In an interview with the Washington Post, Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez sought to push back on claims that the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal currently being considered by Congress would hurt American workers. Perez argued that unlike previous agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, the TPP would “bake labor provisions into the core of the agreement.” Moreover, he said, by requiring improved labor rights in countries like Vietnam that currently have few protections for workers, the deal would drive up wages for foreign workers, thus increasing U.S. exports.
A year after the United Auto Workers lost a certification election at a Tennessee Volkswagen plant, the union has not given up on organizing the plant’s workers, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The UAW claims that it has the support of more than half of the plant’s workers and has asked Volkswagen to recognize it as the employees’ bargaining representative via card check. The union argued that outside interference tainted last year’s election. Meanwhile, a rival group, the American Council of Employees, is seeking to establish a European-style works council at the plant.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the Los Angeles Unified Board of Education has unanimously approved a tentative agreement with the teachers’ union. The agreement “would give the teachers a 10% raise over two years—their first pay increase in eight years.” The agreement heads off the threat of a strike after months of tension. The president of the union called the deal “a fair agreement that brings us closer to the schools that L.A. students deserve.”
The Associated Press reports that despite federal laws banning the import of good made with forced labor, the U.S. has continued to import seafood caught by slave laborers from Thailand. Some experts have blamed two major loopholes in the law for ongoing problem: First, “[g]oods made with forced labor must be allowed into the U.S. if consumer demand cannot be met without them.” And second, “it’s hard, if not impossible, to prove fish in a particular container is tainted, because different batches generally mix together at processing plants.” However, the report also found that the federal government has “spared Thailand from sanctions slapped on other countries with similar records because of a complex political relationship that includes cooperation against terrorism.”
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August 23
NLRB: Amazon is joint employer of drivers; UAW threatens Stellantis strike; Canada intervenes in railway labor dispute.
August 22
Dartmouth College players union files an unfair labor charge and two prominent Canadian Railways are planning to institute worker lockouts.
August 21
Cornell workers on strike; California public agencies exempted from labor suits; Democrats push USPS for worker heat protections
August 20
Union leaders speak at the DNC; federal judge blocks the FTC’s noncompete ban.
August 19
DOL defends its new independent contractor rule in five separate lawsuits brought in courts around the country; AT&T workers across the Southeast are striking after alleged unfair labor practice during contract negotiations; UAW President Shawn Fain is slated to speak tonight at the opening of the Democratic National Convention
August 18
Harris to meet with Teamsters leadership; California captive audience ban clears hurdle; Texas sues EEOC over transgender employee guidance.