Construction of NYC Institutions Up

July 24, 2014
By Neal Tepel

New York, NY - New York City's public and private institutions initiated $643 million in construction projects during the first five months of 2014, up from $581 million through May of 2013, an increase of 11 percent, according to a New York Building Congress analysis of McGraw Hill Construction Dodge data.

AFSCME Convention Highlights Organizing

July 24, 2014
By Stephanie West

Chicago, IL - Under the banner, "Bold, Brave, and Determined," over 4000 members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees discussed the impact of recent attacks on public sector unions at their International Convention. The event took place in Chicago July 14-18. The AFSCME delegates represented locals throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

UFCW Workers at Tops Approve Contract

July 24, 2014
By Stephanie West

Buffalo, NY - Tops employees represented by United Food and Commercial Workers, District Union Local One, have overwhelmingly approved a contract. The agreement covers 13,000 Tops employees in Upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania.

AdvantageCare Benefits from ObamaCare

July 23, 2014
By Marc Bussanich

Staten Island, NY—While right-wing think tanks and pundits continue to whine over ObamaCare, the president of a physicians-led health care organization said that because of the Affordable Care Act more residents in the nearby community are seeking treatment at his facility.

Local 1199 Gets Four-Year Deal, 3% Annual Raises

July 23, 2014
By Steven Wishnia

New York—Local 1199 SEIU and the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York announced July 21 that they had agreed on a four-year contract covering about 70,000 health-care workers in the metropolitan area. The deal gives them a total raise of 13% and largely preserves the system of funding health benefits, a major issue in the talks.

NAACP Backs Fast-Food Workers’ Fight for $15

July 23, 2014
By Stephanie West

Las Vegas, Nevada - The NAACP unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday July 15th at its convention in Las Vegas supporting fast-food workers’ historic fight for $15 and a union.

AFGE Claims Illegal Contracting At National Park

July 23, 2014
By Neal Tepel

Washington, DC -  AFGE is calling on the White House to review the illegal outsourcing of federal employee jobs at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia. American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. detailed the illegal outsourcing in a July 16 letter to Beth Cobert, deputy director for management at the White House Office of Management and Budget.

NYC Comptroller Reaches $1.3 Million Prevailing Wage Settlement

July 23, 2014
By Stephanie West

New York, NY – AlliedBarton Security Services, LLC has agreed to pay over $1.3 million in wages and interest that were due to 143 armed security workers for the company’s failure to pay prevailing wages. The agreement was brokered by the Office of the New York City Comptroller’s Bureau of Labor Law.

NYC To Place Security Cameras in Subway Cars

July 23, 2014
By Stephanie West

New York, NY - New York City, one of the largest rapid transit systems in the world is now considering the placement of security cameras in subway cars to deter crime. Finally New York is following Chicago’s lead with a program that will further improve subway car safety. Although there are currently more than 4,000 surveillance cameras installed in the subway system, none have been placed in subway cars.

The American Attacks the American Musical Guild

July 22, 2014
By Marc Bussanich

New York, NY—The American, the journal for the American Enterprise Institute, the premier think tank of all think tanks promoting free markets with little to no regulations, came out swinging on Monday morning by saying that the unions representing workers at the Metropolitan Opera are making too much money.

School-Repair Workers Win $400G Back Pay

July 22, 2014
By Steven Wishnia

New York—In what the city comptroller’s office says is the largest individual settlement it has ever awarded, a Long Island-based contractor has agreed to pay almost $400,000 to two school-repair workers it paid less than half of the prevailing wage.

Citigroup Fined for Misrepresenting Public

July 22, 2014
By Stephanie West

Washington DC - Citigroup, has acknowledged it made serious misrepresentations to the public. This included the manner in which Citigroup marketed and sold residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). The settlement requires Citi to pay $4.5 billion in hard dollars and provide $2.5 billion in consumer relief. New York State will receive $182 million: $92 million in cash and a minimum of $90 million in consumer relief for struggling New Yorkers.

AFL-CIO BIT Provides Funding for Chicago Development

July 22, 2014
By Stephanie West

Chicago, Ill. -  The AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust (BIT) provided leadership and funding for the Wolf Point West Tower construction project in Chicago. The project required $34 million equity investment for the first part of the development. To ensure adequate financing,  BIT also  partnered with  third-party lenders. Wolf Point West is the first of three new buildings to be built creating 2,000 construction jobs.

Meet The 21st Century Plumbers!

July 21, 2014
By Joe Maniscalco

Queens, NY - Entering the ranks of Plumbers Local 1 is no easy task, but for those who have accepted the rigors that come with striving to be the best at their trade, it’s a decision they have never regretted. 

DC 1707’s Lorraine Guest: Caring for Care Workers

July 21, 2014
By Steven Wishnia

New York—“I’m the one that gets out there,” says Lorraine Guest, president of District Council 1707 of AFSCME. “If I see something that’s not right, I’m going to get involved. I’m not a sit-back person.” Elected in May in the vote that also brought Victoria Mitchell in as executive director, Guest divides her time between union business and working as a staff nurse at a Federation Employment & Guidance Service facility for the developmentally disabled in the Bronx.

Can Unions Overcome the Supreme Court’s Latest?

July 21, 2014
By Steven Wishnia

The Supreme Court’s June 30 decision in Harris v. Quinn—which held that home health-care aides hired by individuals do not have to pay “fair-share fees” to the unions that represent them—attacks labor in two ways. First, it undermines recent efforts to organize home health-care aides, who work in one of the nation’s fastest-growing and lowest-paying occupations. Second, it opens the door to reversing the 1977 decision that protects the union shop for public employees.

Reject Proposed Merger of Comcast with Time Warner

July 21, 2014
By NYC Public Advocate Letitia James

New York, NY - I'd like to bring your attention to a giant merger that will have a significant impact on consumers. As you might already be aware, the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) is currently taking public comment and reviewing the proposed merger of Comcast Corporation with Time Warner Cable, Inc. to determine if the merger is in the public interest of New Yorkers.

Rodneyse Bichotte Picks Up Labor Endorsements

July 21, 2014
By Stephanie West

Brooklyn, NY - Citing her commitment to working people, the Building and Construction Trade Council of Greater New York, Teamsters Joint Council 16, Tenants Political Action Committee, Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, and the Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York & Long Island have endosed Rodneyse Bichotte in her bid to represent the 42nd Assembly District in the New York State Assembly. 

LIRR Commuters Rejoice!

July 19, 2014
By Marc Bussanich

New York, NY—Working folk at Penn Station told LaborPress on Wednesday that they would have had very few options to travel if there was no railroad service over the weekend. On Friday they rejoiced that the MTA and the Long Island Railroad unions reached a tentative agreement with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s help.

Cahill Calls Out Scaffold Law Bashers!

July 18, 2104
By Joe Maniscalco

Editor’s Note: The following is part of an ongoing LaborPress series examining the ways in which efforts to weaken New York’s Scaffold Law jeopardize workers. 

New York, NY - For some, New York’s Scaffold Law is a blessing, and the best chance they have to try and rebuild their shattered lives following a catastrophic fall on the job. For others, Labor Law 240 is a burdensome financial impediment responsible for thwarting everything from new schools construction, to minority-owned businesses. But the idea that Labor Law 240 is the plague opponents in the insurance industry make it out to be, seems absolutely “ridiculous” to the man whose job is all about building.