
John Fry is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s news and commentary, San Francisco renters go on strike; a trademark suit against Trader Joe’s United is dismissed; and Alabama governor Kay Ivey warns against unionization.
A group of renters in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood are staging a rent strike, aided by a local law that creates legal protections for tenant unions. The strikers are demanding that their corporate landlord address harmful living conditions such as mold. They are depositing their rent into a trust in the meantime. San Francisco’s “Union at Home” law protects efforts to organize tenant unions and requires landlords to meet and confer with the unions in good faith. Labor law scholars have encouraged lawmakers to use labor unions as a model for constructing countervailing power for other groups, such as debtors and welfare recipients. The Tenderloin rent strike shows the promise of this approach.
A federal district court in California has dismissed Trader Joe’s trademark lawsuit against Trader Joe’s United, the union representing some of its workers. The grocer argued that the union’s logo, featured on merchandise sold online, was too similar to the store’s own logo, and that customers might confuse the two. The judge not only rejected these claims, but warned that the lawsuit came “dangerously close” to warranting sanctions, which may be imposed for a frivolous lawsuit or one with improper motives. Eyes will now turn to a similar lawsuit that Starbucks launched against Starbucks Workers United in October as part of the company’s many-front legal battle against the union.
Alabama governor Kay Ivey is urging the state’s auto workers not to unionize, as the United Auto Workers target non-union automakers concentrated in the South in the wake of their contract victory at Detroit’s “Big Three.” UAW’s campaign at a Mercedes-Benz plant near Tuscaloosa went public last week after 30% of workers signed union cards. The union has adopted a “30-50-70” strategy for its new organizing drives. A campaign will go public after reaching 30% support in a plant. At 50%, UAW president Shawn Fain will lead a community rally. At 70%, the union will demand recognition or file for an NLRB election. Non-union automakers, most recently Tesla, have been boosting wages in hopes of staving off unionization.
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October 8
In today’s news and commentary, the Trump administration threatens no back pay for furloughed federal workers; the Second Circuit denies a request from the NFL for an en banc review in the Brian Flores case; and Governor Gavin Newsom signs an agreement to create a pathway for unionization for Uber and Lyft drivers.
October 7
The Supreme Court kicks off its latest term, granting and declining certiorari in several labor-related cases.
October 6
EEOC regains quorum; Second Circuit issues opinion on DEI causing hostile work environment.
October 5
In today’s news and commentary, HELP committee schedules a vote on Trump’s NLRB nominees, the 5th Circuit rejects Amazon’s request for en banc review, and TV production workers win their first union contract. After a nomination hearing on Wednesday, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee scheduled a committee vote on President Trump’s NLRB nominees […]
October 3
California legislation empowers state labor board; ChatGPT used in hostile workplace case; more lawsuits challenge ICE arrests
October 2
AFGE and AFSCME sue in response to the threat of mass firings; another preliminary injunction preventing Trump from stripping some federal workers of collective bargaining rights; and challenges to state laws banning captive audience meetings.