Johnson Controls workers in Spring Garden Township go out on strike

Members of UAW Local 1872 who work at Johnson Controls' plant in Spring Garden Township went out on strike Monday.

The union, which has about 165 members at the Grantley Road-Richland Avenue complex, is seeking a two-year contract for workers at the company's test facility and a three-year contract for those who work in manufacturing, said Dave Stauch, Local 1872's president.

Johnson Controls has proposed a four-year contract and a five year-contract respectively, Stauch said.

The previous contract expired July 28.

Clean-room technicians at Micro-Clean in Hanover Township go on strike

About 30 union workers of a Lehigh Valley clean-room testing firm went on strike Thursday in a dispute over wages, benefits and working conditions that came about after they were unable to nail down a contract with the company over the last several months.

And Micro-Clean's clean-room technicians — 32 workers represented by Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 — were back on the picket line from about 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, holding signs and getting honks from passing cars in front of the company's facility at 177 N. Commerce Way in Hanover Township, Northampton County.

Union: Strike likely soon at 1 or more Atlantic City casinos

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - The head of Atlantic City's main casino workers union said Tuesday that a strike is likely against at least one of five casinos this week.

Bob McDevitt, president of Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union, said the union remains in talks with Bally's, Caesars, Harrah's, Tropicana and the Trump Taj Mahal. All five could be hit by walkouts if contracts are not reached by Friday, ahead of the July Fourth holiday weekend.

Strike looming at Macy's iconic New York store

NEW YORK (AP) — Workers at Macy's flagship store in New York City are threatening to strike if there is no new contract by a midnight deadline.

The store, a Manhattan tourist hot spot on 34th Street, hasn't had a strike since 1972.

Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which represents the 5,000 workers including the 3,500 from the store, said contested issues include health care, unpredictable schedules, and pension plans for senior employees.

Union resumes picketing against Lutron

U PPER SAUCON TOWNSHIP — Union workers have resumed picketing outside a corporate office building in Upper Saucon Township where Lutron Electronics Co. plans to lease space.

In a one-page document signed Monday by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl in Reading, Lutron, Carpenters Local 600 and a second defendant, Northeast Regional Council of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, reached a "stipulation of dismissal" that enabled the pickets to return.

Verizon, Unions Reach Tentative Deal In Contract Dispute

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Verizon and union officials have reached a deal in principle for a four-year contract.

The agreement is being written now and the proposal will be sent to the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for ratification, said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez. Workers are expected to be back on the job next week

Verizon, Unions Set To Return To Bargaining Table

WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/AP) — Verizon and union officials representing about 39,000 striking landline and cable workers in nine eastern states and Washington, D.C. agreed to restart negotiations, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez said he met with both sides on Sunday in Washington, D.C. and said they “had an open, frank and constructive dialogue about finding a comprehensive way forward.”

PUC adds to pressures on Verizon

Pennsylvania's Public Utility Commission on Thursday cleared the way for a look into whether Verizon is properly maintaining its plants, lines, and facilities throughout the state.

In October, one of two unions now striking Verizon asked the commission to investigate what it described as hazardous conditions - broken poles, sagging cables, and ungrounded cables.

Sending call-center work overseas is a key issue in Verizon strike

At a time when Verizon's rivals Comcast and RCN Telecom Services are bringing customer-service calls back from overseas, the New York-based telecommunications giant is closing domestic call centers and sending some of the work abroad.

Verizon workers issue strike threat for Wednesday

More than 39,000 Verizon employees from Massachusetts to Virginia plan to strike at 6 a.m. Wednesday, the union leaders said Monday.

"Unless this company reconsiders its shameful demands . . . our members will be on strike," said Chris Shelton, president of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), which represents 29,000 of the workers.

The United Steelworkers union has voted roughly 5-to-1 to approve a four-year contract with Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Technologies Inc.

PITTSBURGH — The United Steelworkers union has voted roughly 5-to-1 to approve a four-year contract with Allegheny Technologies Inc. after 2,200 workers were locked out more than six months ago.

About 90 percent of the union workers affected cast votes Tuesday.

Hundreds walk off Tesla job in Nevada labor dispute

SPARKS, Nev. (AP) — Hundreds of union construction workers walked off the job at Tesla Motors' battery manufacturing plant in northern Nevada on Monday to protest what union organizers say is the increased hiring of out-of-state workers for less pay.

Approximately 350 plumbers, carpenters, electricians, painters and others walked away from the construction site Monday along U.S. Interstate 80 about 25 miles east of Reno, said Russell James, District 16 business development specialist for the Building and Construction Trades Council of Northern Nevada.

How they did it: Boeing and union strike unexpected deal

Boeing Company and its union came to a tentative agreement this week in an unexpected move long before reaching their October deadline, and without steeping in tension.