Skip to main content

What I’ve Been Reading This Week


Striketober:  A month in which the predominant labor stories have centered on worker strikes.  I will admit, the Striketober name is catchy and noteworthy in so much that there have been a noticeable number of strikes over the past 29 days.  For instance, Kellogg’s, John Deere, McDonald’s, and Southwest Airlines (depending who you ask) have all experienced (or continue to experience) worker strikes this month.  While there are a host of articles worth talking about this week, Striketober is at the forefront of my mind and what I want to loop readers in on to close out the week.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


President Biden Remains Conspicuously Absent From ‘Striketober’ Events

As noted above, with that the end of the month is Sunday, I think it is appropriate to lead things off with this article from Shannon Pettypiece over at NBC News that notes that although President Joe Biden has long been at the forefront of labor issues during his many decades in office, he has mostly kept out of the Striketober events this past month.  As the article points out, while there have been a noticeable number of strikes and walkouts this month, President Biden has done little more than voice his support for workers while staying away from picket lines or involving himself in negotiations.  Of course, his Administration (including Labor Secretary Marty Walsh) have taken steps to visit with striking workers and push for labor unions recently.  However, ongoing labor strikes threaten to further exacerbate the labor shortages, supply chain issues, and inflation concerns…something that President Biden cannot afford at this stage of his presidency.  For the time being, he is remaining above the fray and at arm’s length from Striketober.


West Hollywood, CA Considers Hiking Hourly Wage Rates to $17.64/Hour

Matthew Kang at Eater Los Angeles writes that the West Hollywood, CA City Council is considering an increase to the hourly wage rate for all workers to $17.64/hour by next year.  While this proposal has not yet passed and is still working its way through the City Council, the proposed wage hike would go into effect in January for hotel and hospitality workers and by July for everyone else.  If I were a betting man, I would expect to see this minimum wage proposal get approved sooner rather than later.


Labor Secretary Visits With Striking Kellogg’s Workers

On Wednesday, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh visited striking Kellogg’s workers in Lancaster County, PA and voiced his support for all parties reaching a resolution and agreeing upon a new contract.  Readers might recall that workers at Kellogg’s previously went on strike earlier this month after talks broke down over a new collective bargaining agreement.  It should not come as much of a surprise to readers that although Secretary Walsh visited with the Kellogg’s workers during his stop, there are not reports of him talking with (or doing a photo opp.) with the company itself.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...
Post a Comment
Read more

San Diego Rolls Back Vaccine Mandate For City Workers

Last Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to do away with the vaccine mandate for city employees. The city’s vaccine mandate that was in place required city workers to get the coronavirus vaccine or risk termination.  Perhaps to this surprise of no one, the city’s policy came under fire with 14 employees being terminated and over 100 other employees resigning.  With the coronavirus subsiding, including in Southern California, the San Diego City Council took action. Now, bear in mind, the repeal of the vaccine mandate does not take place immediately. With that being said, the mandate will be repealed March 8th.  I suppose the question now is, what other cities or regions follow San Diego’s lead? For additional information:   https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-01-24/san-diego-repeals-controversial-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-citing-drop-in-cases-hospitalizations
Post a Comment
Read more

NLRB: Former Employee Cannot Be Barred From Work Premises After Filing Wage Suit

MEI-GSR Holdings, LLC - NLRB Facts :  MEI-GSR Holdings, LLC d/b/a Grand Sierra Resort & Casino ("GSR") operated a facility that included a hotel, casino, restaurant, clubs, bars, and a pool which were all open to the general public.  Tiffany Sargent ("Sargent") was briefly employed by GSR as a "beverage supervisor" in December of 2012.  After her employment ended, Sargent continued to socialize at one of the clubs.  GSR had a long standing practice of allowing former employees to patronize its facility and did not prohibit Sargent from doing so.  In June of 2013, Sargent and another employee filed a class and collective action against GSR for alleged unpaid wages, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Nevada law.  In July of 2014, GSR denied Sargent access to an event at one of the clubs.  GSR followed up with a letter and stated that with the on-going litigation (from the wage suit), it decided to bar Sargent from the premises. ...
1 comment
Read more