Latest news with #laborstrike
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
DHL Express Canada workers ratify new agreement, move to end strike and lockout
DHL containers are transported on the tarmac at John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Hamilton, Ont., Wednesday, March 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn TORONTO — Canada's largest private sector union says a three-week lockout and strike at DHL Express Canada is due to end because workers ratified a new agreement. Unifor says the four-year agreement reached with the delivery company was ratified with 72 per cent support from members. It includes a 15.75 per cent wage hike, pension increases for hourly workers and a new pension for owner-operators. The agreement also features increases to short- and long-term disability payments, new mental-health benefits, a rise in severance and updated language around artificial intelligence, robotics and work-from-home policies. The agreement impacts more than 2,100 DHL Express Canada employees who work as truck drivers, couriers and in warehouse and clerical roles. They were locked out after midnight on June 8 and went on strike hours later. Unifor now says DHL workers will return to work after the ratification but offered no definite timeline. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2025. The Canadian Press
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Negotiations break down between Unifor and CN Tower ahead of Canada Day
TORONTO, June 27, 2025 /CNW/ - Contract talks between Unifor and the CN Tower, operated by the Canada Lands Company, have reached a standstill, raising the risk of a lockout or strike just ahead of the busy Canada Day holiday. 'We've hit an impasse and time is running out,' said Shan Ramanathan, President of Unifor Local 4271. 'Our members want a fair deal. We're ready to bargain, but the company needs to return to the table with a serious commitment to reaching an agreement.' Unifor Local 4271 represents approximately 250 full-time and part-time workers at the CN Tower, including hosts, wait staff, bartenders, the kitchen brigade including chefs, cooks, butchers, and others. Key issues in the dispute include the lack of pension improvements for more than 15 years, the need for fair wage increases, scheduling concerns, enhanced benefits, and improved health and safety protections. The deadline to avoid job action is 12:01 a.m. on Monday, June 30, 2025. If no deal is reached, workers could be locked out or go on strike, disrupting operations at one of Canada's most iconic landmarks during the height of tourist season. Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 320,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future. SOURCE Unifor
Forbes
6 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
In The Age Of ChatGPT, Workers Want A Say On AI In The Workplace
Writers Guild of America Strike (Photo by). On May 2, 2023, six months after the launch of ChatGPT, screenwriters anxious about the use of AI in scriptwriting and development, kicked off what became the Writers Guild of America's second-longest strike, lasting 148 days. Since the emergence of generative AI and throughout the strike action, one question has been on everyone's mind: Is AI coming for our jobs? This piece tackles that very question and explores what happens when AI is brought up at the bargaining table, the concerns unions have, what protections they are asking for and securing, and how management can work with unions as a strategic partner. One thing is, however, crystal clear: as interest in and concerns about AI grow, workers around the world are not waiting for robust regulations to safeguard their interests; instead, they are actively raising the issue at the bargaining table. What are the Concerns About AI in the Workplace? ChatGPT and AI more generally clearly have several beneficial uses, but workers are concerned about their impact. Job displacement is a primary concern, and the WGA strike action, which touched on this, is a prominent example. Another concern unions have raised is that employers are often not transparent with employees about their use of AI. There have been instances where workers only learn about these AI tools at the bargaining table after submitting requests for information. Therefore, workers must pay attention to changes in their workplace to identify how AI use affects them, whether positively or negatively. Surveillance and monitoring have also emerged with the use of AI in algorithmic management. Some companies reportedly use AI to monitor employee communications and sentiment. Along with employees feeling the need to compete and keep pace with AI, this can lead to increased stress that affects workers' mental and physical health. Also, gig workers often report that they don't know how decisions are made or why they are assigned fewer tasks. They are monitored through tracking and delivery times and penalized for rejecting jobs. The ILO's platform economy report highlights this concern and informs ongoing discussions on a standard that will offer protections for platform workers. Algorithm bias and errors also raise concerns. For example, if a company implements an AI-driven performance evaluator to assess its call center agents, but the data on which the evaluator is trained involves call center agents who are predominantly white males, it could negatively score agents with different demographics—women and visible minorities—impacting their ratings, bonuses, and shift assignments. How Unions are Stepping in to Fill Governance Gaps Unions have observed that many workers feel intimidated by the technical nature of AI and are uneasy when discussing their concerns with their employers. Nonetheless, unions are taking matters into their own hands by ensuring that these concerns are addressed at the collective bargaining table. These discussions address a myriad of issues. For example, the Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas was able to negotiate a severance package requiring employers to pay $2,000 per year if an employee is laid off as a result of AI. Also, following multi-day discussions between the WGA and studio executives, a collective bargaining agreement was reached that, among other things, established guardrails for the use of generative AI, ensuring that writers retain control over their work and decisions regarding AI usage, and that AI supports human writers rather than replacing them. Ziff Davis Creators Guild has also ratified a collective bargaining agreement stating that there will be no layoffs or reductions in base pay due to generative AI. The agreement also provides for the formation of an AI subcommittee to evaluate AI use, and requires reasonable notice to the subcommittee before implementing AI. Most recently, in May 2025, the Communication Workers of America reached a tentative contract agreement for quality assurance testers at the video game studio ZeniMax Media (a Microsoft subsidiary). They have secured protections with ZeniMax committing to using AI solely to support employees and enhance productivity in a way that will not cause harm, as well as the right to appeal AI decisions to humans. 