Tag Archives: Worker’s Rights

‘A Huge Win’: Texas Judge Finds Law Limiting Local Rule Is Unconstitutional

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“When local policymaking is stifled, community voices are silenced,” said a coalition of progressive groups.

By Julia Conley. Published 8-31-2023 by Common Dreams

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Photo: World Travel & Tourism Council/flickr/CC

Local leaders in Texas’ increasingly progressive major cities were joined by workers’ rights advocates and other pro-democracy groups on Thursday as they applauded a district court judge’s ruling that a Republican-authored law aimed at superseding local regulations is unconstitutional and should be temporarily halted.

House Bill 2127, which has been called the Death Star Law by progressive groups, had been set to go into effect on Friday and would prevent cities from enacting and passing local ordinances, including many that would protect workers’ rights.

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Thanks to NLRB’s Cemex Decision, ‘Union-Busting Just Got a Lot Harder’

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“The Cemex decision reaffirms that elections are not the only appropriate path for seeking union representation, while also ensuring that, when elections take place, they occur in a fair election environment,” said the NLRB chair.

By Jessica Corbett. Published 8-25-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: Teamsters

The National Labor Relations Board on Friday announced a new framework for determining when companies must bargain with unions without an election—a policy that supporters said will make union-busting much more difficult.

Following the NLRB’s decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, when workers ask an employer to voluntarily recognize a union as their bargaining representative, the company can voluntarily do so and begin good-faith negotiations.

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Arkansas Schools Will Teach AP African American Studies, Defying GOP Law

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Educators will teach the course despite the fact that the law also weakens rules protecting them against unjust dismissals.

By Julia Conley. Published 8-17-2023 by Common Dreams

Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaking with attendees at the 2019 Student Action Summit hosted by Turning Point USA. Photo: Gage Skidmore/flickr/CC

Despite a threat this week by the Arkansas Department of Education that it would not allow students to receive credit for Advanced Placement African American Studies, every public high school in Arkansas that previously offered the course announced that it will remain on their schedules for the coming school year.

The Arkansas Education Association, which represents unionized teachers across the state, applauded the Little Rock School District’s decision on Wednesday to continue offering the AP course in defiance of Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ signature law banning so-called “indoctrination” in public schools.

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US Bill to Protect Reporters From Exploitative State Spying Heads to House Floor

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“Journalists must be able to freely report on government actions without fear the government will compel them to reveal their sources,” said one campaigner.

By Julia Conley. Published 7-19-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: Roger H. Goun/CC

Privacy and First Amendment advocates on Wednesday urged the U.S. House to pass legislation that would protect the United States’ bedrock freedoms and a core tenet of journalism: the right of reporters to guard the identities of their sources.

The House Judiciary Committee advanced the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act with bipartisan support, despite claims in recent months by Republican lawmakers such as Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) that the legislation would “immunize journalists and leakers alike from scrutiny and consequences for their actions.”

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‘Get Back to the Negotiating Table,’ Says Teamsters as UPS Trains Scabs for Strike

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“UPS is making clear it doesn’t view its workforce as a priority,” the union said. “UPS should stop wasting time and money on training strikebreakers.”

By Jessica Corbett. Published 7-14-2023 by Common Dreams

Sean O’Brien, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters general president, joined United Parcel Service workers for a practice picketing in Brooklyn, New York on July 14, 2023. (Photo: Teamsters/Twitter)

After negotiations between the United Parcel Service and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters broke down last week, UPS on Friday announced “business continuity training” to prepare for a potential strike by 340,000 union members next month.

“We remain focused on reaching an agreement with the Teamsters that is a win for UPS employees, our customers, our union, and our company,” the shipping giant said. “While we have made great progress and are close to reaching an agreement, we have a responsibility as an essential service provider to take steps to help ensure we can deliver our customers’ packages if the Teamsters choose to strike.”

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Nationwide UPS Strike ‘Imminent,’ Teamsters Warn After Rejecting ‘Appalling’ Contract Offer

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“UPS executives couldn’t make it one more day without insulting and ignoring union leaders and rank-and-filers as negotiations resumed on Wednesday.”

By Brett Wilkins. Published 6-28-2023 by Common Dreams

Members of Teamsters Local 174 at the UPS hubs in Seattle, Shoreline, and Redmond, Washington marched with “Just Practicing” signs on June 27, 2023. (Photo: Teamsters/Twitter)

“The largest single-employer strike in American history now appears inevitable.”

So said Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien late Wednesday after leaders of the union representing shipping giant UPS quit negotiating with company representatives after giving them a Friday deadline to “act responsibly and exchange a stronger economic proposal for more than 340,000 full- and part-time workers.”

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Iowa Meteorologist Resigns After Receiving Death Threats for Climate Coverage

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“I take immense pride in having educated the public about the impacts of climate change during my career,” said Chris Gloninger of KCCI in Des Moines.

By Julia Conley. Published 6-22-2023 by Common Dreams

Chris Gloninger, chief meteorologist for KCCI in Des Moines, announced on June 21, 2023 that he is stepping down after receiving numerous threats for his coverage of how the climate emergency impacts the weather. (Photo: screenshot/@ChrisGloninger/Twitter)

The chief meteorologist for a Des Moines news station announced Wednesday he is stepping down after receiving violent threats for his frank coverage of the climate emergency and how it could affect his viewers’ lives—something he considered a mission as he regularly delivered news about the weather to Iowa residents.

Chris Gloninger joined CBS affiliate station KCCI in 2021 after receiving recognition for his coverage of the climate crisis and the environment at NBC10 in Boston.

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DeSantis Anti-Immigrant Law Sparks Mass Worker Exodus in Florida

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“How can one man pass one law and destroy all these businesses in Florida?” asked a lifelong Republican who owns a tomato packing company.

By Kenny Stancil. Published 6-20-2023 by Common Dreams.

As a new Florida immigration law is set to take effect in July, some migrants have already left the state. Screenshot: MSNBC

A new Florida law cracking down on undocumented immigrants, signed last month by far-right Gov. Ron DeSantis and set to take effect on July 1, has pushed thousands of workers to flee the state.

Now even some capitalists who otherwise support DeSantis and the state’s GOP-controlled House and Senate are beginning to speak out about how the law is likely to hurt their bottom lines.

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Demanding Respect for All School Workers, LA Teachers Shut Down 2nd-Largest US School District

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“As workers we are powerful. As parents we are powerful. As the people united, we are unstoppable.”

By Julia Conley.  Published 3-21-2023 by Common Dreams

Photo: SEIU Local 99/Twitter

An estimated 65,000 teachers and school staffers from across Los Angeles walked picket lines in the rain on Tuesday as the city’s public school district employees went on strike—but more than half of the picketers were staging the walkout in solidarity, protesting conditions that don’t directly affect them.

The 35,000 teachers who are represented by United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) joined cafeteria workers, bus drivers, teaching aides, grounds workers, and others who help ensure that more than 1,000 public schools in Los Angeles run safely and smoothly, demanding that support staff are treated fairly by the district. Continue reading →

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How the ‘Holman rule’ allows the House to fast-track proposals to gut government programs without debate or much thought at all

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Reinstituted rules in the U.S. House of Representatives allow members to fire federal staffers and cut programs.
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

 

Charles Tiefer, University of Baltimore

The slim Republican majority in the House of Representatives has just voted to give itself a streamlined way to fire civil servants and shut down federal programs it doesn’t like – outside the standard process of review and debate.

This method, known as the Holman rule, has been used in the past by both parties to cloak political decisions in the language and process of saving taxpayers money. It was included in a package of rules approved as the House began its business in January. Continue reading →

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