One of the most common ways employers in the construction industry cheat workers, including millwrights, is by misclassifying them as independent contractors rather than employees. Your comment is needed TODAY in favor of a new U.S. Labor Department rule that would make it more difficult for contractors to misclassify workers.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency that enforces U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices, is struggling to do its job due to a budget crisis that only Congress can correct.
The U.S. Labor Department is distributing $260 million in grants to assist states in providing unemployment-insurance benefits to workers who have faced obstacles in accessing those services.
The Labor Department has announced a final rule that ends the Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program, adding it will direct its resources toward Registered Apprenticeships. (Union apprenticeships are registered apprenticeship programs.)
If you live in Tennessee, you have an opportunity to vote on a proposed amendment that would add a falsely named “right-to-work” clause to the state constitution. Amendment 1 is an attempt by greedy corporations to rewrite the Tennessee Constitution in a way that will suppress unions and harm working people in order to further inflate corporate profits.
When union millwrights vote, we have POWER. We encourage our members to vote for candidates who support: good union jobs; access to free, ongoing training; fair wages and benefits; and protection of union pensions.
SSMRC Political Director Rick Halford and A.J. Starling, secretary-treasurer of the Tennessee AFL-CIO, are working with the Tennessee Workers’ Alliance to fight back against the falsely named “right-to-work” amendment that Tennessee voters will consider on Nov. 8.
Several candidates running for office in Oklahoma spoke about labor issues during our September staff and delegate meeting in Oklahoma City. The candidates included Joy Hofmeister, who is running for governor, U.S. Senate candidates Kendra Horn and Madison Horn, and labor-commissioner candidate Leslie Osborn.
Just before Labor Day, Rev. Raphael Warnock, a U.S. senator from Georgia who is running for re-election, toured the Augusta millwright and carpenter training center and took part in a round-table discussion with union leaders.
The mayor of Savannah, Georgia, has declared the week of Labor Day to be Labor Week in that municipality. “I want to thank those who work hard in our community,” Mayor Van Johnson said at an Aug. 25 event announcing Labor Week.
Women’s Equality Day is a day to celebrate and recognize the work of those who have – and continue to – advocate for positive change. Did you know the U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau was founded three months before the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote?
While attending the Kennedy King Gala in Tampa, Florida, on Aug. 20, SSMRC staff networked with local and state elected officials and candidates to discuss ways to improve labor standards and to learn about upcoming projects that could provide work opportunities for our members.
Harris County, Texas, Commissioner Adrian Garcia visited the Houston training center Aug. 10. He toured the facility, met with apprentices, and discussed with SSMRC staff issues that are affecting union millwrights.
SSMRC and UBC Southern District staff are helping to relaunch the Arkansas Labor Caucus. At a July 13 meeting, members of several labor unions met to elect officers, approve bylaws, and make a plan for recruiting members.
SSMRC and Central South Carpenters staff met with new U.S. Labor Department investigators in Oklahoma July 13 to explain millwright and carpenter jurisdictions (the types of work each craft performs) so the investigators can better ensure prevailing wages and benefits are paid to workers on federal projects.
SSMRC and Central South Carpenters staff met with Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate Joy Hofmeister July 18 to discuss issues, including worker misclassification, that affect union members and the law-abiding contractors who employ them.
In the next year, $1 billion in airport-terminal-improvement projects will begin at 85 airports across the country. Funding for the projects comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and represents the first year of a five-year program to invest $5 billion in terminals.
For the first time in 40 years, the U.S. Labor Department is proposing comprehensive updates to the Davis-Bacon Act. The changes would speed up prevailing wage updates, improve efficiency, and ensure prevailing-wage rates keep up with actual wages.
Pensions are now secure for millions of union workers workers and retirees who were at risk of losing their benefits, the U.S. Labor Department announced July 6.
The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee has released a study showing that, compared to their non-union peers, union members earn 10.2% higher wages and are 18.3% more likely to have employer-sponsored health insurance.