Results tagged “union”

The looming BART strike, which has been a verbal threat every since union negotiations crumbled, might be a distinct possibility. More of a distinct possibility, that is, than we thought earlier. This afternoon, the BART board voted to implement "terms and conditions," which means they basically forced a contract on the Amalgamated Transit Union. But just this morning, Jessee Hunt, the head of the union (a union filled with BART train operators), had said if the board decided to force a contract, then they would strike. So, while an official announcement has not been made, they're having a press conference at 4 p.m. today. Also. although the other unions agreed to the contract, they can't picket; but they won't cross the picket lines, so... no one will go to work. And the strike will cripple Bay Area transportation as you know it. A 72-hour warning will go into effect, which could mean--at last--a BART strike would rain down on Monday. (Gulp.)

According to a CBS 5/KCBS/AP report, "Union leaders at the San Francisco Chronicle said they were drafting a compromise to a management proposal that offers severe job cuts that officials indicated were imperative to keeping the newspaper open for business." This adds weight to the argument that the Hearst Corporation is strongarming the union via a threat of a shutdown. The cuts, the press release-ish news report, goes on to say that job cuts could "include more than 50 employees." If it takes a mere 50+ job cuts to save a paper, it seems like the choice is clear.

Around 70 Muni buses serving more than two dozen biodiesel buses were delayed this morning after a union steward with Transport Workers Union Local 250-A blocked the gate and prevented the buses from leaving the Muni facility in the Dogpatch neighborhood. According to Muni officials the upset union steward disrupted service due to a dispute with management "over whether or not a personnel assignment was decided on the basis of seniority." The incident occurred between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m.

UC workers, ranging from janitors to food service workers, walked off the job this morning at all University of California campuses and hospitals. According to CBS 5, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 3299 guys walked off the job this morning after the UC offered workers a pithy, disagreeable hourly wage increase from $10.28 to $11.50 to $12. Then, the AFSCME Local 3299 declared it was "calling a strike on behalf of the 8,000 service workers it represents" at least until Friday. This will greatly affect UCSF hospitals and UCB campuses, the latter of which is infamous for a student body that lacks proper hygiene and regular bathing rituals. Godspeed, AFSCME Local 3299.

College students, when will you ever learn? Never--never!-- try to to do the right thing by organizing a worker's union at your job. This is the quickest way to get wrongfully terminated. Case in point: Mountain View-based Uloop.com, a start-up online company that bills itself as "a marketplace for college students" (see also: Craigslist), fired two of their Cal Poly student workers allegedly for trying to unionize the company.

Just moments ago, in a letter to its members, the WGA announced that writers have voted by a 92.5% margin to lift the “restraining order” and officially end the strike. The move comes on Day 100 of the labor dispute.