A restaurant in Missouri fired workers who protested their low wages and awful work hours. The Springfield News-Leader reports: “Picketing outside of Aviary Cafe in Springfield, about a dozen workers on Monday protested for higher wages and health benefits after ‘being overworked like slaves.’ The strikers were not unionized, and all were fired after walking…
President Biden wants to up the standard for what is considered American-made. NPR reports: “President Biden on Wednesday will roll out a new proposed rule that would change the way the federal government assesses products made in America. Right now, the federal government has to spend tax dollars on products made in the U.S., but…
Mandatory vaccination for all federal workers is a possibility, the President said today. CNBC reports: “President Joe Biden said Tuesday his administration is weighing whether to require federal employees to be vaccinated for the coronavirus as the highly contagious delta variant spreads throughout the U.S. ‘That’s under consideration right now,’ Biden told reporters when asked…
What a difference a presidential election makes. The NLRB’s General Counsel position has gone from a former partner at a union-busting firm nominated by Trump to a union-side lawyer today. The National Labor Relations Board announced the swearing-in via a press release today: “Today, the National Labor Relations Board welcomes Jennifer Abruzzo as General Counsel.…
The federal minimum wage is a disaster. And it doesn’t have to be but politicians refuse to increase it. First, there is the time period since the minimum wage: 12 years. Two days over 12 years to be exact. That is the longest time since in increase in our country’s history. Then there’s the actual…
A strike that captured the attention of the world for 20 days is over. The New York Times reports: “Hundreds of Frito-Lay employees ratified a contract on Saturday, ending a nearly three-week strike over forced overtime and long hours that many workers said had pushed them past the point of exhaustion, union officials said. The…
A company whose workers died needlessly died at a poultry plant has is finally getting fined and cited. NPR reports: “OSHA has announced 59 citations and nearly $1 million in penalties after an investigation into a nitrogen leak at a poultry processing plant that killed six workers and injured at least a dozen others earlier this year.…
An analysis by The Washington Post looks at racism faced by Black construction workers in an industry that has a troubled history when it comes to discrimination. The Washington Post reports: “It happens like this: A noose is left at a construction site or office, somewhere it can easily be found. Usually, by a Black…
A law that allows employers to pay workers with disabilities a fraction of the minimum wage could be gone soon. CBS MarketWatch reports: “Democrats in Congress are pushing to abolish part of a New Deal-era labor law that allows businesses to pay workers with disabilities as little as a few dollars an hour, calling the…
Scabby is going nowhere thanks to an NLRB ruling today. New York Magazine reports: “You’ve probably seen him (his snarling mouth and mangy belly are hard to forget): Scabby the Rat, the inflatable rodent at countless picket lines. Since his birth in 1989 or so, his terrible visage has been a sign of defiance by workers…