John Fry is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s news and commentary, the Fifth Circuit hears challenges to the NLRB; the Democratic NLRB majority may be ending soon; and building trades unions criticize the Democratic party.
A three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit heard oral arguments in two constitutional lawsuits challenging the structure of the NLRB on Monday. In both cases, brought by Amazon and SpaceX (and discussed here), the employers argued that federal district courts had “effectively denied” the companies’ motions for preliminary injunctions against the agency by failing to rule on those motions quickly enough. It was this procedural question about effective denial, and not the constitutional merits of the cases, which occupied the panel’s attention on Monday.
Lauren McFerran, the Democratic appointee who currently chairs the NLRB, faces an uncertain future, as it is still not clear whether the Senate will confirm her to another five-year term on the Board before President-elect Trump is inaugurated in January. If McFerran is re-confirmed, Democrats’ majority on the Board will be slated to last until 2026—unless Trump takes the novel step of firing the Democratic appointees, a prospect that Kevin has covered. If McFerran’s nomination is stalled, Trump will be able to appoint two new members immediately, creating a Republican majority that could quickly move to overturn Biden-era changes such as the recently announced ban on captive audience meetings.
Post-election recriminations against the Democratic party continue, as leaders of unions in the building trades accuse the Democrats of becoming culturally alienated from their members. The leaders of the Laborers’ International Union of North America and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades have noted that Democratic support for gun control and opposition to fossil-fuel pipelines may have cost the party votes among building trades workers, who are more likely to be white and conservative than union members as a whole. Even AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler—a staunch Trump detractor—acknowledged that Trump’s kitchen-table economic messaging appeared to be “almost right out of the labor unions’ playbook.”
Daily News & Commentary
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August 5
In today’s news and commentary, a pension fund wins at the Eleventh Circuit, casino unionization in Las Vegas, and DOL’s work-from-home policy changes. A pension fund for unionized retail and grocery workers won an Eleventh Circuit appeal against Perfection Bakeries, which claimed it was overcharged nearly $2 million in federal withdrawal liability. The bakery argued the […]
August 4
Trump fires head of BLS; Boeing workers authorize strike.
August 3
In today’s news and commentary, a federal court lifts an injunction on the Trump Administration’s plan to eliminate bargaining rights for federal workers, and trash collectors strike against Republic Services in Massachusetts.
August 1
The Michigan Supreme Court grants heightened judicial scrutiny over employment contracts that shorten the limitations period for filing civil rights claims; the California Labor Commission gains new enforcement power over tip theft; and a new Florida law further empowers employers issuing noncompete agreements.
July 31
EEOC sued over trans rights enforcement; railroad union opposes railroad merger; suits against NLRB slow down.
July 30
In today’s news and commentary, the First Circuit will hear oral arguments on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) revocation of parole grants for thousands of migrants; United Airlines’ flight attendants vote against a new labor contract; and the AFL-CIO files a complaint against a Trump Administrative Executive Order that strips the collective bargaining rights of the vast majority of federal workers.