'Video games have been the revenue titan of the entire entertainment industry for years, and the workers who develop these games are too often exploited for their passion and creativity,' Jessee Leese, a QA tester at ZeniMax and member of the ZeniMax Workers United-CWA bargaining committee, said in a CWA press release. 'Organizing unions, bargaining for a contract, and speaking with one collective voice has allowed workers to take back the autonomy we all deserve.' Overall, trade unions involved in bargaining believe that AI significantly impacts the workplace. For them, the aim is not to hinder the use of AI, but to provide a voice for their members who want a seat at the table and an opportunity to work hand-in-hand with employers to ensure that AI use supports rather than harms employees. Research indicates that bargaining over AI is in its early stages but is continuously growing in relevance. UC Berkley is in the process of creating a technology bargaining inventory, 'a structured, searchable resource built to support organizers, negotiators, researchers, and other advocates,' says Lisa Kresge, lead researcher at UC Berkeley's Center for Labor Research and Education. The inventory will include over 500 collective bargaining agreements covering private and public-sector unions across different industries. Speaking on lessons from this research project, Kresge points out one interesting finding: 'Unions are negotiating around specific workplace technologies, rather than negotiating around technology in general.' She explains that historically, contracts included pre-adoption language in the event that an employer adopts technology or if it affects union rights. But that 'what we're seeing a lot more of now, is really very specific provisions around how employers can use specific technologies.' How Forward-Looking Leaders Can Engage Labor Unions as a Strategic Partner Given the increasing use of AI in the workplace and workers' and unions' interest in shaping how AI is used, management needs to consider AI as a collective bargaining issue. Here are five actions management can take to be equipped for this process: As AI tools proliferate and become embedded in business functions, and unions grow more vocal on the topic, companies can no longer afford to implement these tools unilaterally—they must partner with their workforce.
CBS News
23-06-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Minnesota Nurses Association holds strike vote Monday as union advocates for improved staffing ratios
A Minnesota nurses union is holding an unfair labor practice strike vote on Monday as thousands of employees are working without a contract, and others are facing a contract expiration at the end of the month. The Minnesota Nurses Association, which represents 15,000 nurses across 13 hospitals in the Twin Cities and Duluth area, says if a supermajority of nurses pass the vote, it would give negotiators the ability to call for a strike at any time, after providing a 10-day notice. "We have consistently come to the bargaining table in good faith and been transparent about our proposals, yet have received stonewalling, interference and retaliation in return," said President of the MNA Chris Rubesch. The union says they've brought plans regarding safer staffing ratios, workplace violence prevention measures and scheduling to the bargaining table but "hospital executives have refused to listen." Nurses say the patient-to-nurse ratio is unsafe and unmanageable. "We've assessed our body of nurses and we all know that we're ready to take this vote. Not to strike, but to get it done," said Ericka Helling, an ICU nurse at M Health Fairview Southdale. "This is the goal here, to solve the equation without abandoning our patients or leaving our jobs. We know we have the vote, we wouldn't take the vote if we couldn't get it done." The MNA alleges the hospitals have retaliated by surveilling union conversations and refusing to provide information that is necessary to bargain. Negotiations started in March for the Twin Cities nurses, who are now working without a contract. The Duluth-area nurses started negotiating in April, and are facing a contract expiration date of June 30. "For decades, nurses have been sounding the alarm about increasingly unsafe staffing levels in our hospitals, leading to the current crisis we are experiencing now. As more patients experience adverse health events, more nurses are subjected to violence and more healthcare professionals are fleeing bedside care altogether, the hospitals' bad faith bargaining is a slap in the face to both nurses and patients," Rubesch said. "We cannot and will not accept it." Voting ends at 10 p.m. on Monday. WCCO has reached out to M Health Fairview for comment.
CBS News
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Former workers at Philadelphia's World Cafe Live allege unfair treatment, late paychecks
Former employees of World Cafe Live in Philadelphia are speaking out after walking off the job mid-show last week. They blame a leadership shakeup for creating chaos, claiming mismanagement and a failure to pay workers on time. Since 2004, World Cafe Live has been a home to emerging and established artists in Philadelphia. The music venue and restaurant has hosted more than 500 live performances a year. Leadership changed in April with new CEO Joe Callahan coming on board. Several employees who have been protesting what they call "unfair treatment" outside the venue were let go following their walkout last week. Former employees allege "an unacceptable level of hostility and mismanagement," and say workers weren't paid on time. Several shows at the University City venue were canceled this week amid the ongoing labor tensions. Callahan says this boils down to miscommunication and a failure of former leadership. He said the venue was struggling financially. He said any pay discrepancies have been corrected. "There wasn't an efficient handoff to where we were addressing the issues at hand based on the financial strain on the organization and based on the improvements and the [adaptation] … to get it to a breakeven standpoint," Callahan said. "So I think it was all led out of fear that was derived from unknowns that they weren't kept informed." World Cafe Live workers are not unionized. One former employee said it pains her to no longer work at the venue. "I wish that I was inside," one former employee said Tuesday. "There were shows that I was scheduled to work over the next few weeks, and I've worked every single week throughout other obligations, other commitments … We all want this place to survive, the reason why we're outside is that we don't think it can under these circumstances, under Joe Callahan." As for artists who have canceled performances, Callahan said that's also blowback from misrepresentation of information, and the venue continues to receive inquiries for new shows.
