NEW YORK, NY – Job growth in New York City has outpaced the nation and New York state since the end of the recession, according to a report released by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The city added a total of 702,200 jobs between 2009 and 2017, more than during any other expansion.
Chicago Transit Workers to Get 9.5% Raise
CHICAGO, Ill.—The Chicago Transit Authority board approved a new contract with Amalgamated Transit Workers Union Locals 241 and 308 Feb. 14 that will increase bus drivers, motormen, and mechanics’ pay by 9.5% by the end of next year. The four-year agreement will give the unions’ about 9,000 members 5% raises retroactive to Jan. 1, 2016,…
Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Likely to Stay Lowest in Northeast
PITTSBURGH, Pa.—Pennsylvania’s $7.25-an-hour minimum wage is the lowest in the Northeast, but the prospects for increasing it appear slim. While Gov. Tom Wolf ran for election in 2014 promising to raise it to $10.10 an hour and now wants to increase it to $12, “minimum wage doesn’t seem to be moving in the General Assembly,”…
Support Affordable Housing in NYC
At several community meetings, I stood up and spoke out against luxury towers that the city’s Economic Development Corporation pitched as part of Inwood’s rezoning. The buildings would loom large over the neighborhood and threaten rent-stabilized tenants next door, possibly pushing them out. Worse, too few units would be made affordable.
Lost Dollars at NYC School Construction Authority
New York, NY — According to a recent audit released by Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, the City-funded School Construction Authority (SCA) has kept more than $100 million in an obscure– and inadequately managed – “miscellaneous” checking account.
NYC Files Amicus Brief to Defend Labor Unions’ Right to Collect Fees
NEW YORK, NY — New York City has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, et al., to defend a legal right that labor unions view as crucial to their success and survival. The City’s amicus brief, was added to the hundreds of …
Congress Eyes Pension Bills, With Little Action
WASHINGTON—To win a vote on the Butch Lewis Act, a measure that would set up a federal low-interest loan program to rescue endangered multiemployer pension funds, “we need more Republicans to publicly support the bill,” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), its Senate sponsor, said in a statement to LaborPress.
Six Pension Topics for Multiemployer Trustees and Administrators to Consider in 2018
Many multiemployer plans have been challenged in recent years by investment volatility, declining union membership, an aging population that is living longer, and an uncertain political landscape. As we begin 2018, we expect that multiemployer plans will continue to operate under pressure from these issues, while also facing new challenges and opportunities.
Tips Are for Workers Not Employers
On Monday, February 5th, Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United delivered thousands of comments opposing a proposed federal Department of Labor rule to make tips the property of employers. Workers and activists are calling for ONE FAIR WAGE in New York State, which would create better wages and better tips. The event took place in New York…
Federal Workers Will Get Paid for Shutdown Days
WASHINGTON—Federal workers furloughed during the three-day shutdown of the government will get paid for the work time they lost, under the short-term continuing-appropriations resolution signed by President Donald Trump Jan. 22.