All posts tagged "Laborlaw"

After seven years working as a dialysis technician, Romer Tamayo was still earning less than $25 an hour last October when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a minimum wage law for health care workers. The Brentwood father of two was excited by the wage hikes promised in Senate Bill 525. During his tenure at a Fresenius dialysis center, Tamayo’s pay had never increased by more than a dollar in a single year. He now earns $22.68, up from $18 when he was hired. Under SB 525, Tamayo would receive two annual dollar pay bumps in a row. The measure spells out what dialysis workers should expect — an hourly mi......

The Port of Oakland, California — one of the country’s largest and a key hub for global commerce — has been brought to a standstill by a group of truck drivers angered over a state labor law that could upend their business model. The protest, which entered its second day on Tuesday, escalated to a near complete shutdown of the port as more than 100 protesters blocked terminal entrances halting the flow of goods. Many dock workers also refused to cross the truck drivers’ picket line, which forced the port to stop loading and offloading ships at the main terminal, a port authority spokesperson s......

The fight for $18? It’s on, say supporters of raising the minimum wage in California. California’s minimum wage rose in January to $15 an hour for employers with 26 or more employees, and $14 an hour for employers with 25 or fewer. Under a ballot initiative currently being circulated for signatures, the minimum wage would continue increasing by a dollar each year until it hit $18 an hour. Under the proposed initiative, the California governor would have the authority to suspend the annual increase up to two times, such as during periods of decreased economic activity or during a general fund d......

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Lecturers at nine UC campuses throughout the state participating in a two-day strike, canceling their classes Wednesday and Thursday in a protest against what they call “unfair labor practices.” The University Council-American Federation of Teachers, which represents the UC lecturers, says its members are walking out of their classrooms to take action against “bad-faith bargaining” by UC President Michael Drake’s administration. Over the weekend, 91% of the union’s members voted to authorize the strike. The union has been in negotiations with the UC administration for mor......

For the second year in a row, a group studying the chasm between declining wages and soaring rents found that nowhere in the U.S. can a minimum-wage worker afford a two-bedroom apartment at the fair market rent. In its signature Out of Reach report released this week, the National Low Income Housing Coalition determined that a full-time hourly worker would need to earn $24.90 an hour, more than three times the $7.25 federal minimum wage, in order to afford a $1,295-a-month rental home. That’s the average “fair market rent” in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Deve......

WASHINGTON — A bill that would be the largest change to U.S. labor laws in decades passed the U.S. House for the second time Tuesday with the endorsement of President Joe Biden. The legislation known as the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which passed the lower chamber 225-206 mostly along party lines, heads to the U.S. Senate, where it would face a steep uphill climb to secure the 60 votes for passage. During debate over the package Tuesday, Democratic House members praised the package as a vital tool to help workers secure better wages, healthcare and working conditions after years of ......