Election Day is busy at most news outlets, but some employees of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette are picketing today, still on strike for what they consider unfair labor practices of the newspaper s parent company. Some workers have been off the job since Oct. 6; others since Oct. .
Employees of the Tacoma Art Museum have collected more than 400 signatures on a community letter, as they seek to unionize the institution founded in 1935. Stephen Rue, lead preparator for the Art Museum, prepares exhibits at the museum, and said a majority of workers have indicated they want to join the Washington Federation of State Employees and become the state s first museum with unionized workers across departments. Rue believes a recent management resignation and other disruptions suggest it is the appropriate time for more employee engagement. .
Food-service workers and their allies are calling on Congress to support the new "Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights," a document calling for higher wages, better working conditions and access to health care. The movement urged Congress to raise the federal minimum wage for tipped workers, which is $2.13 per hour and is the standard in 17 states. Sekou Siby, president and CEO of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and ROC Action, conducted a survey of more than 1,000 restaurant workers. .
Nearly 300 Nebraska business owners and executives across the state have gone on record in support of ballot Initiative 433, which would gradually raise Nebraska s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026. Dave Titterington, owner of the Wild Bird Habitat Stores in Lincoln and Omaha, said it is tough enough to find employees in the current marketplace, and even harder if all you can offer is $9 an hour. "When you got child care, you got food to put on the table, you got increased fuel costs for home heating and automobile, how can anybody make it on the minimum wage?" Titterington asked. " .