Workers' rights
Pope Francis champions workers' right to organize in unions

Jun. 17, 2021 09:29 AM EDT
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is championing the right of all workers to unionize, as economic activity is poised to increase when the pandemic threat eases. ...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson waves at the media as he leaves 10 Downing Street to attend the weekly Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament, in London, Wednesday, June 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
UK to require COVID-19 shots for nursing home workers

By Danica Kirka Jun. 16, 2021 07:18 AM EDT

Workers block the entrance of a depot for German startup Gorillas, a grocery delivery company, during a protest against the firing of a colleague in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, June 10, 2021. The delivery service Gorillas now operates in dozens of cities across Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Britain, and has already set its sights on New York. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Gorilla tactics: Berlin delivery riders take on $1B startup

By Frank Jordans Jun. 13, 2021 03:33 AM EDT

Employees of a Smithfield pork processing plant register to vote Thursday, June 3, 2021, on a contract offer from the company at the union's office in Sioux Falls, S.D. The union voted overwhelmingly against it, escalating labor negotiations. (AP Photo/Stephen Groves)
Labor negotiations escalate at South Dakota pork plant

By Stephen Groves Jun. 04, 2021 02:50 PM EDT

Major labor unions back California governor in likely recall

By Kathleen Ronayne Jun. 01, 2021 05:12 PM EDT
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California labor unions representing workers in manufacturing, retail, grocery stores, hospitality, health care and other businesses...

A car is driven past a billboard showing machines harvesting cotton outside a Huafu Fashion plant, as seen during a government organized trip for foreign journalists, in Aksu in western China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Tuesday, April 20, 2021. A backlash against reports of forced labor and other abuses of the largely Muslim Uyghur ethnic group in Xinjiang is taking a toll on China's cotton industry, but it's unclear if the pressure will compel the government or companies to change their ways. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Factory boss defiant as sanctions bite in China's Xinjiang

By Ken Moritsugu And Dake Kang May. 25, 2021 12:11 AM EDT

A delivery worker rides his bike in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, May 11, 2021. Spain has approved a pioneering law that gives delivery platforms a mid-August deadline to hire the workers currently freelancing for them and that requires transparency of artificial intelligence to manage workforces. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Spain adopts landmark law to protect 'gig' delivery workers

By Aritz Parra And Renata Brito May. 11, 2021 11:24 AM EDT

Former Amazon worker files Colorado whistleblower complaint

By Patty Nieberg May. 07, 2021 04:38 PM EDT
DENVER (AP) — A former Amazon warehouse worker has filed a complaint with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment against Amazon over its COVID-19...

Protesters chant slogans as they walk towards a police barricade blocking Taksim Square in central Istanbul during May Day protests, Saturday, May 1, 2021. Police in Istanbul detained several demonstrators who tried to march toward Istanbul's symbolic Taksim Square in defiance of the protests ban and the strict lockdown imposed by the government due to the coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
May Day protesters demand more job protections amid pandemic

By Nicholas Garriga, Niniek Karmini And John Leicester May. 01, 2021 08:44 AM EDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 30, 2021 file photo, a banner encouraging workers to vote in labor balloting is shown at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala. Amazon workers voted against forming a union, Friday, April 9, in Alabama, handing the online retail giant a decisive victory and cutting off a path that labor activists had hoped would lead to similar efforts throughout the company and beyond. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves, File)
Amazon warehouse workers reject union bid in Alabama

By Joseph Pisani, Alexandra Olson And Anne D'innocenzio Apr. 09, 2021 11:32 AM EDT

A banner encouraging workers to vote in labor balloting is shown at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., on Tuesday, March 30, 2021. Organizers are pushing for some 6,000 Amazon workers to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union on the promise it will lead to better working conditions, better pay and more respect. Amazon is pushing back, arguing that it already offers more than twice the minimum wage in Alabama and workers get such benefits as health care, vision and dental insurance without paying union dues. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
'Lighting a fuse': Amazon vote may spark more union pushes

