The new incident with the multi-fatal accident on the Egnatia Odos, where seven migrants
lost their lives and as many others were seriously injured, confirms that the policy of
confinement of refugees and immigrants in Greece, of deportations and savage repression in
accordance with EU directives, turn Greece into a prison or grave of the uprooted.
The dangerous and criminal policy of the Greek Governments that support and implement
the Dublin Regulations and the unacceptable EU-Turkey agreement on refugees is the one
that leads the refugees and immigrants to the inhuman dilemma, to be trapped in Greece for
years or to leave their lives in the hands of the various circuits of traffickers who exploit them
on land or at sea with such tragic consequences.
It is a huge responsibility of the Greek Governments that support and fund NATO-EU
imperialist plans and their interventions in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere, that kill and
uproot entire peoples from their land and at the same time target their victims as criminals
because they are searching for a better future.
The working people of our country, who have the pain of refugee and exile engraved in
their history, must not allow the barbaric policy of the Greek governments and the EU
towards refugees and immigrants.
To intensify the struggle of the unions against the participation of our country in imperialist
interventions and wars, against NATO and the American bases that have filled Greece.
The unions to demand en masse.
Protection of refugees' rights to asylum. Ensuring all their rights to decent housing,
work, education, social welfare, without deportations and superstructures - prisons.
Provide them with travel documents for the countries they wish to travel to under the
responsibility of the state and the EU and apply for asylum there
Abolish the Dublin Agreements and the Joint Declaration with Turkey that trap
refugees and migrants.
The abolition of the framework that traps refugees and immigrants in Greece and
Turkey in accordance with the mandates and wishes of the EU.
No involvement of our country in the imperialist rivalries and NATO-EU plans.
President Joe Biden used the White House lawn for a ceremonial signing of the biggest federal infrastructure investment in a generation. A number of national union leaders were among the invited dignitaries, including AFSCME president Lee Saunders and Teamsters president James Hoffa Jr. Also present were House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Shumer, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
By Don McIntosh
It’s the biggest investment in America’s physical infrastructure since the 1950s: Signed into law by President Joe Biden Nov. 16, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act authorizes $1.2 trillion in federal spending over the next five years to upgrade bridges and highways, rail systems and transit, ports and airports, water systems, broadband infrastructure, and more. The $1.2 trillion figure combines $550 billion of new investment plus already expected spending from dedicated revenues like the federal gas tax.
For Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-Eugene), it’s a career-high moment. DeFazio is chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and played a big role in crafting the law. At a Nov. 12 press conference and later by phone with the Labor Press, DeFazio was candid about his frustration that it wasn’t bigger still, but also celebrated the bill’s passage as a hugely important win.
Oregon U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio has been fighting for an infrastructure bill like this for decades.
“I gotta say, to the unions: Warm up your apprenticeship programs. Get a bigger space and start looking to expand,” DeFazio said. “In terms of infrastructure, union jobs, Davis-Bacon, these are going to be family wage, high-benefit jobs, career jobs.…This is the largest investment that America’s ever made in its deteriorated infrastructure.”
DeFazio is possibly the most committed advocate of infrastructure investment in Congress, and getting a major increase in infrastructure spending has been something of a decades-long personal saga, requiring battle with both Republicans and Democrats. At the height of the Great Recession, DeFazio fought unsuccessfully for ambitious investment in surface transportation to be part of the recovery bill.
He ended up being one of only a few Democrats to vote against Obama’s American Recovery Act, and voted against it because only a small fraction of the act went to infrastructure. Instead, DeFazio says, tax cuts amounted to 10 times what was spent on infrastructure.
“Then comes Trump, the big builder, the compromiser,” DeFazio said. “We sat with him at the White House. He bid us up to $2 trillion when we sat there. We came back two weeks later, he walked in, said ‘If you’re gonna investigate me, I won’t work with you.’ Slammed the door, walked out and had a press conference.”
