Tag:COVID-19
Fran Swanson
After an eight-week strike, a group of Chicago-area auto mechanics has won a four-year contract, the Chicago Tribune reports. Over 800 mechanics, represented by IAM Mechanics' Local 701, began the strike after their previous contract expired, shutting down service at 56 car dealerships after rejecting a contract offer from the New Car Dealer Committee. That […]
On Labor Day, Millions Fall Through the Unemployment Safety Net
Sep 15, 2021 Kevin Vazquez
Last week, on Labor Day, an estimated 8.9 million workers and their families lost federal unemployment benefits, and nearly three million more had their weekly checks reduced by $300 per week. The Biden administration, despite the entreaties of many workers, activists, labor unions, and other organizations, allowed three key pandemic-era federal unemployment programs – Pandemic […]
The Strike Zone—September 13, 2021
Sep 13, 2021 Alex Blutman
With the wide distribution of the vaccine, new COVID-19 protocols negotiated by the professional leagues and their union counterparts are drawing a stark line between vaccinated and unvaccinated players. In the NBA, unvaccinated players are subject to a host of additional restrictions meant to decrease the chance of coronavirus transmission: their lockers will be situated […]
State legislatures are playing an outsized role in American politics, the New York Times reports. While Republicans are out of power in Washington by a slim margin, they control 30 state legislatures, 26 of which will redraw congressional districts (compared to thirteen for Democrats). But these legislatures don't have to wait for redistricting to drive […]
Home Depot violated the NLRA when it threatened and punished workers who engaged in activism against racial discrimination, a complaint filed by the NLRB Region 18 Regional Director, Jennifer Hadsall, alleges. As Bloomberg's report on the complaint noted, Home Depot was one of many companies to put out a general statement about racial justice in […]
A National Labor Relations Board hearing officer has recommended that a new union election be granted at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. The recommendation was issued due to alleged voter intimidation tactics used by Amazon, particularly its installation of a U.S. Postal Service mailbox in front of the warehouse that could have given the […]
The Strike Zone—August 2, 2021
Aug 2, 2021 Alex Blutman
On July 5, we covered Carl Nassib's announcement that he is gay, becoming the first player in the NFL to be openly out and just the second in the history of the four major North American sports. Just less than a month after the Nassib news, Nashville Predators prospect Luke Prokop became the first active […]
The federal government joined a growing list of government employers instituting vaccine requirements for workers. Federal employees and on-site contractors must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or wear masks and undergo testing, President Biden announced. This comes days after the Department of Veterans Affairs announced it would mandate vaccines for workers who interact with patients. The […]
Jason Vazquez
Since hitting its peak of more than 3 million shots per day in mid-April, the mass-vaccination campaign has dwindled and waned in the United States, dropping to a current rate of around half a million daily jabs, alarming government officials both in the Biden Administration and in state public health departments across the country as […]
Hannah Finnie
In Kansas, Frito-Lay workers are continuing to strike as their efforts are picking up national attention. Unionized with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union, the workers are protesting what they view as unsustainable working conditions: forced overtime, so-called "suicide shifts" where you only have eight hours off in between 12-hour shifts, extreme […]