unions

Last week, the Austin City Council voted 6-1 to require that construction workers be paid the prevailing wage by companies who seek economic development incentives from the city. Austin is now the second and largest city in Texas to have such requirements.

The San Francisco area's BART ground to a halt as employees called to strike, the second in four months for the mass transit system. Management and unions negotiated well into the night, but management balked when the unions called for arbitration.

It's easy to be pessimistic about the future these days. Tea Party extremists threatened to push our federal government into default. In a host of states, anti-worker governors are hell-bent on gutting workers' rights while giving more power to corporate special interests. But in California, a decidedly different story is playing out. The end of the legislative session here brought huge gains to workers and their families that boost our state's economy and bolster the middle class.

A major San Francisco Bay-area transit strike was averted for at least a day after two labor unions extended contract negotiations beyond a midnight deadline and agreed not to walk off the job Monday to allow more talks.

According to a recent Pew Research survey, half of the nation holds an unfavorable view of labor unions, which might explain why a majority of Americans still don’t have nice things – like happiness and food.

Jersey City, NJ, became the sixth city to require paid sick days for employees at private businesses after the City Council passed the new rules on a 7–1 vote. Mayor Steven Fulop (D) is a supporter of the measure and is expected to sign it into law.

On Tuesday, Massachusetts State Rep. Marty Walsh emerged from a crowded Democratic primary field in the Boston Mayoral race with a victory. He earned 18 percent of the vote.

With management resisting any attempt a fair negotiation, the Bay Area's BART transit system unions are preparing to strike. Rebuffed after multiple concessions, there are few options left to the workers.

A contractor who landed work cleaning up three public hospitals after Superstorm Sandy has been ordered to pay over $500,000 in back wages after their subcontractors failed to pay prevailing wages. More than $2.2 million in back wages have been recovered since the storm, according to the office of the comptroller.

A listener from PA calls in and we discuss what Bill de Blasio becoming Mayor of New York City could mean for true progressives across the country.