Holt McKeithan is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News and Commentary, the UAW and Ford reach a tentative agreement to avert a strike in Kentucky, the DOL investigates a Tennessee company that employed children to clean a slaughterhouse, and Starbucks faces pressure from students and baristas.
UAW Local 862 announced plans last week to strike a Ford factory in Kentucky, as Will noted. The union and Ford reached a tentative agreement to avert the strike on Wednesday. Although the national UAW negotiated a master agreement last fall, individual unions can still bargain around local issues. Local 862 planned to strike over issues regarding health and safety, skilled trades, and ergonomics.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Fayette Janitorial Services hired 24 minors, including children as young as 13, to clean dangerous equipment in a slaughterhouse. A 14-year-old at a Virginia factory suffered severe injuries on the job. The Labor Department filed a nationwide injunction against the Tennessee-based company this week seeking to halt Fayette’s child labor practices while the Department continues to investigate. The company employs about 600 workers and operates in over 30 states. Reporting from the New York Times sparked the Labor Department’s investigation.
Starbucks faced pressure on multiple fronts this week. Over 400 baristas from 21 stores across the country petitioned the NLRB for representation by Starbucks Workers United on Tuesday. Meanwhile, baristas in Chicago and Philadelphia filed complaints alleging their employer violated their respective cities’ Fair Workweek statutes, which prohibit employers from cutting workers’ hours on short notice. Students at 25 college campuses across the country demanded that their schools kick Starbucks stores off campus on Thursday. The students called for university administrations to cancel contracts with the chain because of Starbucks’ union-busting activity. The actions occur amid growing calls for a consumer boycott of the coffee giant.
Daily News & Commentary
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November 23
Workers at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority vote to authorize a strike; Washington State legislators consider a bill empowering public employees to bargain over workplace AI implementation; and University of California workers engage in a two-day strike.
November 21
The “Big Three” record labels make a deal with an AI music streaming startup; 30 stores join the now week-old Starbucks Workers United strike; and the Mine Safety and Health Administration draws scrutiny over a recent worker death.
November 20
Law professors file brief in Slaughter; New York appeals court hears arguments about blog post firing; Senate committee delays consideration of NLRB nominee.
November 19
A federal judge blocks the Trump administration’s efforts to cancel the collective bargaining rights of workers at the U.S. Agency for Global Media; Representative Jared Golden secures 218 signatures for a bill that would repeal a Trump administration executive order stripping federal workers of their collective bargaining rights; and Dallas residents sue the City of Dallas in hopes of declaring hundreds of ordinances that ban bias against LGBTQ+ individuals void.
November 18
A federal judge pressed DOJ lawyers to define “illegal” DEI programs; Peco Foods prevails in ERISA challenge over 401(k) forfeitures; D.C. court restores collective bargaining rights for Voice of America workers; Rep. Jared Golden secures House vote on restoring federal workers' union rights.
November 17
Justices receive petition to resolve FLSA circuit split, vaccine religious discrimination plaintiffs lose ground, and NJ sues Amazon over misclassification.