OnLabor

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Author:Whitney Benns

March 3, 2015
News & Commentary

Whitney Benns

According to The Wisconsin State Journal, Wisconsin law makers will likely vote Thursday on a proposed bill that would strip private unions in that state of their ability to charge mandatory fees of all workers that they represent. Such laws are commonly called “right-to-work” laws, which we posted an explainer about yesterday. Because unions are bound […]

February 17, 2015
News & Commentary

Whitney Benns

In continued coverage of the West Coast seaport labor dispute, Department of Labor Secretary Thomas Perez is meeting with negotiators on both sides of the dispute today in San Francisco, The Washington Post reports. Negotiations between dockworkers and their employers have been in stalemate for weeks. This weekend, employers locked out workers that would typically […]

Local Government Law: Friend or Foe in the Fight for $15 and Minimum Wage Reform?

Feb 16, 2015 Whitney Benns

President Obama and the Department of Labor continue to advocate for a federal minimum wage hike—the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009—attempting to use the President’s Executive Order raising the minimum wage to $10.10 for federal contractors as a model. Reform at the national level has remained unsurprisingly gridlocked. However, there has been […]

February 3, 2015
News & Commentary

Whitney Benns

The roster for potential GOP 2016 presidential candidates continues to grow, and while unions are not thrilled with any of the prospects, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker garners particular distain, NPR reports. Gov. Walker has indicated interest, and has made known that were he to run (and all signs say he will), the centerpiece of his […]

January 20, 2015
News & Commentary

Whitney Benns

In tonight’s State of the Union address, the President is expected to give significant airtime to his administration’s labor policy proposals, such as the major initiative to expand paid sick leave (in which the United States trails most developed nations) and overtime pay for federal and private sector workers, Politico reports. Other labor policies expected […]

December 23, 2014
News & Commentary

Whitney Benns

A set back for efforts to achieve minimum wages and overtime for health care workers was delivered in the opinion of U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who struck down Labor Department regulations that would have meant higher pay for some health care workers, The Washington Post reports. Under Judge Leon’s Monday ruling, “home care agencies […]

November 25, 2014
News & Commentary

Whitney Benns

Union leaders issued statements following last night’s release of the Missouri grand jury’s decision not to indict Darren Wilson, a white police officer who shot and killed unarmed black youth Michael Brown in Ferguson more than three months ago. SEIU President Mary Kay Henry: “Black lives matter. Brown lives matter. All lives matter. The dream […]

November 11, 2014
News & Commentary

Whitney Benns

The employment situation report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics tells the same story that we have heard many times about the economic environment of 2014. Said simply, while job growth has accelerated, and the recovery continues to pick up steam, there appears to be little indication of wage pressure generating the wage increases that workers have […]

A Primer: The Impact of Recent Law on Union Political Participation

Oct 29, 2014 Whitney Benns

With Election Day less than a week away, campaigns efforts’ to mobilize and persuade voters all over the country are in full swing. But it is not just campaigns that are striving to influence voters’ decisions; corporations, individuals, issue-oriented organizations and unions are all weighing in on candidates and initiatives through ad buys, campaign contributions […]

October 28, 2014
News & Commentary

Whitney Benns

Where can you move to get paid living wages as a fast food worker? Denmark. The New York Times article, “Living Wages Rarity for U.S. Fast Food Workers, Served Up in Denmark,” outlines the disparity in what workers at international fast food chains like Burger King are making in Denmark, where the base wage for […]

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OnLabor

Law. Workers. Organizing.

OnLabor is a blog devoted to workers, unions, and their politics. We interpret our subject broadly to include the current crisis in the traditional union movement (why union decline is happening and what it means for our society); the new and contested forms of worker organization that are filling the labor union gap; how work ought to be structured and managed; how workers ought to be represented and compensated; and the appropriate role of government — all three branches — in each of these issues.

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March 3, 2015

February 17, 2015

Local Government Law: Friend or Foe in the Fight for $15 and Minimum Wage Reform?

February 3, 2015

January 20, 2015

December 23, 2014

November 25, 2014

November 11, 2014

A Primer: The Impact of Recent Law on Union Political Participation

October 28, 2014