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The proposal would require that workers be considered employees, entitled to more benefits and legal protections than contractors, when they are "economically dependent" on a company. Most federal and state labor laws only apply to a company's employees, who can cost employers up to 30% more than independent contractors, studies suggest. Federal law requires agencies to adequately explain their decision to withdraw and replace existing rules. The rule would treat companies as so-called "joint employers" under federal labor law when they have indirect control over working conditions such as scheduling, hiring and firing, and supervision. The 2020 rule barred NLRB staff from putting off elections while related cases alleging illegal labor practices are being litigated.

☆ She says she was fired in retaliation. Hearst Magazines says she was insubordinate. Here's how Delish's hit YouTube show 'Budget Eats' came crashing down.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Steven Perlberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

Produced by the Hearst-owned food brand Delish, "Budget Eats" was the kind of digital success story that traditional magazine giants crave. As Xie worked her day job developing recipes, "Budget Eats" was morphing from a pandemic experiment to a bonafide hit. A career recipe developer at work, the "Budget Eats" Xie doesn't even measure out ingredients. "It felt like she was afraid that putting 'Budget Eats' from her kitchen onto this cable network might dilute the honesty," Lennon-Simon said. As for "Budget Eats," Delish recently posted what is presumably the last episode.

☆ Twitter hit by legal complaints from 100 former employees following Musk’s layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The allegations were included as part of the former employees’ demands for arbitration against the company, according to a statement on Tuesday by attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan. Liss-Riordan is the same attorney who has brought four proposed class action lawsuits against Twitter by former employees affected by Elon Musk’s takeover. The arbitration demands are meant to help workers who can’t participate in that litigation because of contracts they signed with the company. She added that her firm has heard from hundreds of former Twitter employees and has filed only the “first wave” of arbitration demands. Liss-Riordan has also filed three complaints against Twitter with the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of employees affected by the layoffs.

☆ Two Tesla employees say they were illegally fired for complaining about Elon Musk's tweets and strict return-to-office policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Two Tesla workers claim they were illegally fired for criticizing Elon Musk and company policy. The workers claim they were cut loose for discussing their working conditions, including "Tesla's failure to enforce its non-harassment policy and its implementation of its post-COVID return to office policy," according to the filings. One letter called for changes to the company's strict return-to-office policy announced in May, which required all Tesla employees to work from a company office for at least 40 hours per week. The other was told that organizing employee discussions amounted to an "attack" on Tesla, according to a filing. In June, a group of SpaceX employees filed a similar complaint saying they were fired after writing an open letter calling out Musk's behavior.

☆ Starbucks workers at 100 stores are planning three-day strike starting on Friday amid union push
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Starbucks workers around the U.S. are planning a three-day strike starting Friday as part of their effort to unionize the coffee chain’s stores. More than 1,000 baristas at 100 stores are planning to walk out, according to Starbucks Workers United, the labor group organizing the effort. On Nov. 17, workers at 110 Starbucks stores held a one-day walkout. Tambellini said workers are protesting understaffed stores, poor management and what she calls Starbucks’ “scorched earth method of union busting,” including closing stores that have unionized. Workers United noted that Starbucks recently closed the first store to unionize in Seattle, the company’s hometown.

☆ U.S. labor board region sides with USC athletes seeking 'employee' designation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) director of the agency's Region 31 office issued a finding of merit in an unfair labor practice charge brought by the student athletes against USC, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac-12 athletic conference. The parties to the case were informed of the decision on Thursday, according to NLRB spokesperson Kayla Blado. read moreA separate case filed by college athletes in Indianapolis against the NCAA and others has been held in abeyance pending the outcome of the USC case. The judge's ruling could then be appealed to the full NLRB, which would render a decision as to whether USC, NCAA and Pac-12 are employers under labor law, and could order its own remedies. The National College Players Association, which brought the charges on behalf of 113 USC athletes, also could not be reached for comment.

