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☆ Labor unions, with power and popularity rising, are still trailing on one big battle
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Natalie Rose Goldberg | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

High-profile strikes by writers and actors against Hollywood brought the union power to the mainstream as pictures of celebrities holding picket signs flooded social media. But one big win continues to elude labor: the need to translate its rising popularity into an increase in rank-and-file union membership, which has stagnated in recent decades. It's not a lack of support from the public that's holding unions back from making more progress in growing their ranks. Even before the big wins of 2023, polling conducted in recent years showed rising union popularity, with support at its highest level since 1965, according to 2022 data from Gallup. 'The Great Reset'In 2023, it was a banner year for American workers who support the labor movement.

Persons: Biden, —, Heidi Shierholz, I've, Thomas Kochan Organizations: United Auto Workers, UAW, Local, Chrysler Corporate, Division, Hollywood, UPS, Teamsters, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Union, Economic Policy Institute, Gallup, AFL, CIO, MIT Sloan School of Management, Cornell, ILR, SAG, Writers Guild of America Locations: Ontario , California, American, Michigan, America

☆ Unions are the strongest in decades. Nearly a million Americans got double-digit raises as a result
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

New York CNN —Nearly 900,000 Americans sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner this week will have unions – and the double-digit pay increases they won – to thank. The strike lasted more than six weeks before the union won contracts it was seeking from all three unionized US automakers. The unions won significant pay increases and job protections they were seeking. And even with some of the contracts that pass, some union members offer significant opposition, believing they could have negotiated for even more. The union won a contract approved by 86% of membership who voted on ratification.

Persons: “, ”, Wheaton, Emily Elconin, David Paul Morris, Stellantis, Kate Andrias, Mike Blake, It’s, Greg Regan, ” Regan, Heidi Shierholz, union’s, Cornell’s Wheaton, That’s, EPI’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, United Auto Workers, General Motors, Ford, Kaiser Permanente, Ford Motor Co, Michigan Assembly, Bloomberg, Getty, Writers Guild, SAG, Teamsters, UPS, Culinary, Los, Pilots, American, United, Southwest, The, Professional, American Airlines, FedEx, United Airlines, San Francisco International Airport, Detroit, MGM Entertainment, UAW, Big, GM, Labor, Columbia Law, Motors, Workers, AFL, Economic Policy Institute, Labor Department, Union, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Starbucks, Starbucks Workers United, ” Locations: New York, Buffalo, Kaiser, Michigan, Wayne , Michigan, DisneyWorld, Los Angeles, Vegas

☆ US economy facing headwinds from possible government shutdown -White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] White House chief economist Jared Bernstein speaks about the impact of a looming government shutdown with Economic Policy Institute president Heidi Shierholz, in Washington, U.S., September 27, 2023 REUTERS/Andrea Shalal Acquire Licensing RightsSept 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is facing headwinds from a possible government shutdown, student debt payments restarting, higher interest rates and an autoworkers' strike, White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein said on Wednesday. The economy will keep going in a "pretty good way" unless there is a policy mistake or exogenous shock, he added, speaking at an event at the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank. "We have wages now beating prices, nominal wages growing faster than prices, and that dynamic in our economy creates a pretty persistent flywheel," he said. "In the absence of a policy mistake or an exogenous shock, we think that sort of keeps things going in a pretty good way." Reporting by Andrea Shalal; writing by Costas Pitas; Editing by Caitlin Webber私たちの行動規範：トムソン・ロイター「信頼の原則」

Persons: Jared Bernstein, Heidi Shierholz, Andrea Shalal, Kevin McCarthy, Costas Pitas, Caitlin Webber 私 Organizations: White House, Economic Policy, Economic Policy Institute, Republican U.S Locations: Washington , U.S, U.S, Washington

☆ $7.25 federal minimum wage is a 'national disgrace,' says Sen. Bernie Sanders, backing push for $17/hour
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks on raising the federal minimum wage outside the U.S. Capitol on May 4, 2023. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images13 states have approved a $15 minimum wageToday, 13 states have approved a $15 minimum wage, Sanders said. Sen. Bernie Sanders Independent U.S. senator from VermontDemocrats had pursued raising the federal minimum wage in recent years, though those efforts stalled. When President Joe Biden took office, he promised to address the federal minimum wage in his first 100 days, Blalock recalled. 'A weak minimum wage is bad for the overall economy'Opponents to raising the minimum wage cite the higher costs those increases would put on businesses.

