Unions Sound Alarm on Dangerous Fire & EMS Staffing
New York, NY – The FDNY’s highest-ranking officer recently told the City Council that had the department’s “five firefighter per engine staffing” been in effect during January’s Twin Parks high-rise fire — there would have been four additional firefighters on the scene of the blaze that killed 17 residents including eight children. The admission by FDNY’s Acting…
The Great Resignation and the Need for Systemic Change
New York, NY – After all of the changes we have seen in the last two years due to Covid-19, it’s clear just how much of an impact the pandemic has had on our workforce. The Department of Labor has reported record numbers of workers quitting, otherwise known as “The Great Resignation.” More than four…
Nursing Home Workers Call for National Standards
WASHINGTON—“This is nationwide,” says Julie Martinez, a licensed practical nurse in a Buffalo-area nursing home. “There is short-staffing everywhere. They could never pay us as health-care workers what we deserve, and they need to start. We need more workers, and we need better pay.” Martinez, an 1199SEIU member, was speaking at an online discussion Apr.…
We Will Never Forget the Union Members Who Protected Us in the Aftermath of 9/11
New York, NY – Thousands of lives were saved on 9/11 by union members – the first responders who helped people to safety and initiated search-and-rescue operations. Michael Barasch. Then, in the months that followed, labor union members reopened schools and office buildings and subway stations and courthouses, starting New York City and the nation…
Peggy Browning Fund’s 25th Anniversary Awards Reception Coming in May
New York, NY – The Peggy Browning Fund will hold its 25th Anniversary Awards Reception at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel on May 4. The gala event honors Maria Castenada, Secretary-Treasurer 1199SEIU Healthcare Workers East; Franklin K. Moss, Partner, Spivak Lipton LLP; and Jacquelin F. Drucker, Arbitrator, Arbitration Offices of Jacquelin F. Drucker, Esq.…
Elizabeth Scrubb: From Teacher’s Assistant to Local 638 Steamfitter
Editor’s Note: LaborPress is proud to present the 2022 Outstanding Apprentice of the Year Awards for Long Island and New York City on Thursday, June 16, hosted by Teamsters Local 282 in Lake Success, NY. Today, we continue our ongoing series leading up to this year’s gala event introducing each of those fascinating and inspiring award-winners to…
SEIU Leader Mary Kay Henry Tells LaborPress: ‘Unionized Workers Know They’re More Powerful Than Any Billionaire CEO or Union-Busting Corp.’
New York, NY – When Farmingville, L.I. Starbucks worker Sam Cornetta told their manager she may have been exposed to someone with Covid-19 during a Christmas Eve shift last December, the pro-union barista was told “secondhand contact was fine” and ordered to keep working. In February, seven Starbucks workers in Memphis, Tennessee — core members…
Graduate Student Workers at Fordham University Begin Voting in Union Election
NEW YORK, N.Y.—More than 350 graduate-student workers at Fordham University will vote this week on being represented by the Fordham Graduate Student Workers union. The vote will take place Tuesday, Apr. 5 at the university’s Lincoln Center campus in Manhattan and Thursday, Apr. 7 at its main campus in the Bronx. It took only two…
Stuck Nation Radio: Amazon Update; Federal Workers Sue for Hazard Pay; Labor’s Internal Debate Over Single Payer Healthcare
New York, NY – In the latest edition of Stuck Nation Radio, we interview Chris Smalls about his Amazon Labor Union’s breakthrough victory at Amazon’s Staten Island facility and what comes next for the grass roots effort. We also debrief Washington D.C. labor lawyer Robert DePriest about his work with the American Federation of Government Employees…
SEIU Leader Mary Kay Henry Tells LaborPress: ‘Unionized Workers Know They’re More Powerful Than Any Billionaire CEO or Union-Busting Corp.’
New York, NY – When Farmingville, L.I. Starbucks worker Sam Cornetta told their manager she may have been exposed to someone with Covid-19 during a Christmas Eve shift last December, the pro-union barista was told “secondhand contact was fine” and ordered to keep working. In February, seven Starbucks workers in Memphis, Tennessee — core members…