☆ Amazon warehouse workers in UK vote to go on strike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Amazon warehouse workers at a facility in the United Kingdom plan to go on strike, their union confirmed to CNN on Friday, in a move that’s being billed as a first for the company’s workers in the country. The GMB union, which represents workers in a range of industries in the UK, said that hundreds of Amazon workers at a warehouse in Coventry overwhelmingly voted for the strike, which is expected to take place in the new year. “On top of this, we’re pleased to have announced that full-time, part-time and seasonal frontline employees will receive an additional one-time special payment of up to £500 as an extra thank you.”The move from Amazon workers in the UK also comes as Amazon workers in the United States continue to organize and push for collective bargaining rights. Amazon workers at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York, made history earlier this year when they voted to form the first-ever labor union at one of the company’s US facilities. Despite the landmark victory for the worker group, known as the Amazon Labor Union, the company has yet to formally recognize the union or come to the bargaining table.

☆ NLRB opens door for union for college athletes with finding on unfair labor practice complaint
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Are college athletes employees? This could open the door to previously unsuccessful efforts to form the first union of college athletes. The complaint had been filed by the National College Players Association (NCPA), an advocacy group. It filed an unfair labor practice complaint on behalf of the athletes. The matter of whether college athletes are professionals, and thus employees, has been hotly debated for decades.

Forming smaller bargaining units can be an important organizing strategy for unions when they lack support from a majority of employees. But business groups say that smaller units fracture workplaces and complicate collective bargaining. The 2017 decision had placed the burden on unions to show that groups of workers were "sufficiently distinct" from other employees. The U.S. president appoints NLRB members but the board is an independent agency and the White House does not control its decisions. Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Elon Musk's Twitter refusing to cover work expenses of some former employees, citing newly enacted policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

After being laid off, fired or resigning, some former Twitter employees now fear they will never be reimbursed by Elon Musk for once-covered work expenses. In recent weeks, a number of former Twitter employees have received boilerplate rejection emails for expenses, three people familiar with the company told Insider. Former employees with rejected expenses are being told by email the expenses fall outside of a new policy enacted about three weeks ago by Twitter HR under Musk, as Insider reported. Other former employees are having trouble being reimbursed for expenses related to costs of fertility treatments and adoption. Twitter did not mention Carrot or fertility benefits explicitly in the November email regarding the new expense policy.

☆ A topless bar unlawfully fired strippers after they complained about unsafe working conditions, labor board finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Star Garden bar strippers were unlawfully fired, the National Labor Relations Board said . They dancers said they worked in unsafe conditions including rat infestations and rusty nails. The group of strippers were blocked from working at the Star Garden in February and have since been staging regular demonstrations outside the venue. They claimed that Star Garden committed 30 breaches of OSHA regulations that "protect workers' rights to safe and healthy workplaces." The women submitted a petition in March calling for the Star Garden to treat them with "basic dignity and humanity."

☆ Here's a map of Starbucks stores that voted to unionize
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A year ago, workers at a Starbucks store in Buffalo, New York, voted to unionize, a first for the chain. In the past year, more than 260 Starbucks stores have voted in favor of unionizing, giving the union a win rate of 80%, according to data from the National Labor Relations Board. In April, as the union movement continued to gain steam, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson announced he would retire. Starbucks has also fired organizers for unrelated infractions, closed a handful of union stores and withheld higher pay and enhanced benefits from baristas at unionized locations. Cathy Creighton, director of Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations branch in Buffalo, said that companies often use delay tactics to frustrate unions and take away momentum.

☆ GM battery plant workers vote to unionize with UAW, a key win for labor as industry shifts to EVs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

DETROIT — Workers at a General Motors joint venture battery plant in northeast Ohio overwhelmingly voted in favor of representation with the United Auto Workers, the union said early Friday. The count was 710 votes in support of UAW representation; 16 against; and one was void. "Our entire union welcomes our latest members from Ultium," UAW President Ray Curry said in a release. "As the auto industry transitions to electric vehicles, new workers entering the auto sector at plants like Ultium are thinking about their value and worth. Ultium, in a statement Friday, said it respects "the decision of our Ohio workforce supporting representation by the UAW.

