
Henry Green is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s news and commentary, Lori Chavez-Deremer’s confirmation hearing, striking King Soopers workers return to the bargaining table, and UAW members at Rolls-Royce authorize a strike.
Lori Chavez-Deremer, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Labor, faces a Senate confirmation hearing today. Chavez-Deremer may face more No votes from Republicans than other Trump cabinet members. Rand Paul, a senior member on the committee that must advance her nomination, called for her to publicly renounce her support for the PRO Act. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said he could support Chavez-Deremer if she comes out as “pro-right-to-work.” Across the aisle, John Fetterman has said he will support Chavez-Deremer, meaning she can lose as many as four Republicans and still be confirmed.
Striking King Soopers workers will return to the bargaining table, UFCW Local 7 announced Monday night. The workers had been on strike since February 6, after their contract ended January 17. Striking workers risked losing health insurance coverage starting in April if the strike continued; under the return-to-work agreement, King Soopers agreed to maintain their coverage. King Soopers is a Colorado grocery chain owned by Kroger. Local 7 is also negotiating a new contract with Albertsons, which attempted to merge with Kroger last year.
UAW members at a Rolls-Royce plant in Indianapolis have authorized a strike if necessary as their contract’s expiration date approaches. The Rolls-Royce complex employs over 800 members of UAW Local 933 and “is the primary Rolls-Royce facility making aircraft engines for U.S. government contracts,” according to a UAW press release. The workers’ contract expires on February 26. On Thursday, workers voted by 99.5% to authorize a strike, with 86% of the membership participating in the vote. A UAW video calls for ending tiers and notes that new employees at the plant pay as much as $16,000 a year for health insurance.
Daily News & Commentary
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August 28
contested election for UAW at Kentucky battery plant; NLRB down to one member; public approval of unions remains high.
August 27
The U.S. Department of Justice welcomes new hires and forces reassignments in the Civil Rights Division; the Ninth Circuit hears oral arguments in Brown v. Alaska Airlines Inc.; and Amazon violates federal labor law at its air cargo facility in Kentucky.
August 26
Park employees at Yosemite vote to unionize; Philadelphia teachers reach tentative three-year agreement; a new report finds California’s union coverage remains steady even as national union density declines.
August 25
Consequences of SpaceX decision, AI may undermine white-collar overtime exemptions, Sixth Circuit heightens standard for client harassment.
August 24
HHS cancels union contracts, the California Supreme Court rules on minimum wage violations, and jobless claims rise
August 22
Musk and X move to settle a $500 million severance case; the Ninth Circuit stays an order postponing Temporary Protection Status terminations for migrants from Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal; the Sixth Circuit clarifies that an FMLA “estimate” doesn’t hard-cap unforeseeable intermittent leave.