Organizing/Bargaining
Blog Posts
Workers at two Army medical centers voted to join AFGE in an election that concluded last week. The 3,700 health care employees were part of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center and were transferred to two new medical centers and other regional facilities when Walter Reed was shut down in 2001.
After a series of strikes during the past two years protesting sweeping reductions in patient care, nurses’ standards and workplace conditions that Sutter Health system demanded during contract talks at San Francisco Bay area hospitals, some 3,000 registered nurses have reached a tentative agreement that eliminates more than 200 concession demands.
Neutex Advanced Energy Group, a Houston-based maker of LED lights, light bulbs and fixtures, brought its core manufacturing operation from China back to the United States last year and turned to the Electrical Workers ( IBEW ) to staff its facility.
They endured weekly mandatory captive audience meetings in the basement of their Lexington Avenue MetroPCS store, tight monitoring from management and even a visit from T-Mobile U.S. CEO John Legere and other top executives who trekked from Bellevue, Wash., headquarters to the Harlem store. But this week, the workers voted 7–1 to join the Communications Workers of America ( CWA ).
Nurses at Northside Medical Center in Youngstown, Ohio, conducted a one-day work stoppage Tuesday in their fight against management contract proposals that, among other provisions, would prohibit nurses from speaking out about patient safety and quality care, according to the Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association ( YGDNA ).
Sign the petition to tell management nurses deserve a fair contract .
This past Saturday, a number of college football players from Georgia, Georgia Tech and Northwestern wrote the letters APU on the gear they wore during televised games. APU stands for "All Players United" and is a campaign just launched by the National College Players Association ( NCPA ). The NCPA is advocating for reforms to college football and other sports sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) that would protect the health and safety of college athletes and give players a fair share of the millions of licensing dollars the schools earn through the use of representations of the players.
Nearly 2 million people who are employed through federal contractors earn less than $24,000 a year. That’s more low-wage workers than any private company, including Walmart and McDonald's, combined. At the 43rd annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's recent Legislative Conference, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) moderated a panel discussion on those low-wage workers and ways to improve their wages and working conditions.
It's a common refrain among conservative economists and politicians: If only government would end its interference in the affairs of private enterprise, the efficiencies of the free market would buoy the economy, lead to high profits and in turn result in higher wages for everyone. This argument is used to defend corporate-friendly policies of all stripes, including deregulation, opposition to living wages and worker safety protections.
Some 725 registered nurses at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, Calif., won representation from California Nurses Association/National Nurses United ( CNA /NNU) last week after beating back what they say was a “furious anti-union campaign by hospital management and its high paid anti-union consultants.”
It’s been four years since low-wage workers got a raise. Sign the petition to tell Congress it’s time to raise the minimum wage.
Click here »
Tell us about the good stuff happening where you live and work.