Coming soon: 500,000 electric charging stations, many of which will be installed by union members. “IBEW members will lead the way in building out the charging infrastructure needed for the wide-scale adoption of electric vehicles, buses, trains, and trucks,” said IBEW president Lonnie Stephenson in response to passage of the Infrastructure bill.
In the second half of Trump’s term, DeFazio passed a bill out of the House called the Invest Act. It would have been larger than the just-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill, and more focused on dealing with climate change.
“I passed that through a real legislative process, many hours in committee, hundreds of amendments, days on the floor. It went nowhere under Trump, and then I passed it again early this year. Unfortunately, the Senate in its dysfunction could not take up the bill because of the filibuster rule.”
Instead, President Biden had to negotiate with the Democratic-led Congress to get the infrastructure bill passed, and in the Senate, 10 Republicans and two conservative Democrats cut DeFazio’s bill by about two-fifths.
DeFazio says the final bill was slightly larger than his bill on highways but significantly lower on transit and rail. But DeFazio said he hopes to fight to restore some of those investments in the next big bill to be taken up, Biden’s Build Back Better Act.
Highlights of the Infrastructure Act
ROADS AND BRIDGES On top of reauthorizing surface transportation programs for five years, an additional $110 billion to repair roads and bridges, $11 billion for transportation safety programs, including projects to reduce traffic fatalities, and $1 billion to reconnect communities (disproportionately Black neighborhoods) that were divided by highways.
PASSENGER RAIL $66 billion in additional rail funding to eliminate the Amtrak maintenance backlog, modernize the Northeast Corridor, and bring rail service to areas outside the northeast and mid-Atlantic.
ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION LINES $65 billion to construct thousands of miles of new transmission lines to facilitate the expansion of renewables and clean energy.
BROADBAND INTERNET $65 billion toward broadband infrastructure.
DRINKING WATER $55 billion to improve water infrastructure and eliminate lead service pipes.
EXTREME WEATHER RESILIENCY $50 billion to develop infrastructure to protect against droughts, heat, floods and wildfires.
PUBLIC TRANSIT $39 billion of new investment to modernize transit, on top of $50 billion from existing transit programs for the next five years, will be the largest investment in public transit in U.S. history, paying for 24,000 buses, 5,000 rail cars, 200 stations, and thousands of miles of track, signals, and power systems in need of replacement.
CLEANUP OF TOXIC SITES $21 billion to clean up Superfund and brownfield sites, reclaim abandoned mine land and cap orphaned oil and gas wells.
PORTS AND AIRPORTS $17 billion for port infrastructure and waterways, and $25 billion for airports to address repair and maintenance backlogs.
ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS $7.5 billion to develop a national network of 500,000 EV charging stations–both within communities and along highway corridors to facilitate long-distance travel.
An estimated 32,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente were set to strike Nov. 15 across five states. Instead, they and about 20,000 others will vote in the coming weeks on a new set of four-year union contracts. The deal was reached Nov. 13 after the massive health non-profit dropped its most outrageous demand: a “two-tier” arrangement in which new hires would be paid a third less than current employees doing the same work.
Kaiser also agreed to modest across-the-board raises: 3% in the first and second years, followed by 2% in the third and fourth years. The third and fourth year raises will also be accompanied by a 2% bonus that doesn’t raise the pay rate. The 3% raise in year one is retroactive to Oct. 1, and matches the raise another set of Kaiser unions got for this year, but it also leaves workers falling behind inflation, which is currently above 5% for the first time in years.
The unions that were gearing up to strike negotiate together as a coalition called the Alliance of Health Care Unions (AHCU), made up of 21 locals and about 50,000 members in eight states plus Washington, D.C. AHCU was created in 2018 when a number of unions split from an older coalition called Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions (CKPU) after disagreements over how to make decisions as a group. In Oregon and Southwest Washington, it includes 3,400 members of Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (OFNHP), while Service Employees International Union(SEIU) Local 49 remains in CKPU.
