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Supporters of the 32BJ SEIU commercial office cleaners union march along Sixth Avenue in 2019 in New York. | Bebeto Matthews/ AP Photo
No longer operating under same political party, unions forge alliance in upcoming city races
Updated
New York City’s public and private unions are joining forces to influence the makeup of the next City Council a new association that’s formed in lieu of their previous involvement in the Working Families Party.
Five unions that comprise more than 360,000 employees are announcing a partnership called #LaborStrong2021 on Tuesday. In the coming weeks, they will roll out 26 Council endorsements enough to influence the speaker’s race if they’re successful at the polls.
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Employees continue to file COVID-19-related lawsuits against
their employers at a rapid clip. In July, we
identified five categories of cases that seemed to be driving
COVID-19 employment litigation: (1) alleged failure to provide a
safe working environment; (2) discrimination claims, especially
relating to disability and age; (3) leave claims under the FMLA and
the patchwork of federal, state and local laws enacted to deal with
the pandemic; (4) retaliation and whistleblower claims, usually
attached to either a workplace safety or leave issue; and (5) wage
and hour lawsuits arising out of the pandemics impact on
New York City halts indoor dining but keeps schools open as second coronavirus wave accelerates wsws.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wsws.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, New Jersey and New York have closely coordinated their public health response, but when it comes to enacting workplace protections for essential workers, their approaches differ, according to union leaders from both states.
Occupational-health experts note that the policies of the states have become particularly important because the U.S. Department of Labor s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has yet to issue pandemic regulations.
Jersey Standards
In New Jersey, after consulting with unions as well as groups like Make the Road New Jersey, an advocacy group for immigrant workers, Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order Nov. 5 requiring all employers to provide personal protective equipment, routinely clean and disinfect all high-touch areas and require customers to follow basic public-health requirements, such as wearing masks.
Nurses on medical-surgical units are typically responsible for five or six patients, but these days they may oversee care for seven, eight or even nine patients, Conley said. In the ICU, nurses normally care for two patients, but now often have to care for three, she said.
“It has been very challenging,” she said.
Conley acknowledged that the Mohawk Valley Health System has been trying to recruit more patient care staff, including nurses, but said administrators need to do more to recruit and to retain staff. Some nurses have left because they’ve gotten better offers elsewhere, she noted.
“Be competitive in the marketplace,” Conley advised administrators. “Brainstorm some idea. There’s things that could be done. They’ve got to step up and make it happen.”