☆ What the April jobs report means for you, your employer, and the Fed
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Minneapolis CNN —High prices, rising interest rates and banking uncertainty be damned: The US labor market is still chugging right along. “The American labor market right now is simply unstoppable,” RSM economist Joseph Brusuelas wrote in a note Friday. “This is what a soft landing would look like, with job growth gradually slowing to a more sustainable pace,” Faucher added. The milestone comes just three years after the Covid-19 pandemic caused mass layoffs that pushed the Black unemployment rate as high as 16.8%. “Make no mistake, the Black [unemployment] rate is still too high,” Shierholz tweeted.

☆ Black Americans are more likely to be working than white Americans for the first time on record
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Jason Lalljee | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In March, the Black employment-population ratio was above the white employment-population ratio for the first time since at least 1972. The unemployment rate for Black Americans also hit a record low of 5.0% in March. The employment-population ratio measures the share of a group that has a job, meaning that for the first time on record, Black Americans are more likely to currently be working than white Americans. Additionally, the unemployment rate for Black Americans fell by 0.7 percentage points to 5.0% in March, the lowest rate on record, according to Black unemployment data starting in 1972. Which is what makes March's low unemployment rate for Black Americans, and a higher employment-population ratio than the white employment-population ratio, so novel.

2 role vacant just as the central bank approaches a decision about when to stop raising interest rates. Brainard's arguments may not have been relevant to the decisions the Fed faces in the next few weeks. Heidi Shierholz, president of the labor-affiliated Economic Policy Institute, said it was "unbelievably important" that Biden find someone to fill Brainard's role. Administration officials gave no immediate sense of how soon Biden may name a new Fed vice chair, though outside analysts and commentators were already putting names in circulation from what's considered a deep bench of economists affiliated with Biden's Democratic party. The vice chair plays a particularly important role, typically reserved for somebody with a PhD in economics who can speak with technical authority about Fed policy and decisions.

☆ Retailers are hoarding labor even as tech layoffs mount
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Avery Hartmans | Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Some retailers are bucking the trend of layoffs and holding on to workers. But on the store level, retailers are holding on tight to their workers, even seasonal workers who they typically would have dismissed by now, in a practice known as "labor hoarding." "The concept of labor hoarding is alive and well," Kenneth Kim, a senior economist at KPMG, told Insider. Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesThose layoffs don't seem to be an emerging trend in the retail sector, Kim from KPMG said. And while there were 417,000 job cuts in January, the official models were accounting for a lot more, since that's when many retailers typically begin laying off seasonal workers.

☆ Ditching noncompete clauses would be a win for workers' rights and employees in low-wage jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Marguerite Ward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Noncompetes prevent some workers in low-wage jobs from leaving for better opportunities. If the FTC succeeds in banning noncompete clauses, it can be an important win for low-wage workers and a pivotal moment in the push for workplace equity, advocates for the change say. Annabelle Chih/Getty ImagesCritics point out that many workers subject to noncompete language aren't high-profile executives who've amassed trade secrets — they're average workers. In 2015, The Verge reported on Amazon's use of noncompete agreements for warehouse workers. "Noncompete agreements help artificially stifle competition in the labor market, allowing employers to keep wages low by limiting workers' employment options," Constant wrote.

Here's how to file for unemployment insurance benefits, whether you're laid off, furloughed, or your hours are severely reduced. Here's how to file for unemployment insurance benefits, whether you're laid off, furloughed, or have had your hours severely reduced. Fill out an application through your state's unemployment websiteYou should apply for unemployment insurance as soon as you're no longer working. Depending on the state, unemployment insurance claims can be filed in person, on the phone, or online. "Start with your state's unemployment insurance benefits site.

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