The new contract makes several other important improvements:
It modifies Kaiser’s annual performance sharing bonus to take greater account of whether mutually agreed cost-cutting objectives are achieved; the bonus is up to 3% of pay.
It commits Kaiser to contribute an additional $15 million to a popular and well-used fund that pays for tuition when workers take classes to skill up and get new certifications. That’s on top of its existing practice of contributing 1.5% of payroll to the fund.
It improves retiree medical benefits for some members of UFCW Local 21 in Washington: Upon retirement, Kaiser has been making a one-time contribution of $350 per year of service into a health savings account, and will now increase that to $1,000 per year of service.
It promises bigger raises to some of Kaiser’s least paid workers in the region known as Inland Empire in Southern California. Exact details of the extra raises will be worked out by a labor-management committee.
AHCU remains in a longstanding and unusual labor-management partnership with Kaiser Permanente, but it’s hard to see how that partnership hasn’t frayed considerably in recent months. The basis of the formal partnership agreement is in part a commitment by Kaiser to offer industry-leading compensation. Kaiser had net income of $6.4 billion last year and is paying over $1 million a year to more than 30 executives, and yet for months it pushed the proposal to slash pay by roughly a third for newly hired nurses and others.
Leading up to the strike, Kaiser also tried to recruit strikebreakers, and reportedly offered $12,500 a week to nurses who would cross the picket line to undermine the strike.
Three union locals were planning to strike Nov. 15, and several other locals totaling over 4,000 workers were set to join them on Nov. 22.
Each local has its own collective bargaining agreement with Kaiser, and some have more than one. Expiration dates vary, but the largest number will next expire Oct. 1, 2025.
“I believe that we’re going to have to take a look at what went wrong, and what makes sense for us going forward,” said AHCU chief of staff Maureen Anderson. “Our bottom line is improving people’s living standards, and partnership was a great way to do that for the past 24 years. This round of bargaining called that into question. We ended up doing things that we have not done in the past, like giving strike notice and preparing to go on strike.”
“It was a skill set that people hadn’t really practiced in quite some time,” Anderson said. “We have a lot of picket signs right now that we’re trying to figure out what to do with.”
Local 701 reaches a deal too
On Oct. 28, Kaiser Permanente reached agreement with Operating Engineers Local 701 on a new three-year contract covering 103 stationary engineers who maintain equipment and keep hospitals running. As with the Alliance of Health Care Unions, agreement had been held up for months because of Kaiser’s posture in bargaining: The highly profitable giant was offering 1% annual raises and 0.5% lump sum bonuses while “slow walking” negotiations, Local 701 business manager Jimbo Anderson told the Labor Press.
In the end, Kaiser dropped that and agreed to 2% annual raises, plus 2% annual lump sum bonuses, and an additional 10 cents an hour each year toward the pension plan.
Members ratified the agreement Nov. 2 by a vote of 45 to 25. The first-year raises are retroactive to Aug. 1, and the new agreement will run through July 31, 2024.
Bay Area dispute escalates with sympathy strike
The tentative agreement covering 50,000 workers doesn’t mean labor peace for Kaiser Permanente yet. About 700 members of Operating Engineers Local 39 have been on strike since Sept. 18 at Kaiser facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Local 39 business agent Shane Mortensen says Kaiser refused to negotiate over economics until the very last day of bargaining, and then offered what he described as a substandard proposal that would leave members well behind their counterparts at other local hospitals.
“It’s frustrating that they’re taking this stance,” Mortensen told the Labor Press. “They want to be the cheapest healthcare around. We want them to be the best healthcare.”
Mortensen—who worked as a stationary engineer at Kaiser for over a decade—said bargaining was never so contentious before under Kaiser’s old leadership.
“There’s definitely a cultural shift; they’re moving away from labor,” Mortensen said. “They’re acting like the 800 pound gorilla in the room — ‘You’ll take what I give you and shut up about it.’”
Three other unions totaling 40,000 Kaiser workers were set to hold one-day sympathy strikes to support them and put pressure on Kaiser to settle: SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, Office and Professional Employees Local 29, and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 20. The strikes were scheduled for Nov. 18 and 19, after this issue went to press. All three unions have also picketed alongside the striking Local 39 members in recent weeks.
