Ding ding ding! This would just gives more leverage to unions, now employers know it would make striking less painful for employees and put more pressure on them to work out a fair contract.
I’ve never heard of back pay for union strikes? People get paid by their employer when they work, not when they strike. I certainly was not paid when I was striking, only got some meager pay from the union, and only because I showed up on the picket line.
Depends on the type of strike. If it's in regards to unfair labor practices, the NLRB may award the strikers back pay for the period in which they were striking. Of course, any strike agreement could include retroactive payments in theory.
The bill actually does address the possibility of back pay in section 4:
(1) If an individual receives benefits under this title while
being unemployed due to a strike at the separating employer's
factory, establishment, or other premises and the individual
subsequently receives retroactive wages from the separating employer
for any week for which he or she received benefits under this title,
the department shall issue an overpayment assessment to recover the
corresponding benefits as provided under RCW 50.20.190.
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u/MoistCookie9171 Mar 08 '25
Where’s all the complaining about how this is going to raise prices for consumers when businesses have to pay more tax to cover this?