Will Ebeler is a student at Harvard Law School.
In this weekend’s news and commentary, UAW plans to strike at a Kentucky Ford factory; Amazon claims that the NLRB is unconstitutional; and Starbucks shareholders push for disclosure of company’s spending on union-busting.
A local of the United Auto Workers is planning to strike at a Ford factory in Kentucky. Although the national UAW negotiated a master agreement last fall, individual local unions can bargain around local issues. The union represents roughly 9,000 workers at the factory and has been negotiating with Ford over health and safety issues at the plant. It plans to strike starting on Friday if the parties can’t reach a deal.
On Thursday, Amazon joined SpaceX and Trader Joe’s in arguing that the National Labor Relations Board is unconstitutional. It made its argument in a brief to an administrative law judge in a case about the company’s alleged retaliation against workers at its unionized Staten Island warehouse. Its arguments track those already made by SpaceX and Trader Joe’s: that the Board’s structure infringes on the Article II executive power, that the Board’s proceedings violate both Articles I and III, and that the Board’s proceedings violate the company’s right to a trial by jury. As Ben noted on Friday, John will be covering these arguments in greater detail.
Finally, on Friday a shareholder at Starbucks wrote an open letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that Starbucks has failed to disclose $240 million it spent union-busting. The shareholder is the Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of North American unions. According to SOC, the information is necessary for “informed voting decisions” before the company’s annual shareholder meeting on March 13. SOC has nominated three candidates to Starbucks’s board of directors, including Wilma Liebman, a former member of the NLRB. According to SOC, the expenses include litigation, lost employee time, and liabilities associated with alleged labor law violations.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
May 30
Trump's tariffs temporarily reinstated after brief nationwide injunction; Louisiana Bill targets payroll deduction of union dues; Colorado Supreme Court to consider a self-defense exception to at-will employment
May 29
AFGE argues termination of collective bargaining agreement violates the union’s First Amendment rights; agricultural workers challenge card check laws; and the California Court of Appeal reaffirms San Francisco city workers’ right to strike.
May 28
A proposal to make the NLRB purely adjudicatory; a work stoppage among court-appointed lawyers in Massachusetts; portable benefits laws gain ground
May 27
a judge extends a pause on the Trump Administration’s mass-layoffs, the Fifth Circuit refuses to enforce an NLRB order, and the Texas Supreme court extends workplace discrimination suits to co-workers.
May 26
Federal court blocks mass firings at Department of Education; EPA deploys new AI tool; Chiquita fires thousands of workers.
May 25
United Airlines flight attendants reach tentative agreement; Whole Foods workers secure union certification; One Big Beautiful Bill Act cuts $1.1 trillion