“Enough is enough,” said SEIU-UHW president Dave Regan in a video to members. “Kaiser’s behavior toward the operating engineers is simply unacceptable.”
At press time, no further negotiations were scheduled between Kaiser and Local 39.
“We have reached out to Kaiser and they haven’t returned our phone calls,” Mortensen said.
Operating Engineers Local 701 business manager James Anderson, left, visited a Bay Area picket line of striking Kaiser workers who are members of Operating Engineers Local 39 and delivered a message of support signed by Local 701 members.
PAME welcomes the struggle of the TASTY workers who collectively and democratically, through General Assemblies and a broad debate decided with their Union to claim a Collective Contract with salary increases, abolition of "slave" forms of labor, and more. In this direction, the workers and after the employer rejected their claims, collectively decided and carried out a strike with mass participation on Thursday 18 November.
The employer of TASTY, which is a subsidiary of the multinational PepsiCo, responded to the fair demands of the workers by implementing the provisions of the Hatzidakis law that aim to criminalize the trade union action and ban strike action.
In particular, "Tasty" filed a lawsuit calling for the strike to be illegal under Article 93 of the specific law on "psychological violence", which in practice prohibits the union from safeguarding the right to strike and legalizes strike-breaking actions and employers' blackmails against workers who want to strike.
Citing this article, the employer notes that "the right to work of non-strikers is not guaranteed", because the announcement of the Union calls on the workers to strengthen "the strike picket lines in all shifts"! According to the employer, "it is self-evident that the existence of strike guards/pickets (…) aims at exerting intense psychological pressure on their colleagues who do not take part in the strike mobilization (…)"
It is proved by the lawsuit of TASTY's employer that the Hatzidaki law aims to prevent the organization of the trade union struggle and the prohibition of their action.
The implementation of the Hatzidakis law by TASTY's employer exposes any arguments about "positive" elements, or "possibilities for improvement" of the anti-workers legislation.
The employer's attack on the TASTY strikers is a declaration of war against all militant trade union organizations that, based on the term "psychological violence", will be wrapped in a piece of paper whenever the workers themselves decide to claim anything against the employer!
At the time when a colleague of ours dies every 3 days because the employers do not apply the necessary protection measures, at the time when our families cannot afford the expenses till the end of the month because of starvation wages and the prices are going up in electricity etc, at the same time employers and Governments want to deny us the right to claim a better life, to deprive us of the right to collective, organized struggle.
The class struggle cannot be abolished, no matter how many laws they pass, no matter how many measures they take, no matter how many courts they make, no matter how many penalties they impose. Their labor struggles are imposed by workers' law and the need for survival, for life, work and rights.
The strike struggle of the TASTY workers has already broken the intimidating practices of the employers with massive militant participation in their strike.
Like the employees of EFOOD and COSCO with their struggles, showed that our rights are not conquered by submission but by organization and struggle. We take our lives in our hands, in every industry, factory and workplace, we intensify the struggle for Wage Increases, Collective Agreements, for the satisfaction of our modern needs. Employers’ intimidations will not pass!19.11.21
On Tuesday, November 16, the Unions of Tourism-Catering of Athens and Food Workers’
Union, along with other unions of the sector held a moto protest to the Ministry of Labor.
In the meeting that took place with general secretaries of the Ministry of Labor and
representatives of SEPE, the delivery workers and the unions raised a series of demands
and claims. As for its results, as informed by the president of the Union, the request for the
provision of all the necessary means of personal protection is being implemented.
Specifically, the ministry responded that a Ministerial Decree would be drafted that
specifically defines the means and specifications that must be met and will provide that these
should be provided by each employer free of charge to the delivery workers.
Regarding the demand for joining delivery workers profession being recognized a
Dangerous and Hazardous (BAE), however, the answer was that it is "doubtful" whether the
delivery workers belong to this category professions, while the meeting of the relevant
committee will take place in two years!
