More than 100K workers threaten strikes as unions flex muscles
By Karl Evers-Hillstrom - 10/13/21 06:00 AM EDT
Workers in various industries nationwide are threatening to go on strike in a sweeping effort to secure higher pay and better working conditions.
More than 100,000 unionized employees — between Hollywood production crew members, John Deere factory workers and Kaiser Permanente nurses — have overwhelmingly voted to authorize strikes and are preparing to join the picket line unless they get stronger collective bargaining agreements.
Thousands are already on strike, including 2,000 New York hospital workers, 700 Massachusetts nurses and 1,400 Kellogg plant workers in Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
The wave of strikes comes at a key moment for labor groups, which have steadily lost ground in recent decades amid anti-union legislation and corporate crackdowns on organizing. But with companies now struggling to find employees, unions are finding leverage in their effort to boost front-line wages that have historically been limited due to a steady supply of applicants willing to take lower-paying jobs.
In a near-unanimous vote Monday, unions representing more than 24,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses and other health care workers in California and Oregon authorized a potential strike after contract negotiations stalled. Roughly 38,000 Kaiser workers have now authorized their union leaders to call a strike, if necessary.
Kaiser nurses, who are protesting pandemic-induced burnout exacerbated by low staffing levels, are pushing for 4 percent annual raises and ramped-up hiring. They oppose the company’s offer to increase annual pay by 1 percent over the next three years and implement a two-tier system that would pay newly hired workers less than longer-tenured employees.
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https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/576456-more-than-100k-workers-threaten-strikes-as-unions-flex-muscles
