labor unions: ShortFormBlog

14:57 • 2 months ago

How one modern labor union grew really big, really fast

205k the number of members of the Freelancers’ Union, a two-decade-old membership organization which has grown to be one of the largest unions in the country, in large part because it offers something that many freelance workers and independent contractors struggle to receive—affordable health insurance. Roughly 23,000 people in New York state alone rely on the organization’s health care programs — a level of success so significant that the group was able to receive extra loans from the Obama administration to expand the program. Premiums through the program cost $225 to $603 per month—significantly less than individual programs. source

12:51 • 5 months ago

Tags: es fast food labor unions strikes striking fast food labor unions unionize from thecallus-deactivated20130520 212 • Permalink

thecallus:

reuters:

Fast-food restaurant employees protested in New York City on Thursday, demanding higher pay and the right to form a union - the latest attempt by lower-wage workers in the United States to increase their compensation.

The campaign, called “Fast Food Forward,” seeks to roughly double hourly pay to $15 an hour and is being billed as the largest attempt to unionize U.S. fast-food workers.

Leading the effort is New York Communities for Change, a group that has helped unionize low-wage carwash and grocery workers in New York.

Strikes were scheduled at McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut and Domino’s restaurants around the city throughout the day.

READ ON: Fast-food workers in New York protest for higher wages

As I say to both parties in a negotiation: good luck! Play fair, and secure a win / win outcome.

Good luck to all involved.

16:43 • 1 year ago

Tags: afl-cio labor unions occupy wall street occupywallstreet protests take wall street Transport Workers Union unions wall street protests 106 • Permalink

I think it’s a tactic and a valid tactic to call attention to a problem. Wall Street is out of control. We have three imbalances in this country—the imbalance between imports and exports, the imbalance between employer power and working power, and the imbalance between the real economy and the financial economy. We need to bring back balance to the financial economy, and calling attention to it and peacefully protesting is a very legitimate way of doing it.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka • Talking on C-SPAN Friday about mass protests in general and Occupy Wall Street in particular. Trumka’s endorsement of the protests shadows the growing support the movement is getting from such labor unions as the Transport Workers Union. If the movement grows among labor unions, that will help swell the growth of the movement significantly. source (via • follow)