
Sunah Chang is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s news and commentary: union leaders leave a mark at the DNC and a federal judge in Texas blocks the FTC’s noncompete ban.
Yesterday, leaders from several major unions spoke at the first night of the Democratic National Convention to express their support for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. The lineup included AFSCME President Lee Saunders, SEIU President April Verrett, LiUNA President Brent Booker, IBEW President Kenneth W. Cooper, CWA President Claude Cummings Jr., AFL-CIO President Elizabeth H. Shuler, and UAW President Shawn Fain. Many of the union leaders spoke favorably about the legacy of the Biden-Harris administration and identified Harris as an ally for union workers. Shuler noted that Trump’s policies were a “CEO’s dream, but a worker’s nightmare.” Fain, who appeared on stage sporting a “Trump is a scab” shirt, stated that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz “have stood shoulder to shoulder with the working class” whereas Trump and Vance represented “two lap dogs for the billionaire class who only serves themselves.” Meanwhile, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, who spoke at the RNC last month, was absent from the DNC. The Teamsters have yet to offer an endorsement to any party for the upcoming presidential race.
Labor’s large presence on the DNC stage seems to reflect the Democratic Party’s amplified efforts to win back rank-and-file union members who have shifted toward the Republican Party in recent years. Since the early days of her nascent presidential campaign, Harris has been meeting with top labor leaders across sectors in the hopes of cementing their support. Harris has also agreed to meet with the Teamsters in the near future for a private roundtable discussion.
Over in Texas, a federal judge has upheld a challenge to the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on noncompete agreements. The court ruled that the noncompete rule exceeded the FTC’s authority to enforce antitrust laws. The opinion stated, “The Commission’s lack of evidence as to why they chose to impose such a sweeping prohibition . . . instead of targeting specific, harmful non-competes, renders the Rule arbitrary and capricious.” In response to the court decision, an FTC spokesperson expressed disappointment and mentioned that the agency was considering an appeal. The spokesperson stated that the FTC would “keep fighting to stop noncompetes that restrict the economic liberty of hardworking Americans, hamper economic growth, limit innovation and depress wages.”
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September 26
Trump’s DOL seeks to roll back a rule granting FLSA protections to domestic care workers; the Second Circuit allows a claim of hostile work environment created by DEI trainings to proceed; and a GAO report finds alarming levels of sexual abuse in high school Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps programs.
September 25
Fenway workers allege retaliation; fired Washington Post columnist files grievance; Trump administration previews mass firings from government shutdown.
September 24
The Trump administration proposes an overhaul to the H-1B process conditioning entry to the United States on a $100,000 fee; Amazon sues the New York State Public Employment Relations Board over a state law that claims authority over private-sector labor disputes; and Mayor Karen Bass signs an agreement with labor unions that protects Los Angeles city workers from layoffs.
September 23
EEOC plans to close pending worker charges based solely on unintentional discrimination claims; NLRB holds that Starbucks violated federal labor law by firing baristas at a Madison, Wisconsin café.
September 22
Missouri lawmakers attack pro-worker ballot initiatives, shortcomings in California rideshare deal, some sexual misconduct claimants prefer arbitration.
September 21
USFS and California seek to improve firefighter safety, Massachusetts pay transparency law to take effect, and Trump adds new hurdles for H-1B visa applicants