Gilbert Placeres is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News & Commentary, the UAW’s federal monitor criticized for involving himself in the Union’s Gaza stance, EPA staffers win scientific integrity protections, and a DOJ working group asks for stronger federal protections against sexual misconduct.
In In These Times, former Congressman Andy Levin and law professor Sanjukta Paul ask why the UAW’s federal monitor is involving himself in the Union’s stance against Israel’s actions in Gaza. The monitor was appointed by a federal judge in 2021 as part of a settlement to resolve fraud and corruption charges against the Union and several of its officers. (The charges concerned a bribery and kickback scheme between Union officials and Chrysler (now Stellantis). Another provision of the settlement was direct elections, the first of which led to the rise of a reform slate and current President Shawn Fain.) Although the monitor’s scope is related to those charges, he has twice expressed concern to the UAW about their stance against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. First, he called Fain personally and, later, forwarded a letter from the Anti-Defamation League. Levin and Paul argue the monitor has unethically used his position to influence the Union and the judge should seriously consider replacing him.
Staff at the Environmental Protection Agency ratified a new contract that aims to insulate their scientific work from inappropriate interference, including political meddling. Staffers will now be protected from retaliation in reporting scientific integrity violations. The move is seen as aimed to guard against a potential second Trump presidency and the targeting of civil service protections that could follow.
Elsewhere in the federal workforce, a Justice Department working group wrote a letter urging the Biden administration to take action against sexual misconduct in federal workplaces. The DOJ Gender Equality Network argues there are not currently adequate response systems to sexual misconduct across all federal agencies. The letter comes after a string of federal sexual misconduct reports, including at the Drug Enforcement Agency. The group calls for regular climate surveys and centralized reporting systems and investigations.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
March 13
Republican Senators urge changes on OSHA heat standard; OpenAI and building trades announce partnership on data center construction; forced labor investigations could lead to new tariffs
March 12
EPA terminates contract with second-largest union; Florida advances bill restricting public sector unions; Trump administration seeks Supreme Court assistance in TPS termination.
March 11
The partial government shutdown results in TSA agents losing their first full paycheck; the Fifth Circuit upholds the certification of a class of former United Airline workers who were placed on unpaid leave for declining to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for religious reasons during the pandemic; and an academic group files a lawsuit against the State Department over a policy that revokes and denies visas to noncitizens for their work in fact-checking and content moderation.
March 10
Court rules Kari Lake unlawfully led USAGM, voiding mass layoffs; Florida Senate passes bill tightening union recertification rules; Fifth Circuit revives whistleblower suit against Lockheed Martin.
March 9
6th Circuit rejects Cemex, Board may overrule precedents with two members.
March 8
In today’s news and commentary, a weak jobs report, the NIH decides it will no longer recognize a research fellows’ union, and WNBA contract talks continue to stall as season approaches. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that employers cut 92,000 jobs in February while the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.4 percent. A loss […]