RISEP » Labor & unions

Wage Theft: How Millions of Dollars are Stolen from Florida’s Workforce

RISEP — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:33:02 +0000

The report finds that many of Florida’s workforce fall outside of federal labor laws; thus, other enforcement mechanisms such as Miami Dade’s Wage Theft Ordinance are needed to ensure that employees, communities, and local governments will not miss out on millions of stolen wages that are owed to them, and that unscrupulous employers will be penalized for breaking labor laws.The report estimates that nearly 60-90 million dollars are stolen from Florida’s workforce, impacting communities, law abiding employers and local and state economies.

The release of the report comes at a time when the Florida legislature is debating a House and Senate bill that would eliminate the Miami-Dade Wage Theft Ordinance, which has collected nearly $400,000 in stolen wages from employees–and preempt any other local governments trying to find solutions to wage theft in their communities.

Transforming Lives: The Impact of SEIU Healthcare Florida on its Members

RISEP — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:00:02 +0000

SEIU Healthcare Florida is the major union in the healthcare sector in Florida. This union is growing in a state with extremely low union membership, and in an industry that has been virtually unionfree in Florida in the past. In the private sector, Florida’s unionization rate in 2008 was the second lowest of all 50 states. Public policies in the state are not favorable to unions; it is a “right-to-work” state, meaning that unions and employers are forbidden to require employees covered by a union contract to pay union dues, thus weakening labor unions. Despite these obstacles, SEIU Healthcare Florida has grown almost ten-fold in the past 10 years, from a little over 1,000 members to well over 10,000. Through surveys, interviews, and focus groups, this report systematically investigates its impacts on members’ perceptions of changes in (a) conditions at the workplace; (b) quality of patient care; (c) wages and benefits; and (d) member participation in public affairs. The general results show this union to be a force for public betterment: higher quality patient care, greater incorporation of marginalized populations in the country’s civic and political affairs, greater equality for populations facing discrimination, a fairer and more “empowering” workplace, and better wages and benefits for healthcare workers.

Study: Healthcare union positively impacts patient care, working conditions, civic engagement

RISEP — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:01:09 +0000

With healthcare at the forefront of the largest U.S. policy debate in two decades, researchers from the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy at Florida International University were given unprecedented access to more than four hundred frontline healthcare workers to determine what impact the union is having on the healthcare industry, the workers’ jobs and their lives.

Study author and principle investigator Bruce Nissen, Ph.D. said, “SEIU Healthcare Florida plays a major role in incorporating both low-income workers and nurses who have not traditionally exercised their power as patient advocates into the civic and political institutions of the country.” Nissen added, “Few other institutions can claim a similar record of impact on so many areas of people’s lives, and by extension on society at large.”

Media alert: Unionization benefits Florida service sector workers with 9.5% higher wages

RISEP — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 22:47:31 +0000

Fact sheet: Benefits of Unionization in Florida

RISEP — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:30:07 +0000

The Employee Free Choice Act, if passed, is expected to make it easier for workers to form unions. Unionization is at a very low level, with only 12.4% of workers nationally belonging to unions in 2008 (unionstats.com). But unions improve wages and benefits of workers, especially low-income and minority workers. Increased unionization would be a step towards rebuilding the middle class and in this country, particularly in Florida which must find new ways to increase the number of middle class jobs in order to recover from the current recession.

“Business groups oppose union measure,”

RISEP — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 22:44:45 +0000

Article in The Florida Today – Business section.

Immigrant Construction Workers and Safety and Health in South Florida

RISEP — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 16:52:15 +0000

This report is based on surveys conducted with four hundred construction workers on large construction sites in South Florida in 2006. The survey elicited information on the safety training received, personal protective safety equipment regularly used, and the safety policies and practices of the employers of these workers. It also collected a wide variety of demographic data and information on non-safety employer practices that were thought to be possibly related to safety conditions on the job.

Walt Disney World’s Hidden Costs: The Impact of Disney’s Wage Structure on the Greater Orlando Area

RISEP — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:58:41 +0000

This report examines the impact of changes in the pay practices of Walt Disney World in the years from 1998 to 2006. One major change was the institution of a two-tier wage system that lowered the pay increases of new entrants to its labor force hired after December 12, 1998 compared to those hired on or before that date. This progressive lowering of wages has created a major “hit” to the greater Orlando economy.

Number of Union Members and All Workers in Florida by Race/Ethnicity, 2004-2007

RISEP — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 17:12:24 +0000

Regression-adjusted union wage, health, and pension premiums for Latino workers in Florida, 2004-2007

RISEP — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 16:44:40 +0000