Workers around the world mark May Day

- Workers across the world on Tuesday marked the International Labor and Solidarity Day, also known as May Day, with large rallies and demonstrations.

In the Russian capital, thousands of people led by Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin marched across the Red Square to commemorate the May Day.

The day, dedicated to workers around the world, is a public holiday in many countries.

It commemorates the struggle of the working class to win fair employment standards, historian Tatyana Sidorova told Anadolu Agency in Moscow on Tuesday.

People who worked most, earned less and did not have time to study and to top up their qualification, she added.

"These unjust conditions resulted in appearance of labor unions and labor movements which met a great resistance from the side of the industrial elite. But when the labor movement became mass, employers were forced to meet the demands and to improve work conditions," she said.

In Austria, over 100,000 people gathered in front of the Municipality of Vienna building, where far-right groups protested.

Thousands of workers and students in the Greek capital Athens protested against the government’s “belt-tightening” policies at the Sintagma Square where the parliament is located.

Some groups protested against NATO outside the U.S. Embassy in Athens.

In the Balkans region, various protests were held in Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo, pointing out poor conditions for workers in their countries.

In several major cities of Pakistan, including Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi, labor unions voiced concern over lack of rights of workers.

In Manila, a crowd of around 20,000 individuals from different labor groups -- the biggest number of protesters recorded since Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte assumed presidency in 2016 -- gathered on Tuesday and protested against labor contract executive order.

Earlier Tuesday, Duterte had signed an executive order aimed at ending illegal contracts and providing security to Filipino workers; however, protesters claimed it was "anti-workers" and useless.

Related: Why International Workers' Day Isn't a Big Deal in the U.S.

US: Wages Are Increasing, But What's Behind It?

- The Great Recession ended 7 1/2 years ago, and job gains have been steady since, but greater demand for workers is only starting to increase pay.

The increases are still relatively modest, and the data are still mixed. In October, for example, the Labor Department reported average hourly earnings increased at a 2.8 percent rate — the highest since mid-2009, but wage growth slowed in November. A separate report this month showed the cost of labor — another measure of wage growth — increased especially during the spring of this year.

What's driving the recent wage growth is unclear.

"The mystery has been that we've seen a decline in the unemployment rate, but we haven't seen the kind of increases in wage growth that we would expect," says Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

He speculates that until recently, employers figured they didn't have to increase wages, because in recent years so many people had stopped working or looking for work.

"Businesses kind of have the sense that [the missing workers] are out there — they are a pool of available workers — so that has, I think, suppressed wage growth," Strain says.

This year, that finally appears to be changing, and Strain and others believe wage growth will continue into next year, chiefly because the supply of labor is declining. The unemployment rate, at 4.6 percent, is near a level economists say is close to a "natural" unemployment rate.

New state and local minimum wage laws are another reason wages are rising. Since 2014, 21 states and Washington, D.C., changed their minimum wage laws. Last month, voters approved initiatives in Arizona, Colorado, Maine and Washington state. And more increases are expected in the coming year.

Strain says those increases have a ripple effect beyond just the lowest paid workers. Many union contracts, for example, benchmark to the minimum wage.

"There's no question minimum wage increases cause wage growth to accelerate," he says. "How much of that can be attributed to minimum wage increases is an open question."

In Anggie Godoy's case, minimum wage hikes made a big difference. She started working as a McDonald's drive-through cashier three years ago, making $8 an hour. Since then, the Los Angeles City Council raised the minimum wage to $10.50. Without the city's new law, Godoy says, she would only have seen a tiny increase.

"Working three years there, I only got a 10-cent raise," she says.

Godoy, who participated in fast-food workers' strikes demanding a $15 hourly wage, says that as her wages increased, so did wages for those in more senior positions.

Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist for online job site Glassdoor, says Godoy is right.

"Like dominoes up the pay scale, you see wage hikes all across the board," he says.

But minimum wage isn't the biggest factor, Chamberlain says, citing Glassdoor's data that show the most in-demand jobs are those whose pay is increasing fastest: truck drivers, construction workers and machine operators. That is not true for some white-collar jobs — sales jobs and financial analysts, for example, which are losing ground.

"Clever coders are finding ways to program around them," Chamberlain says. "Insurance agents today are largely being replaced by self-service insurance websites."

