Virginia Commonwealth University cleaners have won their first union contract. Along with 12 additional paid days off, the school s janitorial staff will also receive a pay increase. Under the contract, their pay will increase from $12 to $15 immediately, and over the next two years, they ll get 65-cent increases to bring their pay to more than $16 an hour. .
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., is expected to reintroduce two bills as soon as today to protect workers from excessive heat. The first is the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act, named after a Central Valley farmworker who died after working 10 hours in 105-degree heat. .
A new web resource supporting food entrepreneurship in Baltimore is open for business. Morgan State University has partnered with the City of Baltimore and the Aspen Institute to release Open Access Baltimore, a free online portal with resources to help budding entrepreneurs in the food industry get started. Baltimore is the third city with an open-access portal. .