"It is clear that they do not want to put us in the BAE so that the employers and the state do
not pay," denounced the president of the union. As he clarified, the struggle will not stop,
instead the Unions will submit a detailed memorandum and will request the meeting of the
committee
Before the Ministry the delivery workers stopped in front of the Polytechnic to pay tribute to
the struggle against the dictatorship.
Thousands of metal workers from the LARCO industry went on strike on November 13 and
travelled to Athens to demand the protection of their jobs. The workers of LARCO, with the
great solidarity expressed by Trade Unions of Athens, continue and intensify their struggle
against the methodical devaluation of the company and the job insecurity imposed by the
decisions of the governments. They continue to fight to ensure the functioning of LARCO, all
their jobs and their rights.
Gran manifestación de huelga de trabajadores metalúrgicos de LARCO en Atenas
Miles de trabajadores metalúrgicos de la industria de LARCO se declararon huelga el 13 de
noviembre y viajaron a Atenas para exigir la protección de sus puestos de trabajo. Los
trabajadores de LARCO, con la gran solidaridad expresada por los Sindicatos de Atenas
continúan e intensifican su lucha contra la metódica devaluación de la empresa y la
inseguridad laboral por las decisiones de los gobiernos. Continúan luchando para asegurar
el funcionamiento de LARCO, todos sus trabajos y sus derechos.
After two years of bargaining, The New York Times Company has continued to delay our negotiations through unfair labor practices and wage offers that significantly underpay our staff. We, members of the Wirecutter Union, are fed up. We’re prepared to walk out during the Black Friday shopping week to win the fair contract we deserve.
Our staff works around the clock during the Black Friday shopping week, our busiest and most profitable time of year, putting in extra hours over the holiday to serve our readers. Our labor continues to bring in record revenue for the Times and helped to grow Wirecutter by 10k subscribers in the past quarter.
We know that our readers rely on our work during this time to guide their holiday shopping. We also know you appreciate our labor, and want to know how you can support. We are asking for subscribers and supporters:
1. If we have not reached a deal by Black Friday, do not cross the picket line. Do not shop through Wirecutter on Black Friday through Cyber Monday.
2. If we reach a deal before Black Friday, please continue to shop through Wirecutter through the end of the year. Support union publications!
The following statement was issued to the press by the joint platform of Central Trade Unions on 03rd November 2021
The constituents of the Platform of Central Trade Unions held a meeting on 1st November 2021 in Delhi to consider the situation arising out of the Government's push to privatise and hand over all the National Assets to the Corporate Sector, NMP being the latest design. It was felt that the immediate effect of this move will be tremendous price rise and increase in the user-charges for the people besides other disastrous negative fall-outs on our infrastructure and the economy. The meeting also discussed the total anti people attitude of the government which is refusing to consider any demands of the people raised by the trade unions and kisan organizations undermining all democratic practices.
With a view to make the people aware of the dangerous effects of this policy, it was decided to systematically reach out to the people, starting with a National conventionof Trade Unions in Delhi on 11th November, followed by state level conventions, jathas, demonstrations, Mhapadav, mini parliaments, extensive signature campaigns etc all over the country to be followed by a 2-day countrywide general strike during the Budget Session in 2022. The meeting decided to observe 26th November, the anniversary of the National General Strike of trade unions and the Kisan March towards Delhi as a nation-wide protest day.
This meeting was followed by a meeting with the leaders of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), in which both sides apprised the other of the struggles being planned ahead and were unanimous that worker-kisan unity is the need of the hour and to work to strengthen it through united struggles.
Maritime workers of Greece have held a successful 2day strike, which started on
Wednesday morning, November 10 and continues today.
During the strike no ship has sailed succeeding a complete stop to all shipping traffic from
all ports.