David Levine, CEO of the American Sustainable Business Council, a progressive advocacy group, says increasing pay can be a way to address another labor-market problem: low productivity growth.

"With that retention they're also getting employees that are more committed to the business, therefore productivity goes up," he argues.

Simply put: You pay more to get more. (Source)

US: 6 retailers to end insane on-call shift schedules

latimes - Six retailers have agreed to stop using on-call shift scheduling following an inquiry by a coalition of nine attorneys general, including California’s.

New York Atty. Gen. Eric Schneiderman says an estimated 50,000 workers nationwide will benefit from the agreement.

On-call shift scheduling requires employees to call work before a scheduled shift to find out if they have to work that day.

“On-call shifts are not a business necessity and should be a thing of the past,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “People should not have to keep the day open, arrange for child care and give up other opportunities without being compensated for their time.”

The six companies are Aeropostale Inc., Carter’s Inc., David’s Tea, Walt Disney Co., Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. and Zumiez Inc.

Four of the firms — Carter’s, Disney, David’s Tea and Zumiez — said they also would give employees their work schedule at least one week in advance.

The six companies are among 15 retailers who received a joint letter in April from the attorneys general.

The other nine companies — American Eagle, Payless, Coach, Forever 21, Vans, Justice Just for Girls, BCBG Max Azria, Tilly’s Inc. and Uniqlo — say they don’t use on-call scheduling or recently ended the practice.

In California, companies must compensate workers with up to four hours of wages if they are required to come in but are not given work, or if they are promised a long shift and then given only a fraction of it. (Source)

Fast-food CEO says he's investing in machines because the government is making it difficult to afford employees

(BusinessInsider) The CEO of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's has visited the fully automated restaurant Eatsa — and it's given him some ideas on how to deal with rising minimum wages.

"I want to try it," CEO Andy Puzder told Business Insider of his automated restaurant plans. "We could have a restaurant that's focused on all-natural products and is much like an Eatsa, where you order on a kiosk, you pay with a credit or debit card, your order pops up, and you never see a person."

Puzder's interest in an employee-free restaurant, which he says would be possible only if the company found time as Hardee's works on its northeastern expansion, has been driven by rising minimum wages across the US.

"With government driving up the cost of labor, it's driving down the number of jobs," he says. "You're going to see automation not just in airports and grocery stores, but in restaurants."

Puzder has been an outspoken advocate against raising the minimum wage, writing two op-eds for The Wall Street Journal on how a higher minimum wage would lead to reduced employment opportunities. (Full Story)

Added Reading:
Restaurant CEOs Make More Money in Half a Day Than Their Employees Make in a Year

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So Carl's Jr. can invest in robots but can't raise their worker wages or invest in their workers?  What would happen if the CEO of Car's Jr was paid the minimum wage of $7.25? Let's make it happen.

Wal-Mart to Boost Wages for Most U.S. Store Workers

THE HORROR!

(wallstreetjournal) Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will give nearly all its U.S. hourly store employees—and not just minimum-wage earners—a raise next month, as the nation’s largest private employer tries to combat a tighter labor market and the turnover endemic in the retailing industry.

Wal-Mart previously said it planned to boost its minimum wage in February to $10 an hour. But the giant retailer said Wednesday that hourly workers employed in its stores as of Dec. 31 would get at least a 2% pay bump. The wage increase will affect nearly 1.2 million U.S. employees at the company’s Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores.

The across-the-board pay increase is aimed at addressing complaints by some longtime store workers about Wal-Mart’s more-generous starting wages for new hires. The company also is hoping to stem defections and the sums it spends to hire and train new employees. Wal-Mart loses about half a million store workers a year.

Minimum-wage increases took effect in 20 states last year, and several of the biggest employers of hourly workers, including McDonald’s Corp. and Starbucks Corp., have raised their starting pay.

Retail workers in the U.S. earned an average of $14.95 an hour in December, up 3.6% from a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. With the raises planned for February, average hourly earnings will be $13.38 for Wal-Mart’s full-time store employees and $10.58 for part-time workers, the company said.

