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Here is your weekly news from the Texas labor movement.
Abbott 'Swaps One Scandal-Scarred Secretary of State for Another'
As Texas Workforce Commission chair, Ruth Hughs secretly coordinated with tech lobbyists to rewrite the rules of the gig economy. Now she’s in charge of state elections.
The newly appointed Secretary of State, Ruth Hughs, was at the center of a secretive, questionable process that led to a Texas Workforce Commission rule that undermines anyone who works for digital companies in Texas. The rule says any digital company worker is considered an independent contractor and therefore ineligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits in the state.
The Texas AFL-CIO sounded the alarm on the rule shortly after it was proposed and worked against the proposal in a coalition that includes the Workers Defense Project. The rule went forward on a 2-1 vote. Anyone assigned tasks by computer will be considered not to be an employee no matter how much command and control the company exerts over details of work.
The rule is about jobless benefits but has implications for other benefits like the employer's share of Social Security and Medicare, overtime pay, health coverage, pensions and other items that independent contractors typically do not receive. Many billions of dollars are at stake.
The Observer take by Justin Miller states that Sen. Jose Rodriguez, D- El Paso, plans to look at the Hughs confirmation "closely" when the Senate reconvenes in 2021. Hughs still has not publicly explained her participation in the episode. -
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Time Magazine: Low Wages, Sexual Harassment and Unreliable Tips. This Is Life in America’s Booming Service Industry
Via Time Magazine - The decade-long economic expansion has been a boon to those at the top of the economic ladder. But it left millions of workers behind, particularly the 4.4 million workers who rely on tips to earn a living, fully two-thirds of them women.
Even as wages have crept up–if slowly–in other sectors of the economy, the minimum wage for waitresses and other tipped workers hasn’t budged since 1991. Indeed, there is an entirely separate federal minimum wage for those who live on tips. It varies by state from as low as $2.13 (the federal tipped minimum wage) in 17 states including Texas, Nebraska and Virginia, up to $9.35 in Hawaii. In 36 states, the tipped minimum wage is under $5 an hour. Legally, employers are supposed to make up the difference when tips don’t get servers to the minimum wage, but some restaurants don’t track this closely and the law is rarely enforced.
Waitresses are emblematic of the type of job expected to grow most in the American economy in the next decade--low-wage service work with no guaranteed hours or income. Though high-paying service jobs have been growing quickly in recent months, middle-wage jobs are growing more slowly and could decline sharply in the event of a recession.
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Texas Labor Citizenship Campaign Ready for A Big Turnout This Weekend at UA Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 286 in Austin, TX - 10AM.
The Texas Labor Citizenship has been on the road all Summer, organizing citizenship drives in Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, and Beaumont. The road tour calls on hundreds of volunteers from local unions to help with the line of applicants that are waiting before we open the doors. If you or your local union would like to volunteer or wants more information, please reach out to Citizenship Coordinator, Jesus Perales at 512-477-6195.
Here is a summer highlight video from various drives at local union halls across the state.
Plumbers Union Attacks Rule Eliminating High School Diploma Requirement for LicenseQuorum Report, an online service covering Texas state government news, reports the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters continues to fight hard to maintain integrity in the apprenticeship program and examination system.
Plumbers Local 68 is leading the charge to restore a requirement that plumbers, who often must do advanced math calculations in their work, have a high school diploma. A key reason: dropout prevention.
Jeff LaBroski of Plumbers Local 68 sits on the Gulf Coast Workforce Board. The board is continually spending money - and grants - on educating people, trying to get them ready for new jobs, he told the members of the state plumbing board.
"What this will create is a path to prison," LaBroski said. "Now how come I have to have a high school diploma or GED when I can drop out and become a plumber's apprentice. I think it's something that the board should reconsider and put back into the rules."
The board had opened a pathway that won't be beneficial to the public or the profession, LaBroski said. He was followed by several other speakers including Rick Lord from Pasadena, also in Plumbers Local 68, who said the regulation would undo a lot of progress.
"One of those issues is, we've been working - our industry has been working hard - to get with the local high schools and start doing these vocational training programs," Lord said. "Well, if you have a vocational training program - but it's easier for me to drop out of school to get that license - that doesn't make a lot of sense."
Legislators who talked to the plumbers' union felt the same way, Lord said. "It was very short-sighted on the part of the Sunset Commission to make that kind of recommendation," he said. Lord was joined by others who said it was time for Texas to correct the mistake, along with those who addressed the board about overhauling the agency and adding testing sites.
Seeking Equal Pay, African-American Women Who Join Unions Derive Big Boost
Yesterday was another sad marker in the quest for equal pay for women - the day when African-American women have, on average, earned as much in 2018 and 2019 combined as Anglo men earned in 2018.
Time Magazine posted a clear explanation that cites other equal pay dates that dot the year.
State equal pay legislation is part of the Fair Shot agenda of the United Labor Legislative Committee and a subject of long-standing Texas AFL-CIO support. The 2020 election holds potential to get the entire nation closer to the ideal.
Another huge source of potential for African-American women is union membership. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that while non-union African-American women made an average of $635 a week in 2018, African-American women who belonged to unions averaged $782 a week. That speaks volumes about the power of unions to make a difference:
Back in early April, American women could mark the day on which, based on median salaries, they had earned as much in 2018 and 2019 combined as men had earned the prior year alone-but not every American woman had cause to celebrate. While white and Asian women evened out in the spring, Thursday marked Equal Pay Day for black women, who have had to work all those extra weeks for their pay to match that for white, non-Hispanic men. (And Native American and Latina women won't celebrate their Equal Pay Days until Sept. 23 and Nov. 20, respectively). Nationally, black women earn 61 cents for every dollar earned by white men, and in parts of the country that disparity is even starker. Black women in Louisiana are paid just 48 cents, and in Mississippi and New Jersey 55 cents, for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. These wage disparities take an extraordinary toll over the course of an individual's life, and one 2017 study shows that over a 40-year career, women overall lose $418,800 as a result of the wage gap, with women of color losing almost $870,000.
OFFICIAL Texas Labor Day Events Are Scheduled. Find an Event!
Click Here to view a list of union endorsed events scheduled around Texas. We can't wait for next weekend. **San Antonio CLC has a Labor Celebration Tomorrow, August 24th**
Start the weekend with some funky R&B. In 1971, John Lennon wanted the world to "Imagine" a world at peace without the barriers of borders or the divisions of religion and nationality, and in 1974, rhythm and blues legend Dr. John wanted us to roll up our sleeves, sing out loud and build a better world:
You got to live and give, share and care. Really put some love in the air.
When your neighbor's down, try to pick him up. Nobody can live in despair.
Enjoy the Weekend! We Fought For It!
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