In this new era of work, employees who work at an office are finding that return-to-work policies can be tricky. We’ve heard stories from workers about companies that have changed work arrangements from remote, part-time remote to full time in-office. We’ve heard about fears over whether an employer can promise one working arrangement, only to change it weeks or months later. And we’ve heard questions about what protections unions may or may not offer workers when it comes to returning to the office. ... But employees should beware....
The uptick in organizing comes as record numbers of job openings give workers more leverage than they had in previous years. Workers are often pushing for better pay, hours and working conditions, citing pandemic-induced burnout and safety concerns.
“To have these successes is really significant to send a message that nobody should just accept that where they work is unorganizable,” said Sharon Block, a Harvard Law School...
With the midterm elections coming, Democrats are trying to push through key legislative priorities — including renewing the child tax credit (CTC), which gives working parents a credit for each child and will expire in December 2025. No one doubts that it will be renewed; the credit has broad bipartisan public support.
Our study shows that over 1.5 million parents — 80 percent of whom are women — may be excluded from the full child tax credit despite working. At the current federal minimum wage, we estimate that a...
Your participation in this special panel discussion on the book is essential and will happen alongside our featured guests. After introducing the book, we will hear from an outstanding panel, reflecting on the diversity of perspectives and actors engaged with #DemocratizingWork:... Read more about Global Book Launch of Democratize Work
Though a win would have inevitably injected more momentum into the current labor organizing push, today’s loss still has the potential, according to labor experts, to further mobilize workers by laying bare the lengths to which corporations will go to defeat unionization drives.
Regardless of today’s loss, the unprecedented nature of the first victory will likely keep the movement energized. “[Workers] were told that Amazon was too big, that the...
Terri Gerstein Working Economics Blog Economics Policy Institute
A snapshot of state and local enforcement actions across the country
Recent cases brought by state and local enforcers include the recovery of $130,000 for New York City building superintendents, who were paid no wages at all, and a recovery of nearly $220,000 for workers in a Seattle specialty bar and grocery store based on minimum wage and paid sick leave violations. In addition, prosecutors on both sides of the country took action against contractors in the construction...
Terri Gerstein Working Economics Blog Economics Policy Institute
A snapshot of state and local enforcement actions across the country
Recent cases brought by state and local enforcers include the recovery of $2 million for workers of a Seattle Domino’s franchisee that underpaid workers and didn’t give required notice of schedules; citation of Massachusetts Family Dollar stores for $1.5 million for thousands of meal break violations; and prosecution of several cases involving egregious violations of wage payment, unemployment insurance, and workers’...
The recent deluge of union elections at Starbucks Corp. stores is pushing the federal labor board to its limit, reflecting a broader influx in labor action as the pandemic winds down.
Flat funding and a restless labor force have created a near perfect storm for the National Labor Relations Board, charged with overseeing every private-sector union election. Election petitions have already swelled by 57% in the first half of the 2021 fiscal year as unfair labor practice charges rose by 14%. At the...
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office could begin bringing criminal charges against employers who repeatedly or intentionally deprive workers of pay as early as this summer under a new agreement with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries.
The workers at Amazon’s LDJ5 warehouse facility will vote on whether to organize with the Amazon Labor Union (ALU), the same union that pulled off a historic win at another Staten Island, New York, facility earlier this month.
“It seems to me that Amazon has to worry about its public persona...
New Amazon documents filed with the U.S. The Department of Labor suggests the company engaged consultants for a rate of up to $20,000 per week in an aggressive effort to persuade workers to abandon unionization efforts. The documents were first spotted by Insider on Tuesday, and were ...
Offering some options where masks are mandated would help enable continued accessibility of travel to everyone. People with health conditions and disabilities shouldn’t de facto be shut out of travel or forced to risk their health to conduct their daily lives.
Amazon paid millions last year to union-busters whose job is psyops: lying and distorting facts to prevent workers from forming unions. For more, read here!
One of the consultant firms “advertises that it offers ‘a team of men...
Not quite. Whether EVs reduce emissions lies in understanding the “counterfactual.” What would happen in the absence of an EV being used? This comparison is often framed as a choice between an EV and a gas guzzler. When viewed side by side, the EV does come out on top. But that’s not the whole story. Because EVs generate more emissions during the manufacturing process relative to conventional autos (producing batteries is no small feat), and they must drive further to “burn off” their production emissions. Not...
The Brockton-based company has paid large settlements in recent years in at least three lawsuits brought by workers who got hurt on the job and blamed JDC and other contractors.
Mark Erlich, a fellow at Harvard Law School's Labor and Worklife Program and a retired officer of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, said big job sites like these are supposed to have many checks on safety protocols. But things don't always go right.
