workers' rights

18 Stories

UAW Reports Tim Scott to Labor Board

SC senator backed firing striking federal workers in 'textbook unfair labor practice'

(Newser) - South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott may be vying for the White House, but he may sooner find himself in front of the National Labor Relations Board, according to the Intercept . Asked about the United Auto Workers strike against Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis during a campaign event in Iowa on...

They Make $150 World Cup Jerseys for $2 Per Day

'NYT' highlights rights abuses of garment workers producing apparel for Adidas, Nike

(Newser) - An estimated 5 billion people, or more than 60% of the world's population, are expected to tune in to the World Cup. Many of them will be decked out in national team jerseys from companies like Nike and Adidas, the tournament's official outfitter. But at what cost? As...

Restaurant Owners Look to Block Landmark Law for California Fast-Food Workers

Move would give more than 500K workers more power, protections

(Newser) - Update: Restaurant owners moved Wednesday to at least temporarily block a nation-leading new California law giving more power to fast food workers, the AP reports. The owners want the state's voters to ultimately decide the law's fate. A coalition calling itself Protect Neighborhood Restaurants filed a referendum request...

Man Sues Former Boss for Making His Job Boring

Frédéric Desnard says he was unfairly sidelined

(Newser) - Bored at work? Then consider Frenchman Frédéric Desnard, who is suing his former employer for allegedly boring him out of his mind and damaging his health, the Guardian reports. The 44-year-old Parisian claims he suffered from "bore out" (a twist on "burn out") after his...

San Francisco OKs 'Bill of Rights' for Retail Workers

Now employee schedules must be set 2 weeks in advance

(Newser) - San Francisco has moved to help workers stymied by uncertain schedules: Under what's being called the " Retail Workers Bill of Rights ," employers must solidify their employees' shifts at least two weeks in advance—or pay their workers extra in the form of "predictability pay," Politico...

Amazon Hired 'Neo-Nazis' to Cow Workers: Probe

German TV doc accuses retailer of getting nasty

(Newser) - One newspaper is calling it a "shitstorm": A German TV documentary claims that Amazon used security guards linked to neo-Nazis to bully and frisk temporary foreign workers. According to the story, Amazon in Germany employed guards from the firm HESS, which is headed by a man accused of having...

Paid Sick Days Should Be a Right, Not a 'Benefit'
Paid Sick Days Should Be a Right, Not a 'Benefit'
OPINION
Jan 22, 2013 12:58 PM CST

Paid Sick Days Should Be a Right, Not a 'Benefit'

We're all sicker when ill people have to work

(Newser) - Shamus Khan at Time offers this cheery little reminder amid the flu season: If you go out to eat or to grab a cup of coffee, most of the employees serving you don't get paid sick days. Which means they're probably going to show up even if they'...

Griping About Work Online Is (Mostly) Protected

Employees have a right to band together, say recent rulings

(Newser) - Companies have been overstepping their authority by restricting workers' online comments, say federal officials who are moving to fix the issue. Labor regulators have deemed some firings over social-network discussions illegal, arguing that companies' rules regarding online speech are far too broad, the New York Times reports. A lot of...

Why Hotel Maids Need Our Help

 Why Hotel 
 Maids Need 
 Our Help 
OPINION
Aug 2, 2011 2:40 PM CDT

Why Hotel Maids Need Our Help

And no, this story has nothing to do with Dominique Strauss-Kahn

(Newser) - When you think of dangerous jobs, housekeeper doesn’t usually spring to mind. But it’s becoming a pretty hazardous profession, thanks to the “amenities arms race” that has big hotels installing luxury mattresses that weigh more than 100 pounds each, writes activist Donald Cohen in the LA Times...

Bashing Boss on Facebook Is Protected Speech: Labor Board

Workers have right to complain, say attorneys in ground-breaking case

(Newser) - It just got easier to skewer your boss on your Facebook page. The National Labor Relations Board is calling criticism of workplaces and supervisors "protected speech" on Facebook, as acceptable as grousing around the water cooler. In a ground-breaking case, the organization has filed a complaint against a Connecticut...

NY Poised to Pass Nation's First Nanny Protection Law

Bill gives domestic workers overtime pay, weekly day off

(Newser) - New York is about to become the first state to recognize nannies and domestic workers as workers with rights. A bill passed by the state Senate this week guarantees full-time domestic workers overtime pay and one day off a week, as well as sick days and vacation days. It will...

Nanny: Diplomat Made Me a Slave
Nanny: Diplomat Made Me a Slave
Aug 9, 2009 2:33 PM CDT

Nanny: Diplomat Made Me a Slave

Sexually assaulted and beaten, she reveals horrors facing UK's migrant workers

(Newser) - A migrant worker in Britain took what looked like a plush job as a diplomat’s nanny—only to be treated as a sex slave with little recourse to the law, the Independent reports, uncovering a predicament faced by other workers. “I was trapped. I was paid nothing, never...

Sex Harassment Cases Besiege UN

(Newser) - The United Nations is being hammered by a string of sexual harassment cases filed by employees, reports the Wall Street Journal. The development is particularly painful for an organization that is supposed to uphold human rights around the world. Victims complain about an old-boys' network of adjudication that allows colleagues...

Dems Gird for Fight Over Pro-Labor Bill

'Card check' legislation faces stiff business opposition, Senate fight

(Newser) - House Democrats are about to unveil a bill easing the unionization process, a measure that’s already sparked major backlash, the Hill reports. The Employee Free Choice Act, which President Obama has said he'll sign, would allow workers to skip secret ballot elections to create unions, instead openly signing cards....

Wal-Mart Tells Managers to Fear Democratic Win

The retailer warns employees of disastrous labor legislation if left wins

(Newser) - Wal-Mart is warning store managers and department supervisors nationwide that a Democratic victory in November would likely lead to passage of a federal law making unionization easier, the Wall Street Journal reports. In a series of mandatory meetings, the company says it's not telling hourly employees how to vote, which...

Yellow, Popular, and Not Long for Our Shelves
Yellow, Popular, and Not Long
for Our Shelves
OPINION
Jun 18, 2008 9:32 AM CDT

Yellow, Popular, and Not Long for Our Shelves

Ripening prices, disease will make bananas exotic again

(Newser) - With prices pushing the $1-per-pound mark, the banana's days as an American staple fruit are numbered, Dan Koeppel writes in the New York Times. “That bananas have long been the cheapest fruit at the grocery store is astonishing,” he notes of the exotic, quick-to-rot fruit, which is cheaper...

Big Unions Cut Secret Deals With Employers

Confidential pacts speed organizing, but raise rights questions

(Newser) - Two of America's biggest unions have made secret deals with major employers that let the companies choose where workers can organize and how many of them can do so, the Wall Street Journal reports. The unions, SEIU and Unite Here, say the confidential agreements have gotten more workers into unions,...

Closet Smokers Might Get Canned
Closet Smokers Might Get Canned
Apr 23, 2008 4:42 PM CDT

Closet Smokers Might Get Canned

Factory workers who lied on insurance forms may lose jobs

(Newser) - A group of factory workers who lied about their smoking habits could be fired. The Whirlpool company charges lower premiums for health insurance to nonsmoking workers—and relies on the honor code when employees sign up. Now 39 workers at an Indiana factory have been suspended and face losing their...

18 Stories