In art news, labor relations at the Metropolitan Opera continue to deteriorate, according to the New York Times. On Wednesday, the Met informed its workers that they would be locked out if a contract wasn’t reached by the end of the next week. Contracts with 15 of the 16 unions at the Met expire on July 31. Management has been pushing for reduced pay and benefits, while representatives of the union argue that management has not negotiated in good faith. We’ve covered the Met’s labor disputes before, including here and here.
Detroit moved forward with its bankruptcy plan this week, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Journal reports that retirees who hold city pensions approved a cut to their benefits, contingent on funders making available $816 million to strengthen the pension accounts. According to the Detroit News, some other classes of creditors rejected the bankruptcy plan, and will need to resolve their dispute in court. Our explainer on Detroit’s bankruptcy plan is available here.
In California, the California Nurses Association is preparing for difficult contract negotiations with Kaiser Health, the largest hospital system in the state, according to NPR. The four-year contract expires soon, and the union expects the hospital system to request cuts in wages in benefits.
Daily News & Commentary
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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 […]