Martin Drake is a student at Harvard Law School.
Workers from the D.C. Metro system’s largest union voted to authorize a strike yesterday, the Washington Post reports. Union members approved the potential strike by a 94 percent margin. Union leaders have yet to say whether they will go forward with the strike now that they have authorization. The strike would significantly disrupt a transit system that serves about 1 million people a day.
Tesla employees say they were ordered to walk through raw sewage in order to meet their production goals, Bloomberg reports. Dennis Duran, who works in Tesla’s paint shop at the company’s Fremont factory, says that raw sewage spilled onto to the floor and he and several colleagues were told to walk through it to “keep the line moving.” Duran supports unionization efforts at the car manufacturer. The Fremont factory is under three separate open investigations by California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
European Amazon workers have walked off the job to protest the company’s tough working conditions, Forbes reports. Amazon workers in Italy, France, England, Germany and Poland have all joined the walkout, which started on Tuesday in Spain. The walkout came in anticipation of today, known as “Prime Day,” one of the Amazon’s highest volume days of the year. Online workers, gamers, and shoppers plan to boycott Amazon today in solidarity with the striking workers.
Employees at Deloitte are calling for their company to stop providing consulting services to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the New York Times reports. A petition circulated by Deloitte employees asks the company’s chief executive, Cathy Engelbert, to end all contracts with both ICE and United States Customs and Border Protection. The document also calls on Engelbert to publicly denounce the Trump Administration policy of separating migrant children from their parents. The news comes just after the consulting giant’s competitor, McKinsey & Company, cut its own contracts with ICE.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
August 16
New documents show that federal surveillance operations targeted Minnesota labor unions during the ICE surge, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission denies halting federal class discrimination complaints.
August 14
Hollywood unions diverge in response to the Paramount-Warner merger saga; Tesla defeats a years-long strike in Sweden, and labor scholars advocate for state sectoral bargaining policy innovation.
August 13
EEOC complaint process expected to harm federal workers; former UAW leaders endorse Fain challenger; Xbox employees protest layoffs.
August 12
Third Circuit affirms dismissal of driver’s bias and retaliation claims against CBS and Teamsters; employment litigation surges in Washington state; MIT Sloan professor argues the rise of “disposable workers” is transforming American employment.
August 11
Rideshare drivers nearing union certification in California; UFCW campaigns against electronic shelf labels; Teamsters support NYC delivery driver bill.
August 10
Employee sues for a fossil-fuel-free 401(k) plan as a religious accommodation; DHS submits a proposed rule eliminating 60-day grace period for H-1B workers; Eighth Circuit dismisses constitutional challenge to the FMSHRC.