A new study by Professor Tae-Youn Park of Vanderbilt University finds that unions play a significant role in helping mothers take maternity leave. According to the study, which will be published in the Industrial and Labor Relations Review, union-represented mothers are at least 17 percent more likely to take paid maternity leave than their non-unionized peers. The authors argue that unions not ... More »
Fifteen thousand steelworkers are gearing up to go on strike as workers campaign to reap some of the benefits of a recent resurgence in the steel industry supported by the Trump Administration’s steel tariffs. Steelworkers at plants owned by ArcelorMittal voted to go on strike earlier this week over ongoing contract negotiations — following a unanimous strike authorization by workers at U.S. Steel... More »
WeWork has reached a settlement agreement with the Attorneys General of New York and Illinois to remove or alter noncompete clauses included in the company’s employment contracts. Prior to the settlement, most of WeWork’s staff—including custodians, baristas, and receptionists—were contractually barred from working at competitors for a year after leaving the company. New York is one among many s... More »
Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) proposed a new rule that would narrow its joint-employer test, which would likely benefit franchisees, staffing companies, and business that utilize More »
The Trump appointees on the NLRB have proposed a new “joint employer” rule that they claim will foster “predictability and consistency.” But, it is readily apparent that the proposed rule will not accomplish these goals. The... More »
Today, the National Labor Relations Board issued a proposed rule to change its joint employer standard. The proposed rule is the latest step in the Trump Board’s tortuous path to achieving its goal of replacing the Obama Boa... More »
Workers at Marriott hotels across the country are voting to go on strike. Under the banner of “one job should be enough,” these workers — members of UNITE HERE — are calling for living wages that will enable them to support themselves and their families. Workers at the Marriott and other hotels in Chicago have been on strike for over a week, protesting seasonal layoffs and calling fo... More »
Andre Spicer argued in the Guardian this week that Amazon subjects its workers to “one of the most all-pervasive control systems in history.” The charge comes on the heels of news that Amazon holds a patent for worker cages on wheels. While the company dropped its plans for worker-cages, Spicer wrote that that company constantly tracks workers’ movements with hand-held computers and cameras, and... More »
Jobs don’t fall prey to higher minimum wages, according to researchers at U.C. Berkeley. Completing the first comprehensive empirical study of its kind, Sylvia Allegretto, Anna Godoey, Carl Nadler, and Michael Reich analyzed the impact of incremental wage increases in six cities – Chicago, D.C., Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle. The researchers intend their data “[t]o better inform p... More »
As divided as we have become as a country, we arrive at this Labor Day with a shared national understanding: both economic and political power are wildly out of balance, with dire consequences for the vast majority of Americans who find themselves on the losing end of this imbalance. Wherever we live, and however we vote, Americans know that both wealth and political influence are now radically co... More »