Subject: Labor Relations INK February 2023

 
 

February 24, 2023

 

To visit the blog post, click on the link below that article.

linkedin
twitter
facebook
 
 

How ChatGPT Will Impact Labor Relations

Labor Relations Insight by Phil Wilson

PROGRAMMING NOTE: If you don’t have time to read this whole article now (maybe have a bot read it for you), we are doing a management-only webinar on April 11, 2023, at 3 PM ET. Invites will go out soon, but if you want to be pre-registered, click this link.


You can’t open the news without seeing articles about OpenAI’s ChatGPT or its rival LaMDA from Google. We’ve reached an inflection point for Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven applications. More and more people are experimenting with these tools. You can expect them to improve exponentially.


Oh, and in case you’re wondering, that paragraph (and the rest of the following paragraphs) was written by PI (Phil Intelligence), which is lagging further and further behind AI :)


I’m not going to do a primer on AI. If you want to understand how these tools work, check out thiscomprehensive article or a simpler one here. Instead, let me share some of the things we’ve been playing around with and how I think AI-powered tools are likely to be employed in the Labor Relations world. I’ll also share some of the concerns I believe Labor professionals should be thinking about as these technologies develop and grow.


Is AI coming for your Labor Relations job?


First, the good news, I don’t think AI is coming for your Labor Relations job anytime soon. Tools like ChatGPT will radically transform how we work and how efficiently we can accomplish low-expertise tasks. But at its very center, Labor Relations is about relationships and complex people strategies and decisions. Based on how it handles the lower-level tasks today (which will improve quickly but is remedial), AI isn’t going to be running the core value Labor professionals provide in the world.


While your job isn’t going away, it is going to change. Here are some key areas we are exploring:


The research will get much more efficient. With Bing, you can ask specific questions (and iterate them) with links to the primary sources. This technology is a significant improvement over your typical Google search, which often requires pouring through dozens of pages (or dozens of inquiries) to get what you’re looking for, especially something off the beaten path. And based on our early tests, answers to many questions that would otherwise require digging through several pages of text just get answered.


SFDs are produced in seconds. Around here, we use the term SFD to refer to a Shi##y First Draft. Get me some words on a page that are a solid starting point for editing. ChatGPT is built for this task, and it’s only going to improve. Ask it to write a paragraph or an email draft about something specific; it does a credible job in seconds. We’ve given it some complicated tasks. While the output is objectively weak, it is a great head start for someone with a lot of experience, and it happens almost as quickly as you can ask the question.


Speaking of drafting, one area where these AI tools will have a major impact is legal drafting. I have some critical cautions below, but I’ve experimented with using the tools to draft contract language and policies, and it does a surprisingly good job for an SFD. Remember the S part of SFD—these aren’t clauses you can immediately put to work, and it requires an expert to tell the difference between something that looks good versus something that is good. But it’s a great way to get draft language for editing, and they do a decent job with pretty complex labor and employee relations topics.


Force multiply: One big problem I face, and I know many other Labor Pros feel the same way, is that it’s impossible to keep up with everything happening in our world. I have a team that helps me do this, and it’s still impossible. These new AI tools can help you force multiply in exciting ways. I can have a bot sit in on a meeting or watch a video for me and draft a summary of the key points covered. I can have it summarize web pages and articles. I have used RSS news feed aggregators for these tasks, but it’s easy to fall behind because you must read full articles (often repetitive) to find the nuggets. This is a way to shortcut a lot of that and point you to the most important things to spend time on reading.


Other tools: I’ve only dealt with text-based tools here, but there are many different tools around images, voice, video, and much more being developed every day. We are just scratching the surface.


Two Cautions


It’s all about the prompt: AI tools are still new, and we have noticed that the key to decent output is a decent “prompt” or the question you ask in the first place. Plus, these tools are designed with boundaries that could prevent them from answering your question, depending on your prompt. The critical skill for the future is writing the prompts. I predict that while AI isn’t necessarily going to destroy a bunch of lower-level legal and support roles, it is going to transform those roles into being great prompt writers. And, of course, AI tools are already designed for prompt writing. This will soon become an important part of training new Labor Pros.

