
Otto Barenberg is a student at Harvard Law School and the Digital Director of OnLabor.
In today’s news and commentary, unions fight unlawful purges of federal workers and a union drive at a North Carolina Amazon facility falls short.
Last week, the Trump Administration’s plans to gut the federal workforce — without Congressional authorization, and contrary to separation-of-powers principles — became concrete. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is firing 50% of its 9,600 employees, cutting jobs from the Agency’s civil rights enforcement division, disaster rebuilding team, and data collection units, among others. The U.S. Forest Service announced plans to fire 3,400 employees. New leadership at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has terminated hundreds of staffers, with plans to shutter the watchdog entirely. Mass firings have also affected — or are expected imminently at — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Department of Homeland Security; the National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains America’s nuclear weapons; the Department of Veterans Affairs; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Department of Education; the Department of Energy; and others.
The purges, which Trump and his right-hand-billionaire Elon Musk have said will cover 10% of the federal government’s 2.4 million civilian employees, have thrust federal workers’ unions onto the frontlines of legal and political resistance. Last week, a coalition of unions sued the Trump Administration to block the mass firings, arguing the President exceeded his authority under Article II of the Constitution and usurped Congress’s sole power to appropriate funds. As Holden reported, unions have also brought suit to bar the Musk team from accessing highly sensitive data on the federal workforce. And unions have brought lawsuits at individual agencies — including a legal challenge to the Trump Administration’s plans to gut the CFPB. As John reported last week, the threats to federal workers have led to record-high membership in the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal workers union. The AFGE’s annual legislative conference last week featured its biggest-ever rally and dozens of high-profile Democratic lawmakers.
Amazon workers at a Garner, North Carolina fulfillment center voted down a union drive by a 2,447 to 829 margin. The union, Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (CAUSE), had advocated starting wages of $30 per hour, up from the current starting wage of $18, as well as more vacation time and longer lunch breaks. Deploying the catchphrase “I am not a robot,” CAUSE had hoped to spearhead the second successful unionization push at an Amazon facility, following a Staten Island warehouse’s successful bid in 2022. Leaders of CAUSE have alleged “relentless and illegal efforts to intimidate us” by the online retail giant, but have not yet indicated whether they will bring legal challenges against the election’s outcome.
Daily News & Commentary
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August 1
The Michigan Supreme Court grants heightened judicial scrutiny over employment contracts that shorten the limitations period for filing civil rights claims; the California Labor Commission gains new enforcement power over tip theft; and a new Florida law further empowers employers issuing noncompete agreements.
July 31
EEOC sued over trans rights enforcement; railroad union opposes railroad merger; suits against NLRB slow down.
July 30
In today’s news and commentary, the First Circuit will hear oral arguments on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) revocation of parole grants for thousands of migrants; United Airlines’ flight attendants vote against a new labor contract; and the AFL-CIO files a complaint against a Trump Administrative Executive Order that strips the collective bargaining rights of the vast majority of federal workers.
July 29
The Trump administration released new guidelines for federal employers regarding religious expression in the workplace; the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers is suing former union president for repayment of mismanagement of union funds; Uber has criticized a new proposal requiring delivery workers to carry company-issued identification numbers.
July 28
Lower courts work out meaning of Muldrow; NLRB releases memos on recording and union salts.
July 27
In today’s news and commentary, Trump issues an EO on college sports, a second district court judge blocks the Department of Labor from winding down Job Corps, and Safeway workers in California reach a tentative agreement. On Thursday, President Trump announced an executive order titled “Saving College Sports,” which declared it common sense that “college […]