UE NEWS Updates

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NC Mental Health Workers Demand Ongoing Hazard Pay, Safe Staffing

Abril 30, 2021
Butner, NC

State mental health workers across North Carolina, having worked more than a year through the pandemic, are now demanding relief. Over 700 Department of Health and Human Services workers have signed petitions demanding restoration of hazard premium pay, safe staffing levels, and other safety measures.

Despite the ongoing need to provide care for COVID-19 positive patients in the hospitals and developmental centers, DHHS ended hazard premium payments on January 31.

Unity Secures Solid Contract Gains for UE Members at GE Appliances Factory Services

Abril 30, 2021

Despite having negotiated a one-year contract extension in June 2020, the Joint Bargaining Committee unions (UE, IBEW, IAM and UA) representing factory service technicians who work for GE Appliances Factory Services entered into early contract negotiations at the end of January. The unions secured a new 15-month contract with solid general wage increases, a freeze on health insurance costs through December 31, 2022, and other gains.

Charlotte City Workers Demand Hazard Pay and Real Raises

Abril 16, 2021
Charlotte, NC

City employees who kept the city of Charlotte running through the course of the COVID-19 pandemic are now asking city officials to rescue them. The Charlotte City Workers Union, a chapter of UE Local 150, held a press conference yesterday to demand hazard pay, real raises, shift differential and daily overtime. 

The city is scheduled to receive nearly $149 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, yet the raises planned in the City Manager's proposed budget do not reflect this.

Sanders Chief of Staff Tells Western Region to “Keep the Pressure On” Congress

Abril 15, 2021

The American Rescue Plan Act, Bernie Sanders Chief of Staff Misty Rebik told delegates, is “one of the most significant pieces of legislation to happen for the working class in this country” in decades. “And that is because of you,” she added. “That is because of people like you who have been organizing day in and day out for decades now, demanding that we have a government for the people.”

Western PA Planned Parenthood Workers Join UE

Abril 13, 2021
Pittsburgh

A group of 36 workers at Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania formed UE’s newest local, Local 696, when they voted overwhelmingly to join UE in February and March. “This campaign really helped to boost my morale and excitement for our work,” said Dana Soloff, a community educator. “Everyone was unified and united to advance the mission of Planned Parenthood in providing the best possible services to our community.”

Local 896-COGS Refuses to be Destroyed by Anti-Union Law

Abril 9, 2021
Iowa City, IA

Although their ability to negotiate contracts has been severely limited by anti-union legislation, the members of UE Local 896-COGS are still engaging in aggressive struggle to improve the lives of the 2,000 graduate employees at the University of Iowa. The Local 896’s executive board “has really been ... racking our brains” said Local 896 President John Jepsen, trying to figure out “if we can't get power at the bargaining table, because of the laws in Iowa, where do we get power? The answer of course is membership and organizing.”

UE Local 506 Leader Tells PA Town Hall: Green Rail Can Create Jobs, Address Climate Change

Abril 2, 2021

John Miles, a member of UE Local 506’s executive board, addressed a “Thriving PA” Town Hall meeting held over Zoom on the evening of March 31. The topic was what the THRIVE Act, a plan to create tens of millions of good, union jobs while addressing the threat of climate change through a Green New Deal, means for the state of Pennsylvania.

Japanese Workers: Raising the Standard of Living All the More Essential Due to Pandemic

Marzo 15, 2021
By Masako OBATA, President, Zenroren

As the first anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic approached, the UE International Department asked two of our international allies, Unifor (Canada) and Zenroren (Japan), to share with UE NEWS readers a glimpse into what work and life is like now in their countries. We asked these allied unions to share what their government’s response to the virus had been like, as well as how these unions were organizing or in other ways helping workers to protect themselves during these new health and economic challenges.

Canada’s Workers and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Marzo 15, 2021

Over the past year, workers in Canada have felt much of the same effects as workers across the world. At first, initial enthusiasm for the contribution of essential workers was applauded and then their pandemic pay was cut. Front-line staff engaged in the fight for adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), sometimes facing employers who deliberately prevented workers from accessing life-saving PPE. After the initial wave of layoffs related to COVID-19 shut downs, many workers are back to work with heightened health and safety protocols. However, many workers, including those in the airlines, hospitality, and gaming sectors, are still largely out of work. Others, including in aerospace, are watching layoffs mount. A year into the pandemic, Canadian workers continue to fight for sector-based relief packages and expanded workers’ rights.

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