 

Dunning-Kruger problem


If you’re unfamiliar with the Dunning-Kruger effect, it describes the fact that people who know nothing about a subject are likely to feel the most confident about their knowledge of the subject. As someone grows in knowledge and experience, they will learn how complex the subject is and get less confident in their knowledge. Eventually, they will become knowledgeable enough to gain confidence, but they will still be less confident than someone who knows nothing.


Which leads to this perplexing truth: The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger Club is you don’t know you’re in the Dunning-Kruger Club. That relates to AI tools. Take a look at this chart:

 

Source: Found here and originally produced by HFS Research Limited


If you plan to use ChatGPT or similar tools for drafting or research, make sure that you thoroughly check the output against your own experience and research. In other words, always look at the output from an AI tool as a starting point, not a finished product. There will be a lot of terrible decisions and mistakes made by people blindly relying on output from a bot. Don’t be one of those people.


This means to ALWAYS fact-check output from a bot. There is a lot of debate right now about plagiarism and how these bots are trained. Still, it is an excellent practice to let people know if a bot has generated content and to find primary and secondary sources for claims that support the text you generate.


Upcoming Webinar on Using AI Tools in Labor Relations


We are hosting a webinar on using AI tools for Labor Relations Pros on April 11, 2023, at 3 PM ET. We will walk through ways that we are using these tools (including live examples during the webinar) and provide some recommendations about the benefits and cautions of using these tools. This is such a new and growing area that we will also engage in some peer-to-peer experience sharing about how others are using these tools. If you are interested in signing up, use this link to register. 

 
 
 

The Labor Relations Help You Never Knew You Needed

by Michael VanDervort

After serving for two years in the pro-union Biden cabinet, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh is not so quietly quitting. Boston's former union leader and mayor will step down from his post in mid-March. Walsh will take over as the Executive Director of the National Hockey League Players' Association.   

 

Walsh is expected to earn $3 million U.S. annually and live in Boston with no requirement to move to Toronto, where the Players’ Association is headquartered.  

 

It sounds like a pretty sweet work gig for a union leader if you can get it! 

 

Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su is the prevailing favorite to take over for Walsh when he steps down. Walsh was an activist leader and a dealmaker. Su hails from California and is more interested in policy issues and individual worker rights. Earlier this week, Walsh and Su co-hosted workers and labor leaders from unions like the AFL-CIO and SEIU in Washington D.C at a meeting focused on job creation and enhancing union organizing.  

 

Despite Walsh’s imminent departure, the labor unions will face no shortage of government allies willing to help advance their issues and policies, especially at the NLRB.  The agency is still very active under Jennifer Abruzzo and Lauren McFerran. They continue to crank out decisions and promote an approach highly beneficial to labor unions. 

 
 
 

NLRB Decisions

by Kimberly Ricci

American Steel Construction, Inc. changes the language used to determine whether a group is an appropriate collective bargaining unit. The change makes it easier for unions to get representation elections, especially regarding smaller bargaining units in the Specialty Healthcare case, which created micro-units. With this new decision, smaller bargaining units may become more prevalent, resulting in more labor organizing since unions tend to win smaller units at a higher rate.  

 

McLaren Macomb, in which the NLRB returned to a longstanding precedent holding that employers may not offer employees severance agreements that require employees to waive their rights under the National Labor Relations Act broadly. The decision involved severance agreements offered to furloughed employees that prohibited them from making statements that could disparage the employer and from disclosing the terms of the agreement itself.

 

This decision, in contrast, explains that simply offering employees a severance agreement that requires them to broadly give up their rights under Section 7 of the Act violates Section 8(a)(1) of the Act and is no longer appropriate.

 

According to attorney Jon Hyman, the Board concluded that such provisions unlawfully violate employees’ right to engage in protected concerted activity because one could hypothetically read a broad non-disparagement or confidentiality clause to limit their right to talk about wages, hours, and other terms and conditions. Employers will want to exercise caution here.

