It took a tiebreaker vote by the Vice President for a union-side lawyer to secure Senate confirmation as nation’s top NLRB lawyer. Bloomberg Law reports: “The divided U.S. Senate confirmed union lawyer Jennifer Abruzzo to serve as general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board on a party-line vote that reflected the deep political and…
Senators who loved Trump’s union-busting labor picks are “very troubled” by Biden’s nominees. Reuters reports: “President Joe Biden’s nominees for seats on the National Labor Relations Board and to head the U.S. Department of Labor office that enforces wage laws at a hearing on Thursday swatted away Republicans’ concerns over their union ties and progressive…
Amazon founder, and now rocketeer, Jeff Bezos, uttered arguably the most tone-deaf statement made by anyone this year. After his return from his ego-driven space flight today, the centibillionaire remarked, “I also want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer because you guys paid for all of this.” His statement may have come…
A jury has awarded a former Walmart employee $125 million for suffering discrimination by the company. The New York Times reports: “Marlo Spaeth started working as a sales associate at a Walmart in Manitowoc, Wis., in 1999, folding towels, cleaning aisles, processing returns and greeting customers, her lawyers said. Over the next 15 years, she…
Workers belonging to the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 218 in Topeka, Kansas are on strike at one of America’s premier chips makers: Frito-Lay. And the reasons are anything but frivolous. Employees endure 84 hour workweeks and forced overtime “Many of the factory’s more than 800 workers are working seven days a week…
The movement to make green jobs into good paying union jobs took a step forward today with an offshore wind farm labor agreement. Reuters reports: “Vineyard Wind on Friday announced a deal to use union labor to help construct what will become the nation’s first major offshore wind project off the Massachusetts coast near Martha’s…
A pizza shop in Ohio demonstrated inadvertently just how much profit workers produce – and how little they are paid hourly. Fox 8 in Cleveland, Ohio reports: “The owner of a pizza shop in Findlay, Ohio gave his employees the entire day’s profits to show his appreciation for their hard work and loyalty. Josh Elchert…
The notion that full-time works equals a place to live is no longer valid. A two bedroom is completely out of reach for minimum wage workers, unless they want to work more than double a full workweek. CNBC reports: “People working minimum wage jobs full-time cannot afford a two-bedroom apartment in any state in the…
CEOs pulled in big pay packages last year as workers stuggled. CNN Business reports: “The difference between CEO and median employee pay grew in 2020 despite the Covid pandemic and ongoing relief efforts. The average S&P 500 company CEO made 299 times the average worker’s salary last year, according to AFL-CIO’s annual Executive Paywatch report. Executives…
Many workers who face discrimination fear that they could lose their jobs if they file a complaint. It turns out that their fears are based on reality. The Conversation reports: “People who experience sex discrimination, race discrimination and other forms of discrimination at work aren’t getting much protection from the laws designed to shield them…
