Jacqueline Rayfield is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News and Commentary, New York Times tech workers authorize a strike, labor organizers and Palestine activists work together on college campuses, and Samsung workers continue a strike in India.
Over 600 New York Times tech workers voted yesterday to authorize a strike. Contract negotiations between their union, the New York Times Tech Guild, and the newspaper management stalled over contract topics including wages, remote work policy, and just cause protection. The Guild represents the largest union of tech workers in the country and saw an 89% participation rate in Tuesday’s vote.
Across the country, student unions and Palestinian liberation activists have been working together on college campuses since the spring. Dartmouth union members and Palestinian activists describe their collaboration: “[I]t’s the same people working for the same vision.” On Dartmouth’s campus, this collaboration launched both a student encampment and a general strike in tandem. Students hope that this model will spread to other schools and prepare for union negotiations and the ongoing struggle for Palestinian liberation in the new school year.
Unionized workers at Samsung Electric in India continue one of the largest strikes in the nation in recent years. As the strike enters its third day, union leaders insist that the strike will continue until Samsung meets key demands regarding wages and working conditions. The struck Samsung plant contributes over 20% of Samsung’s $12 billion revenue in India annually.
Daily News & Commentary
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May 22
U.S. employers spend $1.7B on union avoidance each year and the ICJ declares the right to strike a protected activity.
May 21
UAW backs legal challenge to Trump “gold card” visa; DOL requests unemployment fraud technology funding; Samsung reaches eleventh-hour union agreement.
May 20
LIRR strike ends after three-day shutdown; key senators reject Trump's proposed 26% cut to Labor Department budget; EEOC moves to eliminate employer demographic reporting requirement.
May 19
Amazon urges 11th Circuit to overturn captive-audience meeting ban; DOL scraps Biden overtime rule; SCOTUS to decide on Title IX private right of action for school employees
May 18
California Department of Justice finds conditions at ICE facilities inhumane; Second Circuit rejects race bias claim from Black and Hispanic social workers; FAA cuts air traffic controller staffing target.
May 17
UC workers avoid striking with an 11th-hour agreement; Governor Spanberger vetoes public employee collective bargaining protections; Samsung workers prepare for an 18-day strike.