 
 
 

Score Board

Who are the winners (and losers) of the labor movement? Don't guess, just check the LRI Scoreboard

 
 
 

Share

linkedin
twitter
facebook
 
LRi Union Scoreboard image
 
 

Electronic Surveillance At Work

by Kimberly Ricci

Many employers use technology to track employee keystrokes, capture screenshots and monitor time spent on work devices to track employee performance during work hours, in the office, or remotely.  

 

This technology has caught the attention of the National Labor Relations Board’s General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, who recently issued a memorandum seeking to broaden the National Labor Relations Act and limit the electronic surveillance of employees. 

 

Abruzzo is concerned that such employee tracking and algorithmic-management tools could interfere with the exercise of Section 7 rights by significantly impairing or taking away an employee’s ability to engage in protected activity and keep it confidential from their employer.  

 

In a memorandum covering her concerns (Memorandum GC 23-02), GC Abruzzo requests the Board adopt a broader legal framework for determining the lawfulness of monitoring employees through electronic means, citing concerns it could interfere with organizing efforts. 

 

Further, Abruzzo urged the Board to find that employers presumptively violate the Act if their surveillance technology and management practices tend to interfere with or prevent employees from engaging in protected concerted activity.  

 

The memo further suggests that if an employer establishes “narrowly tailored” practices to address “legitimate business needs,” the Board would weigh the employer’s interests 

 
 
 

Limiting Employee Speech
by Kimberly Ricci

 

Abruzzo also challenges decades of precedent by asserting that employers are breaking the law when they tell workers that unionization wipes out their right to deal directly with management.  She seeks to change a long-standing precedent from a 1985 NLRB case called Tri Cast Inc. that gives employers wide latitude on what they can say during unionization drives. 

  

In the advice memo issued Jan. 31, Abruzzo cited these as examples of statements she might find unlawful; “If you sign a union card, you’ll be giving up your right to speak for and represent yourself,” and “You can’t just come to me [manager] anymore. You have to go to your union rep.” 

 

These latest attacks from Abruzzo represent more of her continued attacks on long-standing NLRB practices she believes unfairly tilt the advantage in NLRB cases toward employers.  All the changes mentioned above will make it harder for employers to resist unionization and make it easier for unions to win organizing elections at a higher rate.  

 
 
 

Tesla Under Fire By The NLRB and Unions

by Kimberly Ricci

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made no secret of his distaste for unions. He previously called out the UAW for corruption and even dared the union to attempt the organization of his employees. The UAW did not successfully do so, but as we recently reported, SEIU affiliate Workers United shifted some of their focus from Starbucks to Tesla. As such, the union is waging a new campaign against the automaker’s Buffalo, NY, facility. 

 

It must be noted that the NLRB has had a target on Musk’s back for a while. In early 2022, they even ordered him to delete an old tweet in which he criticized unions, and now that a campaign is in motion, one can expect Biden’s board to go all in on him. 

 

It’s already happening. The automaker has been accused of responding to the union drive by laying off 30 union supporters from the Buffalo plant. Naturally, the Tesla Workers United group headed straight to the NLRB to file a complaint. However, Tesla maintains that these dismissals were not retaliatory and, instead, specifically applied to 4% of the autopilot labeling staff due to the department’s subpar performance. 

 

This denial hasn’t stopped further allegations, including a claim that Tesla Workers United’s tweets have been“shadowbanned,” meaning that the group believes that Musk, also CEO of Twitter, purposefully hid these tweets from search results.

 
 
 

Protect Your Business With LRIrightnow's 2022 Annual Elections Review

by Michael VanDervort

Union organizing is rising, and you need timely and accurate data to stay ahead of the competition. 

 

Union filings for NLRB representation elections increased by a 60% margin in 2022 with a 77% win rate, leading to the organization of 63,225 workers.

 

While union organizers may celebrate their successful 2022 results, they will not diminish their efforts in 2023. 

 

With LRI RightNow's 2022 Annual Elections Review, you can protect your business from union organizing efforts with insightful data and up-to-date information on the latest union organizing efforts.