By Joseph Pisani And Bill Barrow Mar. 30, 2021 10:17 AM EDT

FILE - This Thursday, Dec. 18, 2020 file photo shows a general view of the Al Rayyan stadium during the opening ceremony in Al Rayyan, Qatar. A look at the state of play in Qatar's preparations for the 2022 World Cup amid ongoing criticism of the host nation as qualifying in Europe begins. (AP Photo/Hussein Sayed, file)
EXPLAINER: Qatar prepares for World Cup amid rights concerns

By Rob Harris Mar. 23, 2021 06:30 PM EDT

FILE - In this Sept. 29, 2015, file photo, workers in the Great Forever factory stitch clothes in the Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone outside Yangon, Myanmar. Garment workers in Myanmar are urging major international brands to denounce the recent military coup there and put more pressure on factories to protect workers from being fired or harassed - or worse arrested and killed for participating in protests. (AP Photo,File)
Myanmar garment workers urge global brands to denounce coup

By Anne D'innocenzio And Elaine Kurtenbach Mar. 19, 2021 07:10 AM EDT

FILE - In this June 15, 2020, file photo, is an overhead view of the Senate chambers in the State Capitol in Denver. A Colorado state Senate panel is hearing testimony on a bill to grant minimum wage and overtime rights to thousands of farmworkers and allow those workers to organize and join labor unions. The bill, sponsored by three Democrat lawmakers, would regulate working hours for overtime, rest and eating breaks, and guarantee farmworkers living space that conforms with health guidelines to stem the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, file)
Colorado Senate panel advances farmworker wages, rights bill

By James Anderson Mar. 17, 2021 05:54 PM EDT

FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021 file photo, people are reflected on a puddle as they walk in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican. The Vatican is taking Pope Francis’ pro-vaccine stance very seriously: Any Vatican employee who refuses to get a coronavirus shot without valid medical reason risks being fired. A Feb. 8 decree signed by the governor of the Vatican City State sparked heated debate Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021 since its provisions go well beyond the generally voluntary nature of COVID-19 vaccinations in Italy and much of the rest of the world. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
Anti-vax at the Vatican? You might lose your job

By Nicole Winfield Feb. 18, 2021 10:36 AM EST

FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2021 file photo, President Joe Biden signs a series of executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Biden campaigned on raising the national minimum wage to $15 per hour and attached a proposal doing just that to the $1.9 trillion coronavirus pandemic relief bill. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Biden faces questions about commitment to minimum wage hike

By Will Weissert And Alexandra Jaffe Feb. 15, 2021 08:35 AM EST

A food delivery worker and office workers wearing face masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus wait to cross a street in Beijing on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. The e-commerce workers and delivery people who kept China fed during the pandemic, making their billionaire bosses even richer, are so unhappy with their pay and treatment that one just set himself on fire in protest. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Deaths, self-immolation draw scrutiny on China tech giants

By Zen Soo Jan. 17, 2021 01:05 AM EST

FILE- In this Aug. 3, 2017, file photo the Dollar General store is pictured in Luther, Okla. As vaccinations continue across the U.S., some companies are offering financial incentives to encourage their workers to get the shots. Dollar General is one of the first major companies to announce extra pay for workers who get vaccinated. The Tennessee-based retailer said Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021 it will give employees the equivalent of four hours of pay if they get the vaccine. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
Instacart, others push incentives to get workers vaccinated

By Alexandra Olson And Dee-Ann Durbin Jan. 14, 2021 11:32 AM EST

FILE - In this March 13, 2020 file photo, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh talks about the postponement of the Boston Marathon during a news conference, in Boston. President-elect Joe Biden has selected Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as his labor secretary, choosing a former union worker who shares his Irish American background and working-class roots. The 53-year-old Walsh has served as the Democratic mayor of Boston since 2014. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Biden picks Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as labor secretary

By Steve Leblanc And Aamer Madhani Jan. 07, 2021 02:27 PM EST

President-elect Joe Biden speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, to announce key nominees for the Justice Department. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Biden picks Boston Mayor Marty Walsh as labor secretary

By Steve Leblanc Jan. 07, 2021 02:21 PM EST