Esther Ritchin is a student at Harvard Law School.
Happy Valentine’s day! In today’s news and commentary, North Carolina Amazon warehouse workers hold a union election, and Trump nominates an Amazon alum to lead OSHA.
Workers at an Amazon warehouse just outside Raleigh, North Carolina, are currently holding a union election, with voting taking place this week. If the vote succeeds, the warehouse would be the second Amazon warehouse to unionize, after a 2022 yes vote at a union drive in Staten Island, a vote that still has yet to result in a contract. The election also comes on the heels of a successful union drive at a Whole Foods in Philadelphia, a grocery store chain owned by Amazon. This movement, Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (CAUSE), is spearheaded by Reverend Ryan Brown, who was inspired to organize after his mistreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign faces many obstacles, including retaliation and anti-union marketing from Amazon, the company’s history of severe tactics in the wake of a union vote (including their recent shuttering of Canadian warehouses), and a newly destabilized NLRB.
Donald Trump has nominated David Keeling to lead OSHA. Keeling has been a safety executive at both UPS and Amazon, including the director of global road and transportation safety at Amazon. The nomination comes amidst a continual wave of reports of Amazon safety violations and complaints of disregard for worker health and safety, such as delivery drivers being forced to pee in bottles, long hours with strenuous physical work and minimal breaks, and continual prioritization of profits over health and human safety.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
May 13
In today’s News and Commentary, Trump appeals a court-ordered pause on mass layoffs, the Tenth Circuit sidesteps a ruling on the Board’s remedial powers, and an industry group targets Biden-era NLRB decisions. The Trump administration is asking the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to pause a temporary order blocking the administration from continuing […]
May 12
NJ Transit engineers threaten strike; a court halts Trump's firings; and the pope voices support for workers.
May 9
Philadelphia City Council unanimously passes the POWER Act; thousands of federal worker layoffs at the Department of Interior expected; the University of Oregon student workers union reach a tentative agreement, ending 10-day strike
May 8
Court upholds DOL farmworker protections; Fifth Circuit rejects Amazon appeal; NJTransit navigates negotiations and potential strike.
May 7
U.S. Department of Labor announces termination of mental health and child care benefits for its employees; SEIU pursues challenge of NLRB's 2020 joint employer rule in the D.C. Circuit; Columbia University lays off 180 researchers
May 6
HHS canceled a scheduled bargaining session with the FDA's largest workers union; members of 1199SEIU voted out longtime union president George Gresham in rare leadership upset.