Recent Labor News
The Real Threats to Free Speech on Campus
College campuses, now more than ever, are home to a variety of organizations with differing political views: pro-Democratic and pro-Republican organizations, Students for Justice in Palestine and Students Supporting Israel, as well as other organizations with conflicting viewpoints.
Simplistic initiatives create complex problems
Throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, Bill Sizemore wreaked havoc in Oregon by putting simplistic initiatives on the ballot to address complex issues. Sizemore’s success at the ballot box has left a lasting negative impact on our state, …
$15 Wage a Sticking Point as Rutgers Profs Close to Striking
(excerpt) About 88% of its membership authorized a strike if a deal could not be reached on three sticking points: hiring more full-time faculty to improve the faculty-to-student ratio, pay equity and a $15 minimum wage for student workers.
Robert Reich: Why unions matter to you
In the mid-1950s, unions were strong, and wages grew in tandem with the economy. Nearly one third of all workers in the United States were unionized. This gave workers across America – even those who weren’t unionized – significant power …
Why Unions Must Bargain Over Climate Change
A local government Green New Deal collective bargaining platform would include climate mitigation strategies to reduce emissions.
Seattle’s General Strike, 100 years remembered.
On February 6, 1919, Seattle’s workers struck—all of them. In doing so they took control of the city. The strike rendered the authorities virtually powerless. There was indeed no power that could challenge the workers. There were soldiers in the …
Disaster Averted: How Unions Have Dodged the Blow of Janus (So Far)
Sara Campos, an employee at the Department of Human Services in Salem, Ore., and a board member of Local 503, says most people seem to understand that it’s the union, not the Freedom Foundation, that looks out for workers. She …
$15 an hour: A higher wage, but hardly a living
Economists look at a range of figures when calculating a “living wage.” They include costs for food, child care, health care, housing, transportation, taxes and other basic expenses. One recent study shows $15 an hour isn’t enough to secure affordable …
Battle Ground, WA teachers ratify contract, end strike
Battle Ground Public Schools’ teachers on Sunday morning voted by an overwhelming margin of 99 percent to ratify a two-year contract, ending the state’s longest teacher strike thus far this year. In the packed Battle Ground High School gym, 687 …
Woodland schools, teachers reach salary agreement
Woodland Public Schools and the Woodland Education Association came to an agreement during a bargaining session Sunday night that would give the teachers a 22.82% increase on their base salary.
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