Labor

Gas and electricity provider Unitil is facing a federal lawsuit over its overtime policies. 

The U.S. Department of Labor alleges that Unitil, which serves customers in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire,  failed to pay overtime rates to at least 50 different employees, including electrical dispatchers and gas controllers. 

New Hampshire ranks 3rd in employment as of April 2019, with an unemployment rate at 2.4%.

It may seem like an ideal situation, but sectors of the local economy are struggling, and many Granite Staters are underemployed or unemployed. 

As employers complain about a labor shortage and a tight job market, they may be overlooking a large group of potential workers that face certain barriers or stigmas – among them, people with criminal records or who are in recovery, recent immigrants, older workers, or people with disabilities.

The Exchange is spending four days discussing the workforce challenges in the state, starting Monday, May 20th. Read on for information about each show, and to find links to each program. 

On a 210-145 vote, Democrats passed a bill on Thursday in the N.H. House that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $12 an hour.

Democrats began their push this session to raise New Hampshire’s minimum wage during hearings at the Statehouse on Tuesday.

Lawmakers are considering three different bills that would each take a different approach to increasing the state’s rate, which currently stands at $7.25 an hour.

Backers of Right to Work legislation in New Hampshire are praising Thursday’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Janus v. AFSCME. In a 5-4 decision, the justices ruled that public sector unions cannot charge non-members for the costs of collective bargaining.

Many seasonal businesses in New Hampshire take advantage of temporary worker visas to fill open jobs. But as the summer tourism season approaches, employers say they're still understaffed.

Russ Hart owns Hart’s Turkey Farm restaurant in Meredith. He's requested 18 temporary H-2B visas for the busy season but so far only has eight.

The Westinghouse Electric Company has locked out 172 union employees at its Newington plant following a breakdown in contract negotiations.

Members of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers were notified of the lockout Sunday night after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on a new employment contract.

New Hampshire’s unemployment rate went up slightly to 2.8% in March, up from 2.7% in February. New data from the state’s Employment Security office shows modest job losses in education, retail and finance, while construction and manufacturing were basically flat.

A New Hampshire House Committee is recommending against passage of Right-to- Work legislation, which would prohibit unions from forcing non-union members to pay fees to cover the cost of collective bargaining.

Members of the House Labor Committee voted 14-7, with many Republicans joining Democrats in opposition to the often partisan issue.

The bill next heads to the full House, which will take up the measure next week.

Hundreds of opponents filled Representatives Hall in Concord Wednesday, many wearing red t-shirts, to voice their concerns to lawmakers.

Parents, doctors and child advocacy groups are urging New Hampshire lawmakers to support paid family and medical leave and help reduce the costs of child care.

Supporters of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy lobbied representatives Thursday on two bills. One would establish a family and medical leave insurance fund allowing for up to 12 weeks of paid leave. The other would add $15 million to the state budget to help families pay for child care.

New Hampshire lawmakers are again debating Right-to-Work laws, with bills currently moving through both the House and Senate. With Republican majorities in both chambers, and a newly-elected governor who favors Right-to-Work, the policy stands its best chance of passing in more than a decade.

But Right-to-Work isn’t exactly a kitchen-table kind of issue. If you aren’t in a union, or a large business owner, you may not know much about its history, what Right-to-Work does, or why it matters.

A public hearing on Right-to-Work legislation drew hundreds of people to the statehouse, with public comments lasting more than four hours.

  The U.S. Department of Labor is looking to gather wage data for New Hampshire’s building and construction industries. 

A federal judge has ruled against a former state employee who claimed she was fired from the Department of Health and Human Services for trying to breast-feed her child during the workday.

The Concord Monitor reports a judge ruled last month that Katherine Frederick was provided breaks and a private place to express milk, as required by law. The judge called the Department's policy "stingy," but noted it didn't violate any laws by refusing to let her breastfeed either in the lactation room or a short distance away.

The Hannaford supermarket chain is settling a dispute with the federal Department of Labor with a promise to institute new worker protection standards at two distribution centers.

The labor department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Hannaford for failing to keep distribution centers in Schodack Landing, New York, and South Portland, Maine, free from hazards that can cause disorders of the muscular and skeletal systems. The citation came after inspections in 2013 and 2014.

The New Hampshire chapter of the AFL-CIO is about to get a new president, the first since 1989.

Glenn Brackett, business agent of the IBEW Local 2320, takes over July 1, succeeding Mark MacKenzie after an election challenge was resolved.

In May, MacKenzie was re-elected at a state convention after ballots representing nearly 700 votes were ruled "spoiled;" they were marked with check marks instead of X's, as required by election rules.

Update 5/16 11:19 am: In a statement this week, the cooperative society's director of communications, Allan Reetz, told NHPR that the organization has "and will continue to follow the mandates of the National Labor Relations Act.  While we will continue to treat employees of the Co-op with courtesy and respect, we are hopeful that union organizers will, as well." 

The original story follows: 

A national labor union is taking a dispute with a group of New Hampshire food cooperatives to a federal agency.