skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, March 18, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Governor Joins Security Guards’ Rallying for Better Wages

play audio
Play

Thursday, September 13, 2018   

PITTSBURGH – Gov. Tom Wolf is standing with security officers in Pittsburgh Thursday as they rally for $15 an hour in their next contract.

Just a little more than three years ago, security officers in the city were paid as little as $7.50 an hour.

But more than 1,000 joined Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ and won a contract that has raised their pay to $12 an hour or more with additional benefits such as employer-paid health insurance and paid holidays.

According to Sam Williamson, the Western Pennsylvania District director for the union, Wolf's presence at the rally this afternoon sends an important message.

"The governor made it clear that he supports the right of workers to organize, he supports the labor movement and supports workers who are fighting for $15-an-hour wages," Williamson states.

Williamson says the workers also are being supported in their negotiations by other public officials including Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and State Rep. Ed Gainey, D-Lincoln-Lemington.

Rene Randolph, a security officer and member of the union, says the contract three years ago helped a lot, but there is still more to do to get to a real, living wage.

"I've been here for 13 years and we're trying to negotiate for better wages, better health care,” she states. “You know, we're trying to make it more of a career than just a job."

Randolph hopes that raising wages will make it possible for her to retire with a sense of security someday.

Williamson points out that the minimum wage in Pennsylvania is still just $7.25 an hour. And airport workers in Philadelphia and security officers in Pittsburgh, among others, workers are still struggling to make ends meet.

"There are way too many workers across the state who work hard and still earn poverty wages,” Williamson points out. “And the way to resolve that is by workers standing together to fight for better benefits and better wages through the collective bargaining process."


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Corporate partners sign contracts to offer a graduate assistantship and pay the students. In turn, MSU pays the graduate assistant's tuition, fees and salary, so the assistantship is directly tied to the academic experience. (pressmaster/Adobe Stock)

play sound

By Victoria Lim for WorkingNation.Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi for Missouri News Service reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Col…


Social Issues

play sound

A new report brands Connecticut's tax system as "regressive" for low- to middle-income residents and uses a report from the state to make its point…

Environment

play sound

Backers of a new federal rule said it will increase fairness for livestock and poultry producers, in North Carolina and across the country. The U.S…


A study by the advocacy group Inseparable showed one in five adults said at any given time, they consider their mental health to be either 'fair' or 'poor.' (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Mental health care advocates are encouraging federal agencies to adopt a proposed update to regulations which would expand access to psychological car…

Social Issues

play sound

The Amesbury School Committee will hear from educators and parents tonight as they rally to prevent more than $2 million in proposed cuts to their sch…

Out-of-state money is pouring into Texas as the contentious issue of "school choice" looms large ahead of November's election. (Dzmitry/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

By Jimmy Cloutier for OpenSecrets.Broadcast version by Roz Brown for Texas News Service reporting for the OpenSecrets-Public News Service Collaboratio…

Environment

play sound

Recreational fishermen in New England say commercial trawlers are threatening the survival of smaller businesses relying on a healthy stock of Atlanti…

Social Issues

play sound

Women are treated much differently than men by the criminal justice system, according to a new report detailing how and why mass incarceration is …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021