Tag Archives: employment

Maryland Apple Store Workers Vote To Join Union

The Washington Post reports: Apple workers in the Baltimore area voted to join a union Saturday, becoming the first of the tech giant’s U.S. retail stores to do so. The vote means workers at the Towson, Md., store plan to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) once a contract is ratified. Saturday evening’s initial tally was …

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428K New Jobs In April, Unemployment Flat At 3.6%

The Washington Post reports: U.S. employers added 428,000 jobs in April, capping a year of solid growth, adding more fuel to an already robust recovery. The unemployment rate remained steady at a pandemic low of 3.6 percent, the Labor Department said Friday. The labor market has added more than 6.5 million jobs during the past year and is on pace …

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Amazon To Appeal Vote To Unionize By NYC Workers

The Wall Street Journal reports: Amazon.com Inc. plans to appeal its loss last week against union organizers in New York, where workers voted to establish the company’s first U.S. union. The company’s intention was made in a legal filing made public Thursday. Roughly 55% of the workers from a Staten Island facility named JFK8 voted to side with Amazon Labor …

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New Jobless Claims Fall To Lowest Level In 53 Years

CNBC reports: The labor market tightened further last week, with initial jobless claims falling to their lowest level in more than 53 years, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Initial filings for unemployment dropped to 166,000, well below the Dow Jones estimate of 200,000 and 5,000 under the previous week’s total, which was revised sharply lower. The total of those receiving …

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Gay Firefighter Sues FDNY, Says He Was Told He Could Be “Cured” And He Should Start Sleeping With Women

NY1 reports: A gay firefighter has filed a lawsuit against the city, the FDNY and the lieutenant who served as the chief diversity officer, alleging harassment and hostility. “I was at my lowest,” Corey Boykins told NY1 exclusively. “I was kind of just trying to still have respect for the job, because I do love the job. I do love …

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NYC Amazon Warehouse Workers Vote To Unionize

The New York Times reports: Workers at Amazon’s massive warehouse on Staten Island voted by a wide margin to form a union, according to results released on Friday, in a landmark win for a campaign targeting the country’s second-largest employer and one of the biggest victories for organized labor in a generation. Employees cast 2,654 votes to be represented by …

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US Added 431K Jobs In March, Jobless Rate Is 3.6%

The Associated Press reports: America’s employers extended a streak of robust hiring in March, adding 431,000 jobs in a sign of the economy’s resilience in the face of a still-destructive pandemic and the highest inflation in 40 years. The Labor Department’s report Friday showed that last month’s job growth helped reduce the unemployment rate to 3.6%, the lowest level since …

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Labor Dept: Unemployment Claims Fall To 52-Year Low

Reuters reports: The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week as demand for labor remained strong, positioning the economy for another month of solid job gains. Unemployment benefit rolls were the smallest in 52 years in early March, the Labor Department’s weekly jobless claims report on Thursday also showed. Signs of the economy’s underlying strength …

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Labor Dept Reports 678,000 New Jobs For February

CNBC reports: Job growth accelerated in February, posting its biggest monthly gain since July as the employment picture got closer to its pre-pandemic self. Nonfarm payrolls for the month grew by 678,000 and the unemployment rate was 3.8%, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. In a sign that inflation could be cooling, wages barely rose for the …

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January Jobs Report Defies Dismal Expectations

Bloomberg News reports: U.S. employers added more jobs than forecast last month, despite a surge in Covid-19 infections and related business closures. Nonfarm payrolls increased 467,000 in January after an upwardly revised 510,000 gain in December, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4%, and average hourly earnings jumped. In a surprise display of strength, …

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2021 US Economy Grew At Fastest Rate Since 1984

The Washington Post reports: The U.S. economy grew 5.7 percent in 2021, the fastest full-year clip since 1984, roaring back in the pandemic’s second year despite two new virus variants that rocked the United States. The economy grew 6.9 percent from October to December, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Thursday, a sharp acceleration from the 2.3 percent it grew …

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Biden Admin Lifts Federal Minimum Wage To $15/HR

Axios reports: Federal agencies are being directed to raise the minimum wages for government employees to $15 an hour, according to new guidance from the Office of Personnel Management shared first with Axios. Why it matters: The guidance will impact almost 70,000 federal employees, most of which work at the Departments of Agriculture, Defense and Veterans Affairs. OPM is directing …

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Labor Dept: 199K New Jobs In December, 3.9% Jobless

ABC News reports: Employers added a lackluster 199,000 jobs last month — significantly lower than economists’ expectations — and the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%, the Department of Labor said Friday. Hiring in December was even less than the revised figure for the previous month, when 249,000 jobs were added to the economy in November. The stalled job growth comes …

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Labor Dept: Jobless Claims Continue Historic Decline

ABC News reports: The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell below 200,000, more evidence that the job market remains strong in the aftermath of last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims dropped by 8,000 to 198,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell to just above 199,000, lowest level since October 1969. …

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November Report: 210K Jobs, 4.2% Unemployment

CNBC reports: The U.S. economy created far fewer jobs than expected in November, before a new Covid threat created a scare that growth could slow into the winter, the Labor Department reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls increased by just 210,000 for the month, though the unemployment rate fell sharply to 4.2% from 4.6%, even though the labor force participation rate increased …

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Labor Dept: New Jobless Claims Fall To 52-Year Low

CNBC reports: The ranks of those submitting jobless claims tumbled to their lowest level in more than 52 years last week, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. New filings totaled 199,000, a number not seen since Nov. 15, 1969, when claims totaled 197,000. The report easily beat Dow Jones estimates of 260,000 and was well below the previous week’s 270,000. Along …

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Jobless Claims Down For 7th Week, New Pandemic Low

The Associated Press reports: The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell for the seventh straight week to a pandemic low of 268,000. U.S. jobless claims dipped by 1,000 last week from the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The applications for unemployment aid are a proxy for layoffs, and their steady decline this year — after topping …

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Apple Settles Lawsuit Over Staff Bag Checks For $30M

Gizmodo reports: After years of fighting it out in court, Apple Store employees in California will finally get paid for the time the company spent checking their bags for possible stolen products while they were off the clock. The payout: roughly $30 million. The class action lawsuit covers the company’s 52 stores in California was filed in 2013 by two …

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Labor Dept Reports 531,000 New Jobs In October

Bloomberg News reports: The U.S. labor market got back on track last month with a larger-than-forecast payrolls gain, indicating greater progress filling millions of vacancies as the effects of the delta variant faded. Nonfarm payrolls increased 531,000 last month after an upwardly revised 312,000 gain in September, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6% while …

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NYC Cuts Vaccine Mandate Deal With Some Unions

The Washington Post reports: New York City said Thursday that it had reached an agreement with at least four unions representing some 75,000 city employees to establish rules about how workers can apply for medical or religious exemptions to the city’s coronavirus vaccine mandate. As part of the deal, the unions will withdraw litigation against the mandate. In return, employees …

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