Take control of your business's future with LRI RightNow's Review, designed specifically for internal labor and HR leaders. With links to interactive election maps and a summary of NLRB elections for 2022, you can stay informed and make timely, informed decisions to protect your business.

 

Don't let union organizing efforts threaten your business!

 

Take the first step in protecting your company's future with LRI RightNow's 2022 Annual Elections Review. Go to the LRIrightnow Store and Order now!  

 
 
 

Starbuck's Next Phase: Buckling Down Against Legal Tactics
by Kimberly Ricci

Thus far, Starbucks Workers United claims 278 unionized stores, and it’s clear that the nationwide organizing drive has slowed to a trickle. Yet the coffeehouse giant is certainly not out of the woods – not even close. The focus has shifted towards workers’ frustration at not achieving instant success at the bargaining table, which was only to be expected, given that union contracts frequently take a year or more to hammer out. 

 

As well, Biden’s NLRB and some courts are greasing the wheels:


  • The NLRB declared that Starbucks illegally fired employees after allegedly interrogating them over organizing activity at a Philadelphia cafe. The ruling also prohibits Starbucks from firing employees for organizing and surveilling workers regarding union activity. Starbucks was also ordered to rehire two fired Philly workers who engaged in union activism and provide them with back pay. The same goes for seven union activists fired from a Memphis cafe.

  • A nationwide injunction on Starbucks firing workers for union organizing landed courtesy of a federal judge. The order also provides for swift reinstatement of workers who believe they were fired for getting involved with Workers United campaigns. Starbucks plans to appeal the sweeping decision, although the waters of enforcement shall surely be muddy.

  • Outgoing CEO Howard Schultz declined Senator Bernie Sanders’ request for congressional testimony on Starbucks’ adherence to labor laws. A “disappointed” Sanders made noises about subpoenaingSchultz to compel testimony, although that didn’t stop Schultz from speaking out on the union in this CNN interview earlier this week. 

 

The coffeehouse saga continues elsewhere, with a California Peet’s Coffee cafe becoming the company’s first unionized location under the SEIU.

 
 
 

A Grab Bag Of Organizing New With A Side Of Infighting

by Kimberly Ricci

This section of INK generally arrives with variety, and this month is no exception:


  • We’re still keeping an eye on the Union of Southern Service Workers, which expressed intent to organize fast food, retail, hotel, and gas station, workers. As an offshoot of the SEIU’s Fight For $15 initiative, the group is now openly calling for “cross-sector organizing” to cover as much ground as possible.

  • 54 microbrewery workers at Widmer Brothers Brewing company joined the Teamsters in Oregon after beginning to organize when the company was acquired by Anheuser-Busch Inbev.

  • Cannabis stays hot: Budtenders at Captain Jack’s Dispensary joined the Teamsters in California. A local union leader expressed the desire to hone every member’s’ “craft,” which is perhaps more entertaining than anything else. 

  • An REI store’s workers in Cleveland filed for a union election, which could mark the outdoor equipment and clothing retailer’s third location to unionize.

  • A Trader Joe’s grocery store in Kentucky became the third location to organize.

  • Election infighting and corruption isn’t only for the UAW: The Farm Labor Organizing Committee faces its own election shenanigans. Current union chief Baldemar Velasquez has been accused of election suppression against rank-and-file tobacco farmer, Leticia Zavala, a popular grassroots candidate. Some members traveled as far as 1,000+ miles to cast votes, only to be disappointed when Zavala lost to an incumbent intent upon maintaining power. 

  • Apple has been targeted by the NLRB, which accused the tech giant of prohibiting workers from discussing wages and discussing organizing activity. The board also alleges that Apple engaged in “suppressive activity that has enabled abuse and harassment of organizers.”

  • Amazon cannot seem to escape the NLRB’s ire, either. The board alleges that the online retailer broke the law by planning to withhold raises and extra perks to warehouses that do not organize.

  • The upcoming Supreme Court ruling in Glacier Northwest v. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters could very well quash the NLRB’s ability to step into the middle of clashes between striking unions and companies. A Starbucks labor leader went on record to express fears that this could happen, and he also took a swing at Starbucks for allegedly refusing to bargain in good faith with the union.

