Labor Relations INK - Labor Relations News, Analysis and Insight
Union Corruption
The UAW continues to steal the headlines when it comes to union corruption these days. In the last month... Gary Jones, UAW president, resigned amid suspicion of his involvement in the ongoing scandals. Jeffery Pietrzyk pleaded guilty to taking bribes and kickbacks in...
Alt Labor
Alt Labor organizations, like the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, have long been known to be an outreach arm of organized labor. Operating in the background, they have continued to escape scrutiny of the rules and disclosure requirements that traditional...
Gig Economy
The increase in e-commerce and grocery delivery apps means that the gig workforce is making its way into the grocery industry. In fact, many grocers are bringing in on-demand labor not only to fill online orders, but also to stock shelves, build displays, and run...
Union Pension Turmoil
Yet another union pension plan is in jeopardy. The largest private coal mining company in the country, Murray Energy, is the eighth coal mining operation to seek bankruptcy protection. Their workforce is represented by the United Mine Workers, and Murray Energy was...
Manufacturing/Industrial/Transport
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) got punched hard when a jury held the national union and Portland-based Local 8 responsible for $93.6 million in damages for instigating the dockworker slowdown at Port of Portland Terminal 6. The District Judge...
Healthcare
Unionized nurses at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane and Providence Health and Services, voted to strike after over a year of negotiations. At issue was Providence’s desire to end the current paid time off and sick leave policy, and allow the nurse to rely on...
Minimum Rising
One of the most common arguments against an increased minimum wage is that it’s not actually going to accomplish what it is purportedly setting out to do. That is, achieve more overall income for low wage workers. That’s because while the minimum wage may increase,...
Right To Work
A “settlement bar” is an unofficial NLRB doctrine that can block workers, for a period of time, from exercising their right to hold a decertification vote from their union. This usually comes after the union has filed some kind of action themselves with the Board that...
Labor Around The World
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is, seemingly, inches away from securing the changes everyone has been waiting on in order to put this new legislation into action. What's the last little hold up? Labor Unions. Before Pelosi will announce a deal, she wants...
Breaking News: Report on NLRB Ethics Review
Today, Nov. 19th, the NLRB released its report of an 18-month review of board ethics policies and procedures, concluding that the agency's ethics program for Board member recusals is strong and fully compliant with all applicable government ethics requirements....
Do You Really Need A Response Team?
Phil's recent article for SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) poses some critical questions for determining IF you need a response team for potential union organizing threats, and if you do, WHAT should be your focus during training. Hint: both answers are...
Countering the Chant of Mandated Nurse-to-Patient Ratios
by Lori King, DNP, RN, APRN-BC The threat of labor strikes in health care surged in 2019. National Nurses United (NNU) is calling unit after unit of nurses out on the picket line, chanting for mandated nurse-to-patient ratios in contracts. A New York Times press...
Labor Relations INK October 2019
In this issue: Laboring Towards 2020 UAW Strike Union Corruption Unions in Healthcare Scoreboard, Sticky Fingers, Insight and more… The bottom of each story contains a link to the individual post on our site. ********** Labor Relations Insight by Phil Wilson The...
Labor Relations Insight
by Phil Wilson The Iceberg of Ignorance In the last month we’ve had the opportunity to conduct a number of assessment projects. This is some of the most rewarding work we do. It is truly Left of Boom work where a client proactively tries to identify employee relations...
Union Bailout Update
At the end of September the Senate confirmed Eugene Scalia as the new Labor Secretary. The son of deceased Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia was confirmed by a vote of 53-44, along party lines. The National Labor Relations Board set a 2022 goal of reducing its case...
Laboring Towards 2020
Steven Greenhouse, a labor pundit and pro-union author, has “graded” the Democratic candidates labor platforms. If you’re interested in a pro-union perspective of these platforms, dig into the details in this article. Here are the overall grades Greenhouse assigned:...
UAW Strike
Voting in the UAW strike is a mixed bag so far, with union locals are voting on separate days. Thus far, the Warren Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, a metal stamping plant in Saginaw, Michigan, and a transmission plant in Toledo, Ohio all approved the deal....
Union Corruption
We just celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959. That is the piece of legislation that mandates union financial transparency — just where all did union member dues go this year? We can thank the LMRDA for informing...
It’s All Academic
The Chicago teachers strike has entered its second week, with Elizabeth Warren joining the front lines. Also, the NLRB extended the time frame for submitting comments on whether or not graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants qualify as “employees” under the...
Union Pension Turmoil
Another union pension fund is asking the federal government for permission to cut pension checks to retired members. If nothing is done, the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights expect its fund to run dry by 2035. Meanwhile, retired Teamsters are...
Get INK Free!
Total Victory
Left of Boom
