- Bank of America Raises Minimum Wage for its Workers to $24 Per Hour
- Volkswagen Could Close a German Plant for First Time Ever
- NLRB: Amazon is ‘Joint Employer’ of Some Contracted Delivery Drivers
- Machinists Union Nix Boeing Deal, Begin Strike
Bank of America Raises Minimum Wage for its Workers to $24 Per Hour
Bank of America has announced it is raising its minimum wage to $24 per hour. The bank said the minimum annualized salary for full-time workers will bump up closer to $50,000, an increase for both part-time and full-time positions in the U.S.
According to The Hill, the bank increased the minimum hourly wage in the last seven years from $15 to $24, an effort in part to assist in keeping and bringing in talent in an increasingly competitive job market. In 2021, the bank said it planned to eventually hike the minimum wage to $25 by 2025.
Volkswagen Could Close a German Plant for First Time Ever
As reported by CBS News, a Volkswagen plant closure in Germany would mark the first time the automaker, which was formed in 1937, had closed a domestic factory. It would also be the first time the company had shuttered any of its manufacturing plants since its U.S. facility in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, closed in 1988.
European automakers are facing increased competition from inexpensive Chinese electric cars. Volkswagen’s half-year results indicate it will not achieve its target of 10 billion euros ($11 billion) in cost savings by 2026, the company said.
Thomas Schaefer, CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars division, said efforts to reduce costs were “yielding results” but that the “headwinds have become significantly stronger.”
The company has sought to cut costs through early retirements and buyouts that avoid forced layoffs, but is now saying those measures may not be enough. Volkswagen has approximately 120,000 workers in Germany.
NLRB: Amazon is ‘Joint Employer’ of Some Contracted Delivery Drivers
As reported by CNBC, a U.S. independent federal agency is exploring whether Amazon should be considered a “joint employer” of some of its contracted delivery drivers.
A regional director for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said they are reviewing two unfair labor practice charges filed in January concerning Amazon’s treatment of some drivers at an Atlanta warehouse known as DAT6. While Amazon has long hired third-party drivers to handle its swelling number of deliveries, the NLRB’s regional director found that Amazon jointly employed drivers at the site who worked for a contractor called MJB Logistics.
Amazon has fought to avoid being designated as a joint employer of its sprawling network of contracted delivery companies. Lawmakers and labor groups, including the Teamsters union, have disputed the company’s characterization, saying drivers wear Amazon-branded uniforms, drive Amazon-branded vans, and have their schedules and performance expectations set by the company.
The NLRB’s determination could force Amazon to bargain with employees seeking to unionize, said CNBC.
Machinists Union Members Nix Boeing Deal, Begin Strike
Approximately 33,000 members of the International Association of Machinists overwhelming rejected a proposed four-year contract with Boeing and started walking off the job on Friday, Sept. 13.
The strike is the first at the company in 16 years and is a significant blow to the troubled aircraft manufacturer. Commercial airplane production will likely grind to a halt and send ripple effects through the company's manufacturing supply chain.
The Seattle Times had reported that Boeing and Machinists union leadership had reached a deal Sept. 8 that would avert a strike; however, 95% of Machinists union members voted against the deal, even though it offered a 25% general wage increase over the life of the contract, plus enhanced retirement benefits, fewer hours of mandatory overtime work and increased parental leave. In a separate vote, 96% voted to authorize a strike, easily clearing the two-thirds threshold needed to approve a walkout.
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