 
 
 

Tech Layoffs Fueling Union Activity

by Kimberly Ricci

Surely, you have heard about recent tech industry layoffs, which reportedly exceed 200,000 workers and have sparked renewed interest in the smallish Alphabet Workers Union, part of the CWA. Those workers hail from Google’s parent company, which recently laid off 12,000 tech workers, and one wonders if the AWU-CWA will now become more than an outlier in the union world. 

 

The CWA has been busy, especially where Alphabet/Google is concerned. The tech-hungry union has been organizing YouTube workers as well as Google “raters” in charge of developing the Internet’s almighty algorithm. The union also sent Google store workers to rally over the company’s layoffs, and the CWA spurred dozens of YouTube Music contractors to threaten a strike over a return-to-office policy.

 

Those particular YouTube contractors are formally employed by Cognizant and wish to have the company declared as a joint employer with Google. The workers also filed for a union election last October, and they claim that in November, they were told to report to the company’s Austin offices in February 2023 or be terminated.

 

Also in Austin: Engineers and production support staff at Findhelp filed for a union election to join the Office and Professional Employees International Union.

 

In the publishing realm, 250 striking HarperCollins workers ended their three-month strike in New York. Reportedly, the resulting UAW contract raised starting annual salaries $5,000 and promised one-time $1,500 bonuses. Considering that this doesn’t even begin to account for three months off the job, it’s no wonder that some Harper Collins workers do not see meaningful results coming their way.

 
 
 

Doctors Catch More Organizing Fever

by Kimberly Ricci

Nearly a year ago, we told you about how the doctor might soon be in the union house, and that contagion has led to a full-on outbreak. Although still considered infrequent for physicians to organize, a trend is developing. Tellingly as well, the top of the medical salary block increasingly feels the need for representation:


  • 1,400 Penn Medicine resident physicians cited 80-hour workweeks while hoping to become the first group of doctors to join a union in Pennsylvania. Chief among complaints are the doctors’ weariness at picking up additional shifts without compensation in what they say are grueling conditions, even without Covid-19.

  • University Of Illinois, Chicago Health physicians and fellows joined the Committee of Interns and Residents branch of the SEIU. Nine months later, they’re still pushing through first contract negotiations. 

  • 150 Allina Health Mercy Hospital doctors wish to form the first physicians-only union in Minnesota as part of the Doctors Council SEIU. They cite burnout and a heavier workload after droves of support staff left the profession.

  • 15 Providence Medford Medical Center ER doctors formed the Southern Oregon Providers Association while citing understaffing and safety concerns as key reasons for seeking collective bargaining.

 

In slightly brighter news, the six-month Kaiser Permanent strike in Hawaii is finally over after blowing past the record for the longest mental health worker strike in the U.S. And here’s a roundup of nurse-involved labor news:


  • University of Wisconsin Health felt a setback from the state supreme court in their search to join the SEIU. Recently, the group threatened a three-day strike, which was narrowly averted by intervention of Gov. Tony Evers. 

  • Kansas nurses look toward contract negotiations after organizing and rallying in Wichita at one of the biggest health facilities in the state. Also in Wichita: 300 nurses hope to form their first union.

  • George Washington University Hospital nurses are organizing with the goal of forming the District of Columbia Nurses Association. 

  • Miami V-A Medical Center nurses went on strike after 146 of their colleagues quit their jobs since the beginning of the pandemic. 

  • Half of Washington state nurses who answered a poll expressed their wishes to leave the professionsooner rather than later.

 

Nursing homes continue to be ground central for worker strife. Following a rash of worker walkouts at Pennsylvania long-term care facilities, 13 Detroit-area nursing homes could soon see workers go on strike. 

 

California continues to be a battlefield for minimum wage. Not only are fast-food workers in the state gazing toward a $22 per hour wage, but Gov. Gav Newsom supports Democratic legislation to push all medical workers to $25 per hour and above.