Maritime workers demand renewal and implementation of Collective Agreements with
salary increases, organic compositions for crews in ships that meet the real needs, measures
to protect the unemployed, repatriation of crews from ships in other countries from their many
months of confinement, Social Security for all, public and compulsory, upgrading of the Naval
Education, effective health protection measures and abolition of the anti-workers laws.
The Unions will discuss on the escalation of the fight for collective contract during the next
hours
2 dÃas de huelga de los trabajadaores marÃtimos . Los trabajadores marÃtimos de grecia han realizado una exitosa huelga de 2 dÃas, que
comenzó el miercoles 10 de noviembre por la mañana y continúa hoy.
Durante la huelga nigún barco ha navegado logrando una parada completa a todo el
tráfico marÃtimo de todos los puertos.
Los trabajadores marÃtimos exigen renovación e implementación de convenios colectivos
con aumentos salariales, composiciones orgánicas para tripulaciones en buques que
satisfagan las necesidades reales, medidas para la protección de los desempleados,
repatriación de tripulaciones de buques en otros paÃses de sus muchos meses de encierro,
Seguridad social por todosp pública y obligatoria, mejora de la educación naval, medidas
efectivas de protección de la salud y abolición de las leyes antilaborales.
Los sindicatos discutirán sobre la escalación de la lucha por convenios colectios durante
las proximas horas.
Nueva gran huelga nacional de los trabajadores de Turismo- Restauración- HotelerÃa
Con un gran y militante manifestación, el martes 9 de noviembre frente al ministerio de
Trabajo en Atenas y con más manifestaciones en otras ciudades de toda Grecia, los
trabajadores de Turismo- hotelerÃa - Restauración realizaron una huelga nacional y exigieron
una serie de medidas de apoyo financiero para desempleados, convenios colectivos asÃ
como protección para aquellos en trabajos peligrosos e insalubres, especialmente
trabajadores de distribución.
VIDEO con lo más destacado de la huelga en Atenas https://youtu.be/_kJs0SD-Xx4
En Atenas la manifestación inició bajo el Acropolis, una de las atracciones turÃsticas más
conocidas, donde miles trabajan con bajos salarios y condiciones bárbaras.
En la primera linea de la manifestación estaban los trabajadores de destribución de la
empresa E FOOD que marcharon junto a sus compañeros de WOLT que participaron
masivamente por primera vez y con una protesta en las oficinas de la empresa WOLT
https://youtu.be/nV7pgX0Zu3U
Durante la protesta, los trabajadores ddee Efood anunciaronn la fundación del Sindicato de
Trabajadores de Efood, que fue acogido con gran entusiasmo por todos los manifestantes
https://youtu.be/PbfoP9t5FuQ
La manifestación se dirigió al Ministerio de Trabajo, donde los sindicatos guardaron un
momento de silencio en memoria de los trabajadores de distribución durante el trabajo el
último perÃodo.
https://youtu.be/JDcULVCZ5 as
Los sindicatos se reunieron con representantes del ministerio para la satisfacción de sus
demandas y en una semana se llevarña a cabo una nueva reunión con el Ministerio
especialemente para los temas de equipos de protección y regulación para los trabajadores
de distribución
Video https://youtu.be/dkyTdH8cwr0
With a big and militant demonstration, on Tuesday, November 9 in front of the Ministry of
Labor in Athens and with more demonstrations in other cities all over Greece, workers in
Tourism-Hotels-Catering held a National Strike and demanded a series of measures of
financial support for the unemployed, Collective Contract, as well as protection for those in
hazardous and unhealthy jobs, especially delivery workers.
In Athens the demonstration started under the Acropolis, one of the most known tourist
attractions, where thousands work with low wages and barbaric conditions.
The protest was headed by thousands of delivery workers from E-food company who rode
next to their colleagues of WOLT who participated massively for the first time and with a
protest at the offices of WOLT company offices.
