Satya Nadella's focus on empathy: will it lead to extending paid family leave and paid public holidays for suppliers employees?

In the foreword (page 13) of the second edition of his book The Other Microsoft, Philippe Boucher quoted Satya Nadella's focus on empathy. We have not had the opportunity -yet- to read   Hit refresh: The quest to rediscover Microsoft's soul and imagine a better future for everyone" but from the reviews we read he reasserts  for him the importance of empathy. We hope this empathy will contribute to expand Microsoft's initiative to have their suppliers provide 'at least 15 days of paid time off" to add paid family leave and paid public holidays that are not specifically offered now.
 You can also read this interesting interview by Jane francisco about the Nadella's family in Good Housekeeping (November 2017). A few other articles about empathy: NPR,  Business Insider,  Fortune, etc.
This is a reprint from a post on Paid Time Off Matters

Big business attacks Obama era joint employment rule from every angle

Interesting article in the Washington Examiner about joint employment.

To understand rising inequality, consider the janitors at two top companies, then and now

This article by Neil Irwin, published on September 3 in the New York Times was reproduced (not by chance) in the Sunday edition of the Seattle Times, on September 10. It explains very well how most (if not all) high tech companies did not share more of the wealth unlike previous dominant industries of the past had done.

Meeting with Lionbridge Counsel about an eventual settlement of the Unfair Labor Practices and Joint Employment NLRB charges

On July 24, 2017 we received an email from Lionbridge's counsel, Tim O'Connell about the possibility of a settlement that would include a withdrawal of the NLRB charges we filed against Lionbridge and Microsoft in December 2016. Yesterday, Tuesday August 15, a meeting took place with him in Stoel Rives Seattle's office.

There is a new CEO at Lionbridge

John Fennelly is Lionbridge new CEO effective July 24, 2017.

Find out if you are eligible for Trade Adjusting Assistance (TAA)

 TAA (Trade Adjusting Assistance) is a training assistance offered by the Department of Labor to workers who are considered eligible because they lost their jobs because of outsourcing outside of the US. 

We had started a certification procedure in February and we learned recently that the Tier1s laid off after our bargaining agreement were considered eligible for such assistance. 

There are restrictions to this offer: if you have already found a better job than the one you had with Lionbridge I don't think you can apply but if not, If you are still unemployed or if you are 'less' employed than with Lionbridge you could be eligible for help.

I cannot be more precise at this point as I am not a TAA specialist but each of you should be contacted and offered this opportunity by the Washington State Department of Labor.

The union would like to know if/when you are contacted (to check that it does happen) and what if anything is offered to you (to evaluate the value of the TAA program). Hope this help those of you who can use it and please let us know if/how it works for you.

Lionbridge Announces Stockholder Approval and Closing of Acquisition by H.I.G. Capital for about $360 million

See press release below.

Chronology 2017

January 23, 2017: The American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution launch a joint blog project: Paid family leave: an issue whose time has come

February 8, 2017: Newly created group, Pay + Leave USA launches its paid leave campaign targeting Starbucks discriminatory policies.

February 16, 2017: TWA files a petition for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA). TAA is a federal program that assists US workers who lose their jobs as a result of foreign trade, like when the worker's firm has shifted provision of services to a foreign country. "This program seeks to provide affected workers with opportunities to obtain the skills, credentials, resources and support necessary to become reemployed."