 
 
 

The Ever-'Militant' Yet Struggling Teamsters

by Kimberly Ricci

When the Hoffa era ended in late 2022, incoming International Teamsters President Sean O’Brien described himself as a “militant” leader, and that self-expressed label continues to stick around as the Teamsters threaten strikes at major employers.

 

Granted, none of O’Brien’s aggressive behavior can erase the Teamsters signaling a 60% benefits cut for their New England pension funds. Nor will members be thrilled at the so-called “rehabilitation plan” that is raising pension eligibility age to 64 from 57 and altogether axing death benefits. These cuts will apply to those members hired from 2009 forward, but it’s solid evidence that the union is struggling amid plummeting membership. And that’s also why their strike-hungry ways are growing more apparent. 


  • Freight negotiations will be forthcoming between TForce Freight and ABF Freight and the Teamsters on behalf of 15,000 members ahead of a July 31 contract expiration date. While discussing the upcoming battles, O’Brien not only re-upped his use of “militant” but also vowed to “fight like hell.”

  • Food company Archer Daniels Midlands saw dozens of Teamsters go on strike at an Illinois grain processing facility. 

  • Tinseltown top Teamster Lindsay Dougherty flat-out told members to save their dollars because she foresees summertime strikes coming from several unions in the area, also including SAG-AFTRA, DGA, and WGA. In New Mexico, film industry Teamsters also rallied for legislation that would boost tax incentives for the many Teamster-employing companies in TV and film.

  • Aramark Uniform Services did forge a new deal with the Teamsters to avert a strike in exchange for boosted wages and benefits. 


Likewise, Honeywell narrowly averted having to carry through on their threat of a multi-location lockout after reaching a new contract with the Teamsters. 

 
 
 

A Sour Taste In UAW Members Mouths

by Kimberly Ricci

  • UAW rank-and-file members remain so disgusted by the bureaucracy’s voter suppression tacticsagainst Will Lehmen that they’re discussing a strike at a Kentucky Ford factory to protest absolute corruption of the election process. As incumbent president Ray Curry seeks to hold onto power, rival Shawn Fain is also under fire for receiving a $30,0000 donation persuading him to run.

  • The Case-New Holland Industrial strike finally came to an end after eight months in Iowa. As a result, 1,000 UAW members will head back to work at two factories, but how did the dispute come to an end? 

 

Reportedly, U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh stepped in to push both sides to an agreement. The actual stipulations of the contract remain under wraps, although some UAW members expressed disappointment in whatever terms did materialize. Past contract rejections indicated that benefits were key, to the point where workers rejected a January offer of 28% to 38% raises across the board.


  • Nissan technicians will soon vote on whether to unionize, and although only 86 workers are part of this vote, the vote itself is significant, given that the NLRB ruled that a smaller vote could proceed as planned without pulling in thousands of other Nissan workers.

  • Ford dispensed with formalities and declared recognition for the UAW at a planned Michigan plant, should the union succeed by “card check.”

  • Caterpillar will soon face off with the UAW in contract negotiations for 7,000 members, given that their current contract will soon expire on March 1.

 
 
 

UC 'Sellout Deal' Not Dampening Higher Ed's Union Explosion

by Kimberly Ricci

The fallout from the United Auto Workers crippling University Of California strike is extending past the fall semester. That’s only to be expected after the union sent 48,000 workers on a six-week strike across a handful of campuses, a move that has inspired more organizing from faculty at universities across the U.S. 

 

Worker satisfaction apparently failed to emerge from the UC strike, however, with many decrying a sellout deal, for which the workers say that the UAW caved to the university and accepted a $34,000 base salary rather than $54,000 as demanded. To make matters more frustrating for workers, the $34,000 won’t materialize until Fall 2024. As well, UC faculty members also expressed disenchantment about the UAW’s bargaining methods while claiming to feel bullied and ignored by representatives.

 

To muddy the waters even further, UC has now declared major cuts to their graduate admissions programs, and that could impact some striking doctoral program workers. Whether or not this is related to the strike, no one knows, although this could be an inevitable university outcome due to increased costs for raises. 

