Take My Council, Please: You Have 13 Friend Requests…
SPRINGFIELD—Despite the best efforts of the its finest inertia, the City Council finally agreed to dip its toe into social media while tackling a budget that was more complex than it appeared. A slew...
View ArticleBriefings: An Impending Labor Swing for Cocchi?…
UPDATED 1/14/16 10:40AM: To reflect an update in endorsements and to reflect a correction. Candidate James Gill is running as an independent, not, as previously reported, as a Democrat. With the slow...
View ArticleAnalysis: On the Verizon Strike, More Nuance than Wired Decline Suggests…
This post is part of It’s Working, an occasional series on labor and employment issues. SPRINGFIELD—The horn of a Magic Hat brewing truck roared as it thundered through an older part of downtown....
View ArticleAnalysis: Once Totaled, Residency Ordinance Firing on (Most) Cylinders…
SPRINGFIELD—On December 3, 1990, amid disputes over the bargaining process, a grim City Council voted 8-0 to approve a contract awarded after “interest arbitration” that ended city cops’ obligation to...
View ArticleAnalysis: Now Playing “Trading Places” Starring Richie Neal…
UPDATED 7:49PM: To include comment from the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. United States Representative Richard Neal received another key nod last week when Speaker Nancy Pelosi tapped him to lead House...
View ArticleLike All Things, Media in Western Mass Feel Bite of the Coronavirus…
NORTHAMPTON—On a sun-blasted afternoon in July, a mix of celebration and mourning was afoot outside the Daily Hampshire Gazette’s building. Decked out in union red shirts, staffers demonstrated in...
View ArticleCourant Guild and Supporters Make Last Stand against Alden Sale…
HARTFORD—The signs of Connecticut’s largest paper still linger around downtown side streets within view of the State Capitol. The name is everywhere. Lights flash on idled shipping docks. Signs denote...
View ArticleThe 413’s Umbrella Labor Group Speaks on 2021 Municipal Races…
Overwhelmed first by hot vax summer and then the coronavirus encore, municipal elections in the region have not exactly take center stage. Into this relative quiet, the Western Mass Area Labor...
View ArticleCourant Guild and Supporters Make Last Stand against Alden Sale…
HARTFORD—The signs of Connecticut’s largest paper still linger around downtown side streets within view of the State Capitol. The name is everywhere. Lights flash on idled shipping docks. Signs denote...
View ArticleThe 413’s Umbrella Labor Group Speaks on 2021 Municipal Races…
Overwhelmed first by hot vax summer and then the coronavirus encore, municipal elections in the region have not exactly take center stage. Into this relative quiet, the Western Mass Area Labor...
View ArticleGuild & Gazette Ink a Contract Three Tumultuous Years after Union Formed…
A local battle in the crackling labor movement within journalism came to a close on Monday. The Pioneer Valley NewsGuild, which represents employees at the Daily Hampshire Gazette, announced their...
View ArticleCan Liss-Riordan’s Victories for Workers Translate into Victory for Mass....
SPRINGFIELD—When ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft began pushing a ballot question to keep employees classified as contractors, the strategy was not exotic to AG candidate Shannon Liss-Riordan....
View ArticleSAG-AFTRA Brings the Battle against Studios—and AI—to Mass…
BOSTON—The collapse of talks between the Association of Motion Picture & Television Producers and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television & Radio Artists may seem distant. But...
View ArticleArbitrators Award Springfield Police Supervisors Stipends for Consent Decree...
The Springfield City Council will consider a labor contract at its meeting on Monday. However, unlike most union pacts, the administration did not technically agree to it. Rather, it was imposed on the...
View ArticleBriefings: Action on Springfield Police Supervisors Pact Ahead…or Maybe Not…
UPDATED The Springfield Police Supervisors Association’s pact with the city is due for another appearance Monday at the City Council. The body had sent it to committee as some councilors ostensibly...
View ArticleBriefings: MGM Poker & Table Game Employees to Vote on Dealing in a Union…
UPDATED: The final vote was 130-117 in favor of a union. Table game and poker dealers at MGM Springfield are about to play a very different hand this weekend. About 277 workers at the Springfield...
View ArticleMGM Dealers Now All-in with UNITE HERE after Narrow Union Vote…
A touch under 300 employees at MGM Springfield have voted to join a union in an election the National Labor Relations Board held last week. The results from 247 poker and table game employees out of...
View ArticleBriefings: After Rough Five Years, Courant Guild Employees Have a Contract…
After years of stuff reductions, farming out of printing to Springfield, and closure of its physical newsroom, staff at the Hartford Courant have received some good news of their own. The Courant Guild...
View ArticleBriefings: After Imposed Pact in ’23, Springfield & Police Supes Negotiate...
On Monday, Springfield city councilors will consider a negotiated contract with the Springfield Police Supervisors Association (SPSA)—a contrast from the terms a state panel imposed last year. The new...
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