Adi Kamdar is a student at Harvard Law School.
Happy Halloween! In order to get your fright night started right, check out this list of union-made candies from the AFL-CIO.
The Washington Post reports that federal workers earn 34.07% less on average than comparable workers in the private sector. The number was derived by the Federal Salary Council, a group that oversees the General Schedule pay system that covers most government workers. This figure is around the same as it has been the last three years, which has led federal employee unions to call for higher wages, though the number has been disputed by conservative and libertarian groups (finding a 14 to 78% pay advantage) and the Congressional Budget Office (finding a 2% pay advantage).
A new poll by the National Employment Law Project found 84% of voters, both Republican and Democrat, “bristle when corporations illegally misclassify employees,” as put by the NELP’s Rebecca Smith in The Hill. These voters are in favor of policies that make it harder for companies to classify workers as independent contractors and that subject such companies to higher fines.
In Uber news, a new study from researchers at MIT, Stanford, and University of Washington found that Boston Uber drivers “canceled rides for men with black-sounding names more than twice as often as for other men” and “Black people in Seattle faced notably longer wait times for a car using Uber and Lyft Inc. than white customers,” as reported in Bloomberg. The researchers proposed fixes such as hiding passenger names and increasing repercussions to canceling rides, as well as periodic discrimination reviews. The paper researchers also noticed that “women were sometimes taken on significantly longer rides than men.”
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
February 19
Union membership increases slightly; Washington farmworker bill fails to make it out of committee; and unions in Argentina are on strike protesting President Milei’s labor reform bill.
February 18
A ruling against forced labor in CO prisons; business coalition lacks standing to challenge captive audience ban; labor unions to participate in rent strike in MN
February 17
San Francisco teachers’ strike ends; EEOC releases new guidance on telework; NFL must litigate discrimination and retaliation claims.
February 16
BLS releases jobs data; ILO hosts conference on child labor.
February 15
The Office of Personnel Management directs federal agencies to terminate their collective bargaining agreements, and Indian farmworkers engage in a one-day strike to protest a trade deal with the United States.
February 13
Sex workers in Nevada fight to become the nation’s first to unionize; industry groups push NLRB to establish a more business-friendly test for independent contractor status; and UFCW launches an anti-AI price setting in grocery store campaign.