 

On a similar note, Philadelphia’s Temple University announced that striking grad students are no longer eligible for free tuition. That up-to-$20,000 annual benefit could evaporate, and it can’t possibly measure up to what unions deliver after strikes. 

 

A few more higher-ed odds and ends:


  • Harvard University: 100 non-tenure-track faculty members are organizing with the UAW and asking for union recognition. 

  • University of Illinois Chicago: 1,500 tenure and non-tenure professors launched a four-day strike and emerged with promises of baseline $60,000 salaries.

  • The networking shall begin: organizing grad students and union officers from far and wide will descend upon the University of Iowa for an inaugural Iowa Labor Notes Troublemakers School in April. 

 
 
 

Minimum Wage On Hold But Also Full Steam Ahead

by Kimberly Ricci

Unions profess to take great pride in pushing legislation and ballot initiatives to raise the minimum wage, yet it remains clear that they’re looking out for Number One. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that higher worker wages add up to greater union dues. 

 

Yet some workers see the negatives with this strategy, and we recently told you how tipped workers in Michigan know that they would earn less money if their wages rise by law, given that tipping would essentially disappear. Those tipped workers, at least, might be able to breathe a sigh of relief. A Michigan appeals court halted a planned minimum wage increase, which would have boosted starting wages from $10.10 to $13.03 as of February 2. Democrats will push the case to the Michigan Supreme Court.

 

Not to be deterred as well, the union-staffed Raise Up Coalition is looking for a huge wage boost in Massachusetts. Their goal? A $20 minimum wage, along with a raise for tipped workers, with 2027 as the target year.

 

Elsewhere, the private sector is taking matters into its own hands in order to attract better candidates. Walmart announced that their retail workers will see their minimum wage rise to $14 with increased perks, including greater college tuition benefits. Some of Walmart’s more seasoned workers will see their pay move to $19 per hour, which is a bold move considering the state of retail in this economy. At the same time, Home Depot says it will spend $1 billion to give their hourly workers a raise during the relentlessly tight retail labor market. 

 
 
 

The South-Of-The-Border Union Belly Flop

by Kimberly Ricci

Surely, you’ve heard all the talk about Biden being soft on immigration, and it’s not as though he doesn’t care about the U.S.-Mexico border. He certainly does, but his focus in Mexico appears to be squarely upon his love for unions. The Biden administration threw down a $130 million effort to oust old-guard unions for independent alternatives, and let’s just say that it’s not going terrific for workers. 

 

A new report indicates mixed results at best. On one hand, workers are indeed pleased to be free of the straight-up corrupt shackles of their old unions. However, workers are not thrilled that their new unions haven’t won them living wages as promised. Sure, the new SINTTIA union succeeded at bumping up their members’ base pay from $12 to $14 per day, and nope, that’s not a typo. Yet these workers still earn abysmally less than their American counterparts with no timeline on further improvement.

 
 
 

About Labor Relations INK


Labor Relations INK is published weekly and is edited by Labor Relations Institute, Inc. Feel free to pass this newsletter on to anyone you think might enjoy it. New subscribers can sign up by visiting here.


If you use content from this newsletter please attribute it to Labor Relations Institute and include our website: http://www.LRIonline.com 


Contributing editors for this issue: Phillip Wilson, Greg Kittinger, and Kimberly Ricci 


You are receiving this email because you subscribed to receive our labor relations newsletters and updates. You can manage your email preferences by clicking the link at the bottom of any of our email communications.


About Labor Relations Institute

LRI exists to help our clients thrive and become extraordinary workplaces. We improve the lives of working people by strengthening relationships with their leaders and each other. For over 41 years LRI has led the labor and employee relations industry, driven by our core values and our proven process, the LRI Way.

 

Share

linkedin
twitter
facebook
 
 

facebook
twitter
instagram
youtube
 
Phillip Wilson, PO Box 1529, Broken Arrow, OK 74013, United States

You may unsubscribe or change your contact details at any time.

    This is an online snapshot of a newsletter created by the owner of Labor Relations INK (Phillip Wilson, PO Box 1529, 74013 Broken Arrow, United States) and sent via GetResponse on 2023-02-24. Report abuse