The Biden administration is proposing a new rule that would make 3.6 million more U.S. workers eligible for overtime pay, reviving an Obama-era policy effort that was ultimately scuttled in court.

The union organizing Starbucks workers says a strike timed to Pride month closed 21 stores over the weekend, including the company’s flagship Reserve Roastery in Seattle.

Vietnamese workers helping construct the first Chinese car tire factory in Europe say they're shivering in barracks without heat, going hungry and stuck in a plainland in Serbia because their passports have been taken by their Chinese employer.

But in most states, meatpacking workers are still waiting for their turn to be vaccinated and are ranked behind health care workers, residents of long-term care centers and people aged 65 and older. Marc Perrone, UCFW president, argues that meatpacking workers, grocery store employees and other essential workers should be vaccinated ahead of older people who don’t have other health conditions. In a recent union survey that also included grocery and other food production workers, 70% of respondents said they want to be vaccinated. The UFCW, which represents roughly 80% of the nation’s beef and pork workers and 33% of its poultry workers, estimates that at least 21,900 meatpacking workers have been infected or exposed, and 132 have died of COVID-19. “Meatpacking workers like me are still facing risks every day.”___Associated Press writer Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, contributed to this report.

SAN ANTONIO – Frontline workers, hospital staff, and health care professionals have been bearing the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic since the United States declared it a public health emergency last January. Health care professionals are now experiencing the same level of trauma as their patients. I mean, this has been a year-long battle environment for health care workers,” Miller said. Esperanza Glen, an emergency department unit clerk, said her health reached a critical point after testing positive for COVID-19. Some said it’s a relief to just talk about what they’re going through.

Workers prepare mail-in ballots for counting, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, at the convention center in Lancaster, Pa., following Tuesday's election. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)If you need help with the Public File, call 210-351-1241.

In every recession since the 1970s, older workers had persistently lower unemployment rates than midcareer workers — partly because of seniority benefits. But in the current recession, older workers experienced higher unemployment rates than midcareer workers in each month since the onset of the pandemic. The older workers’ unemployment rates from April through September were 1.1 percentage points higher than mid-career workers — at 9.7% versus 8.6%. “The higher rate of unemployment for older workers might be because this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for employers to shed older workers and not fear investigation by the labor department," Ghilarducci said. The researchers who conducted the new study recommended that Congress increase and extend unemployment benefits for older workers, discourage withdrawals from retirement accounts, lower Medicare eligibility to 50 and create a federal Older Workers Bureau to promote the welfare of older workers.

Workers at popular local restaurant co-exist with 'ghosts'Published: October 24, 2019, 8:03 amWhether it’s in the middle of a busy workday or after hours, some employees at Guillermo’s say they never feel alone inside the popular restaurant, located north of downtown.

'While You Were Sleeping': Workers at popular local restaurant co-exist with 'ghosts'Published: October 24, 2019, 7:52 amWhether it’s in the middle of a busy workday or after hours, some employees at Guillermo’s say they never feel alone inside the popular restaurant, located north of downtown.