has granted an extension to the health plan Open Season enrollment period for Postal Service employees, a win for postal workers and annuitants across the country. This extension comes as a direct response to the challenges faced by postal employees and retirees due to issues with OPM’s new enrollment system—issues that were met head-on by APWU(link to Fed News Article here).
Through union advocacy, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has granted an extension to the health plan Open Season enrollment period for Postal Service employees, a win for postal workers and annuitants across the country. This extension comes as a direct response to the challenges faced by postal employees and retirees due to issues with OPM’s new enrollment system—issues that were met head-on by APWU (read more here).
Many members informed the national APWU of issues they were facing this open season. On November 20, APWU wrote to OPM demanding an extension and met with the OPM Acting Director to explain the issues our members were facing. We also urged Postal management to use its influence to demand more time for postal workers and retirees, which they did.
As a result, the extended Open Season enrollment period now runs until Friday, December 13. Previously, the last day of Open Season was to be Monday, December 9.
“The question of choosing the health plan and coverage of your choice are important life decisions and it is absolutely unacceptable that the OPM website experienced numerous technical issues,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “I appreciate that OPM took our concerns seriously, fixed many of the website issues, and issued at least a modest extension. I encourage members to take advantage of this extension to review your health plan options thoroughly.”
Explore your options and make your choices by the new deadline—Friday, December 13. Visit opm.gov/healthcare-insurance to make changes and make sure you have the coverage that best meets your needs.
For those who are currently enrolled in the APWU Health Plan, you will be automatically transitioned into the PSHB APWU Health Plan. No further action is required if you wish to maintain your current plan. However, if you need to make changes or explore new options, now is the time to review plans at opm.gov/healthcare-insurance.
Through union advocacy, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has granted an extension to the health plan Open Season enrollment period for Postal Service employees, a win for postal workers and annuitants across the country. This extension comes as a direct response to the challenges faced by postal employees and retirees due to issues with OPM’s new enrollment system—issues that were met head-on by APWU(link to Fed News Article here).0
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