Vivian Dong is a student at Harvard Law School.
The AFL-CIO re-elected Richard Trumka for a third term as the labor federation’s president last night at a national convention in St. Louis, MO. Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler and Executive Vice President Tefere Gebre were also re-elected. The three, who together form the trio at the helm of the union’s leadership, ran unopposed. The union faces grim political circumstances, with a new pro-management NLRB, and the Supreme Court poised to ban mandatory public-sector union fees in Janus later this year. Nonetheless, Trumka promised that “whether it’s political action, legislation, or collective bargaining, you’re going to see a unity from the labor movement that you haven’t seen in decades.”
European Union states failed to reach an agreement yesterday on reforms to the bloc’s rules on the “posting of workers.” A “posted worker” is “an employee who is sent by his employer to carry out a service in another EU Member State on a temporary basis.” Under current law, posted workers enjoy a set of core rights in their host Member State in addition to the employment and labor rights available in the state from which they are sent. Poland is the primary origin country of posted workers. In the ongoing talks, wealthier EU member states, led by French Prime Minister Macron, want to minimize the use of posted workers and decrease the obligations that host countries owe to posted workers.
Guy Standing, professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and co-founder at the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), has a post up at Working-Class Perspectives defending basic income as a social necessity in light of workers’ increasingly precarious ties to their jobs.
The New York Times published an article today on how internet retailers are hiring warehouse workers in areas blighted by the loss of manufacturing jobs. Retailers like Amazon, Zulily, and Walmart, who often sell similar products, must compete on the speed and reliability of their shipping to get a competitive edge. This has led to significant investments in their distribution networks, including the building of warehouses nearby key hubs of customers.
Daily News & Commentary
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July 18
NLRB General Counsel issues memorandum reaffirming commitment to using 10(j) injunctions; Labor Department obtains a landmark anti-retaliation injunction; and a new report investigates the rise in union curious workers.
July 17
Senator J.D. Vance joins Donald Trump’s campaign, targeting pro-labor voters, Project 2025 includes gutting the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and Seattle Boeing workers prepare for a strike vote.
July 16
Teamsters president speaks at RNC; Starbucks decertification campaign fails; Biden taps new PBGC leader
July 15
Workday bias suit moves forward; DOL proposes new LMRDA rule; Bronx Defenders to go on ULP strike
July 14
Teamsters president to speak at RNC; youth work permit requirement rollbacks; eulogies to Jane McAlevey.
July 12
Dollar Tree and OSHA settle; union leaders split over Biden support; new report on low wages.