Pro-worker labor bill becomes law in Nevada

(Source: International Brotherhood of Teamsters press release, June 17, 2019) 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Teamsters are hailing progress for workers after passage of a new pro-worker law in Nevada that grants its 20,000 state employees the right to collectively bargain. 

SB 135, signed by Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) on Wednesday, marks the most significant expansion of collective bargaining rights for state workers anywhere nationally in the last 16 years. These Nevada workers will now be granted the freedom to join together and stand up for better pay and working conditions on the job through negotiating with their employer.

“This is a great win for working people in Nevada,” said Jason Rabinowitz, Director of the Teamsters Public Services Division. “When workers have the freedom to join together in a union, we create good jobs in our communities and a stronger, fairer economy for all.”

“It is great for the state of Nevada. It is good for all of us,” said Larry Griffith, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 14 in Las Vegas. “We’ve been working on this a long time. Gov. Sisolak kept his word.”

The new law, which was supported by the Teamsters and other unions, comes almost a year after the Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME, which overturned forty years of judicial precedent in an effort to weaken the ability of workers to stand together in a union. The Teamsters responded to that ruling with intense organizing efforts that increased public sector membership to even higher levels than before the Janus decision.

Tuesday, June 18, 2019