During the protest the workers of E-food announced the establishment of EFOOD
WORKERS UNION, which was welcomed with huge enthusiasm by all protesters.
https://youtu.be/PbfoP9t5FuQ
The demonstration headed to the Ministry of Labor, where the unions held a moment of
silence in the memory of the delivery workers killed during work the last period.
as
The Unions met with representatives of the Ministry for the satisfaction of their demands
and in a week there will be a new meeting with the Ministry especially for the issues of
protection equipment and regulation for delivery workers.
Video https://youtu.be/dkyTdH8cwr0
Photos https://flic.kr/s/aHsmX65zpU
Massive demonstrations took place also in Thessaloniki, Corfu, Patras and other cities all
over Greece
Thessaloniki
Fast-food workers say they are fed up with their working conditions, and on Tuesday morning, they’re walking out.
Thousands of employees in the fast-food industry are going on strike across California, walking out for better working conditions, wages and hours and calling on lawmakers to offer them a bigger say in their futures.
A McDonald’s location on Floral Drive in Monterey Park, where workers allege sewers recently flooded the kitchen, is the SoCal site of the rally employees planned for 9 a.m.
Other rallies in the area are planned for 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.
By and large, fast-food employees are not represented by a union. But they’ve found ways to band together, pushing for change within the industry withprevious rallies.
Organizers promoted the one-day, statewide protest on social media, to put the spotlight onalleged unsafe conditionsin the fast food industry.
Those striking are also advocating for the passage of state Assembly Bill 257, dubbed the “FAST Act.”
It would hold fast-food corporations accountable, if and when franchise owners failed to meet industry standards. It would also establish a sector council, with 11 members selected by the California governor, Speaker of the Assembly and Senate Rules Committee. Fast-food employees would get a seat at the table and a shared voice.
Additionally, the bill would set minimum industry standards for working conditions, wages and working hours, “related to the health, safety, and welfare of, and supplying the necessary cost of proper living to, fast food restaurant workers,”the bill states.
The vote for AB 257 is scheduled for January.
While the Los Angeles-area rallies will all be held at McDonald’s restaurants, the issues fast food employees are striking over are not limited to one fast-food franchise.
After three days of voting, more than 2,500 Communications Workers of America employees at Mercy, Kenmore Mercy and Sisters St. Joseph hospitals have approved six new four-year union contracts.
This officially ends the strike at Mercy in South Buffalo, where nurses, service, clerical and technical staff have been on strike since Oct. 1.
The biggest issue on the bargaining table has been staffing. CWA said the minimum nurse-to-patient staffing levels secured in the new contracts with Catholic Health are the "first written into a union contract in the country outside of California, and will set a precedent for hospitals across New York and beyond. New York’s own safe staffing legislation, passed earlier this year, played an important role in the CWA bargaining committee’s ability to negotiate the ratios."
Five patients in rehabilitation units and skilled nursing units, and
Six patients in postpartum and well-baby nursery units.
"This is a tremendous victory not only for our members, but for the patients, their families and the community who can be assured they will receive the highest quality care," said CWA Area Director Debora Hayes. "We have set a new standard and we applaud Catholic Health for working diligently with us to get there.” “It’s a new day for Mercy Hospital as we prepare to welcome back our associates, and for Catholic Health as we refocus our energies on providing the highest quality care and service to the people of Western New York,” said Mark Sullivan, President & CEO of Catholic Health. “Our collective healing process will take time, but I am confident in the ability of our leadership team and associates to work and heal together, and know we will emerge even stronger than before.”
CWA has planned a noon news conference Tuesday to share more details.
Hospital leaders have developed a return-to-work plan that will restore most services at Mercy during the day shift on Nov. 10. Emergent and urgent surgical cases will continue to be performed as needed, while inpatient and outpatient elective surgery are expected to resume soon.
Kaiser also agreed to modest across-the-board raises: 3% in the first and second years, followed by 2% in the third and fourth years. The third and fourth year raises will also be accompanied by a 2% bonus that doesn’t raise the pay rate. The 3% raise in year one is retroactive to Oct. 1, and matches the raise another set of Kaiser unions got for this year, but it also leaves workers falling behind inflation, which is currently above 5% for the first time in years.