☆ Ohio workers vote to unionize GM, LG battery plant
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Detroit Three automakers all have battery plants in the works with South Korean partners. The UAW petitioned in October to represent about 900 workers at the Ohio plant after a majority of employees signed cards authorizing the union to represent them. Production began in August at the Ohio plant, the first of at least four planned Ultium U.S. battery factories. GM and LG Energy are considering an Indiana site for a fourth U.S. battery plant. Last week, GM Chief Executive Mary Barra expressed support for unionizing the Ohio plant.

[1/3] Amazon Labour Union (ALU) organizer Christian Smalls speaks at an Amazon facility during a rally in Staten Island, New York City, U.S., April 24, 2022. Smalls in a lawsuit filed that year said he was targeted because of his race and his advocacy for the warehouse's largely non-white workforce. Smalls and other workers at the warehouse founded the Amazon Labor Union, which in April won the first U.S. union vote in Amazon's 27-year history. Workers at other Amazon warehouses in New York and Alabama have rejected unions. Several complaints were filed with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board claiming Amazon illegally retaliated against pro-union workers at the Staten Island warehouse, including Smalls.

☆ Twitter accused of targeting women for layoffs in new lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter has been hit with another lawsuit stemming from the recent purging of half its workforce, this one accusing the social media company of disproportionately targeting female employees for layoffs. Twitter laid off roughly 3,700 employees in early November in a cost-cutting measure by Musk, and hundreds more subsequently resigned. The lawsuit filed by two women who were laid off by Twitter last month accuses the company of violating federal and California laws banning workplace sex discrimination. Liss-Riordan represents current and former Twitter employees in three other pending lawsuits filed in the same court since last month. Twitter has denied wrongdoing in the lawsuit involving advance notice, and has not responded to the other complaints.

Twitter laid off roughly 3,700 employees in early November in a cost-cutting measure by Musk, and hundreds more subsequently resigned. The lawsuit filed by two women who were laid off by Twitter last month accuses the company of violating federal and California laws banning workplace sex discrimination. Shannon Liss-Riordan, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said women "had targets on their backs" once Musk acquired the company, regardless of their talent and contributions. Liss-Riordan represents current and former Twitter employees in three other pending lawsuits filed in the same court since last month. Twitter has denied wrongdoing in the lawsuit involving advance notice, and has not responded to the other complaints.

☆ Former employees suing Twitter speak out on Elon Musk’s ‘clumsy and inhumane’ layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —A group of former Twitter employees who are suing the company spoke out Thursday, alleging that new owner Elon Musk’s mass layoffs at the company have triggered multiple labor rights violations. The employees who spoke during the Thursday press conference are each plaintiffs in lawsuits filed by attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan against Twitter on behalf of former employees who were affected by Musk’s takeover of the company. The attorney said Thursday she has also filed three claims against Twitter with the National Labor Relations Board on behalf of former employees. The employees have rights here.”Weeks after the initial Twitter layoffs, hundreds more Twitter employees exited after Musk gave them an ultimatum to work “extremely hardcore” or leave the company. “Of all the issues Elon Musk is facing right now, this feels like the easiest one to fix … treat your workers with respect,” Liss-Riordan said.

☆ US labor officials say Apple violated the law by allegedly interrogating employees and holding mandatory meetings about unionization
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An Atlanta NLRB director found merit to allegations that Apple violated labor law. Apple, which did not respond to Insider's request for comment, has previously denied wrongdoing in a complaint with similar allegations concerning a New York Apple Store. We commend the NLRB for recognizing captive audience meetings for exactly what they are: a direct violation of labor rights." The Atlanta Apple Store in Cumberland Mall became the first Apple retail location to file for a union election in April. The employees in Atlanta eventually withdrew their call for a union vote days before the election, alleging intimidation from Apple.