Some rivals, including Target Corp., are expected to follow Wal-Mart’s lead, especially in markets where the starting wage is below $10 an hour. “We constantly evaluate our hourly wage rates and adjust based on changing conditions in each market,” a Target spokesman said.

Wal-Mart is in the costly process of trying to improve its 4,600 U.S. stores while also investing heavily to boost e-commerce sales. It has said the wage boost—including the 2% increase for those who earn more than the minimum wage—would cost about $2.7 billion over fiscal years 2016 and 2017, driving down next fiscal year’s profit by as much as 12%. Last week, in a rare retreat, Wal-Mart said it would close 154 stores in the U.S. and another 115 globally, as it weeds out weaker-performing locations.

Obama praises unions, workers' rights at White House Summit

(Reuters) - Oct 7 President Barack Obama called for higher blue-collar wages and benefits and promoted collective bargaining on Wednesday, courting workers' unions as his advancing Pacific Rim trade deal has disenchanted many labor groups.

In a speech to workers, union leaders, lawmakers and employers, Obama supported the defense of workers' rights and urged workers to band together in an increasingly technology-driven sharing economy.

"I believe when people attack unions, they're attacking the middle class," Obama told attendees of the first-ever White House Summit on Worker Voice.

"We've got to make sure as we continue to move forward, both in this 'on-demand' economy and in the more traditional economy, that ... working Americans don't get lost in the shuffle," he said. "They can come together and they can win."

Obama pointed to companies like Lyft and Uber, ride-sharing services, and Handy and TaskRabbit, which help users outsource housekeeping and chores, as innovators that help increase workers' flexibility and autonomy.

But he cautioned that such companies, which are not unionized, could also be detrimental to workers.

"If the combination of globalization and automation undermines the capacity of the ordinary worker and the ordinary family to be able to support themselves ... then we're going to have problems," he said.

Obama and union leaders have recently been at odds, with the president advocating for a 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership that labor groups fear could destroy U.S. jobs. The pact was announced early Monday and is awaiting approval from Congress.

At the summit, Obama highlighted unions as a means to empower workers. He cited the website coworker.org, which helps employees organize online, and the Fight for $15 movement, which successfully fought for a higher minimum wage for fast-food workers in New York and Los Angeles, as "good things happening in America."

Terrence Wise, a second-generation fast-food worker at both Burger King Corp and McDonald's Corp, introduced the president.

"I have seen firsthand how we are heard - and how we make change - when workers like us stick together," he said. "We are united as working people, as moms and dads, as proud Americans, to make sure all work pays what we need to support our families." (Source)

New York: Target pharmacy workers form union, first in company's history

(Reuters) - A group of pharmacy workers within Target Corp's store in Brooklyn, New York, have won a vote to form a microunion, making it the first unionized store at the retailer since its inception in 1902.

Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters was first to report that a group of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians won an initial ballot, 7-2, to form the union, according to a filing on the National Labor Relations Board website and union officials.

Target said it was "disappointed" by the vote within its store and will appeal the NLRB's decision to allow the vote to proceed.

Target is in the process of selling its pharmacy business to CVS Health Corp.

"Because of the pending sale of the business, we don't believe it was appropriate for the NLRB to move forward with the petition," spokeswoman Molly Snyder told Reuters.

"We believe it should have been dismissed and made that argument at the hearing."

The National Labor Relations Board in 2011 ruled that so-called micro unions are appropriate within a company's operations when their members share "a community of interest."

That decision was upheld by a U.S. appeals court, spurring the board in 2014 to extend the standard to retail stores in a case involving fragrance and cosmetic department workers at Macy's Inc.

The National Retail Federation and other industry groups have said the decisions would wreak havoc on stores, pitting groups of employees against each other and forcing companies to negotiate with multiple unions that could have competing interests.

Union groups say the NLRB ruling in favor of microunions is appropriate to the modern-day workplace, where employees often are asked to staff multiple departments.

Target, which up until now has not had any unionized stores or microunions, said it twice previously has overcome serious attempts at unionization. The first occurred in Detroit in the 1990s, and the second came at its Valley Street store in New York City in 2011.

"It is a big win for us," said Lou Solicito, organizing director of the United Food and Commercial Workers union that supported the vote.

"We are ready to bargain a contract with Target," he said. Full Story