Jon Weinberg is a student at Harvard Law School.
The Supreme Court hears oral arguments tomorrow in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, the First Amendment challenge to compulsory government worker union agency fees. Adam Liptak previews the case for The New York Times, and Alana Semuels for The Atlantic. The New York Times published an editorial calling on the Court to preserve precedent allowing “fair-share fees.” OnLabor has extensively covered the briefs and movement leading to oral arguments.
The American labor market continues to impress. USA Today reports that “the federal government reported that 292,000 new jobs were created last month — way above the 200,000 jobs forecast by economists. To add to the upbeat message, the government revised up its job count in November by 41,000 and October by 9,000. That’s an additional 50,000 new jobs. For a third straight month, the nation’s unemployment rate stayed steady at 5%.”
Is the medical profession ripe for unionization? The New York Times published a story on doctors in Oregon who unionized after the hospital where they worked announced plans to outsource their jobs to a staffing company.
Daily News & Commentary
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November 24
Labor leaders criticize tariffs; White House cancels jobs report; and student organizers launch chaperone program for noncitizens.
November 23
Workers at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority vote to authorize a strike; Washington State legislators consider a bill empowering public employees to bargain over workplace AI implementation; and University of California workers engage in a two-day strike.
November 21
The “Big Three” record labels make a deal with an AI music streaming startup; 30 stores join the now week-old Starbucks Workers United strike; and the Mine Safety and Health Administration draws scrutiny over a recent worker death.
November 20
Law professors file brief in Slaughter; New York appeals court hears arguments about blog post firing; Senate committee delays consideration of NLRB nominee.
November 19
A federal judge blocks the Trump administration’s efforts to cancel the collective bargaining rights of workers at the U.S. Agency for Global Media; Representative Jared Golden secures 218 signatures for a bill that would repeal a Trump administration executive order stripping federal workers of their collective bargaining rights; and Dallas residents sue the City of Dallas in hopes of declaring hundreds of ordinances that ban bias against LGBTQ+ individuals void.
November 18
A federal judge pressed DOJ lawyers to define “illegal” DEI programs; Peco Foods prevails in ERISA challenge over 401(k) forfeitures; D.C. court restores collective bargaining rights for Voice of America workers; Rep. Jared Golden secures House vote on restoring federal workers' union rights.