Dec 5 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) will voluntarily recognize a union of about 300 videogame testers at subsidiary ZeniMax Studios if they vote to unionize, a first for the company in the United States, the Communication Workers of America union (CWA) said on Monday. Voluntarily agreeing to bargain with the union would allow Microsoft to avoid a formal election overseen by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board and the legal battles that often ensue. The company in June entered into an agreement with the CWA to remain neutral in union organizing campaigns at Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI.O), which Microsoft is seeking to purchase for $69 billion. Game testers at Activision units Blizzard Albany and Raven Software have voted this year to join unions amid claims by the CWA that the company has threatened and retaliated against union supporters. Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Now Biden faces a backlash from a core of rail workers and allied groups, as some of them see a betrayal in the bill he pushed to avert a rail strike. The standoff between rail workers and the profitable companies that employ them posed an awkward dilemma for Biden, forcing him to find an elusive middle ground between dueling campaign pledges. A rail strike threatened to unravel the job gains that no doubt will be central to any Biden re-election campaign. He said he is not giving up on paid sick leave for rail workers and other Americans who don’t receive such benefits. …”Still, the president could have used more leverage to reach a deal that included paid sick leave, union officials and allies contend.

[1/2] The entrance to the Activision Blizzard Inc. campus is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., August 6, 2019. REUTERS/Mike BlakeDec 2 (Reuters) - Workers who test games at Activision Blizzard Inc.'s (ATVI.O) unit Blizzard Albany have voted to form a union months after the games developer began negotiating with employees at its Wisconsin unit, the first in the company to unionize. Blizzard Albany has developed installments of popular video game franchises including Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Activision had argued that Blizzard Albany's entire workforce of about 100 employees, including production workers, should have been involved in the union vote and not only game testers. The vote announced on Friday came after about two dozen employees of Activision unit Raven Software voted to unionize in May.

☆ Amazon CEO explains thinking behind layoffs as unionized warehouse workers protest outside
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon, more than most tech companies, experienced a staggering pandemic boom as more customers shifted their spending online during the health crisis. Despite the landmark union victory in April, Amazon has so far refused to formally recognize the grassroots worker group known as the Amazon Labor Union, or come to the bargaining table. The company has aggressively pushed back against the workers’ victory through the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Jassy also emphasized that the last two Amazon union elections held resulted in workers voting not to unionize, and that Amazon prefers to have a direct relationship with fulfillment center workers rather than going through unions. Labor activist Chris Smalls joins members of the Amazon labor union and others for a protest outside of the New York Times DealBook Summit as Amazon's CEO, Andy Jassy, will be appearing on November 30, 2022 in New York City.

☆ Starbucks closes location that was the first to unionize in Seattle
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN Business —Starbucks is closing the store in Seattle where employees were the first to vote to form a union in the chain’s home city. It’s not the first time Starbucks has pointed to safety concerns to explain a closure. “This is the most clear-cut case of retaliation this company has shown closing a union store yet,” Starbucks Workers United said in a statement on the closure. They lack respect not only for the rights of their workers, but for the law of this country.”Starbucks is closing the first Seattle location to vote to unionize. Last week, Starbucks workers across the country went on a one-day strike to protest what they see as retaliation for unionizing efforts.

☆ Eight Fired SpaceX Employees Allege Company Violated Labor Law
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Micah Maidenberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Several former SpaceX employees alleged that the company violated federal labor law when it fired them after they took issue with CEO Elon Musk‘s behavior online and SpaceX’s internal culture, the former employees’ attorneys said. In charges filed individually Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board, the eight former employees said they were terminated by SpaceX because they were part of a bigger group that raised concerns about Mr. Musk in a letter to executives earlier this year, the attorneys said.

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