
Gilbert Placeres is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News & Commentary, Teamsters president Sean O’Brien to speak at the RNC, some red states rollback underage work permit requirements, and the labor movement mourns the passing of Jane McAlevey.
Controversially, Teamsters president Sean O’Brien will be speaking at the Republican National Convention this week. Earlier this year, O’Brien met with former President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort and then brought him to a Teamsters executive board meeting to discuss labor issues and an endorsement. The Teamsters president, who requested to speak at both parties’ conventions, has framed the choice as a thorough engagement in the democratic process and an effort to maintain a relationship with whoever may win the presidential election.
However, the decision has generated criticism, both inside and outside of the union. Earlier this year, James Curbeam, the national chairman of the Teamsters National Black Caucus, responded to O’Brien’s meeting with Trump with a letter to Teamsters saying “We will not allow the working-class labor movement to be destroyed by a scab masquerading as a pro-union advocate after doing everything in this power to destroy the very fabric of unions.” Further, the rest of organized labor still stands firmly behind President Joe Biden (or, as Holt wrote Friday, at least whoever may be the Democratic nominee). Some Democrats feel betrayed after they passed the Butch Lewis Act, providing relief to struggling union pension funds, a primary goal of the Teamsters. The union is still undergoing a protracted process to determine who it will endorse, which union leadership has called the most democratic and transparent in its history though some Teamsters have reported being retaliated against for criticizing O’Brien’s overtures to Trump. O’Brien will be speaking during the primetime 10 pm slot on Monday.
Across the country, Republican-led states are rolling back work permit requirements for minors and their employers. Alabama, Arkansas, and Iowa are among the states that have ended the work permit requirements, arguing they are unnecessary red tape. The same was tried, unsuccessfully, in Missouri, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Critics have argued the permit process allows states to monitor youth employment and educate teen workers, their parents, and their employers about regulations and thus proactively prevent violations. Indeed, states with permitting requirements report significantly less child labor violations. Other youth work protections repealed recently include work-hour rules in Florida and hazardous work limits in Iowa. These changes have coincided with an increase in child labor violations, which other states, such as Colorado and Illinois, have responded to by strengthening regulations and imposing harsher penalties.
Lastly, the labor movement lost a giant last weekend with the passing of organizer, author, and educator Jane McAlevey. Beautiful eulogies and tributes for her and her work poured out this week, including from Alex Press, Sarah Jaffe, Margot Roosevelt, and D.D. Guttenplan. She set high expectations and insisted on effective strategies because she truly believed an organized working class could win – she surely usually did. For those looking to learn more about her teachings, her books are available on her website.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
July 6
Municipal workers in Philadelphia continue to strike; Zohran Mamdani collects union endorsements; UFCW grocery workers in California and Colorado reach tentative agreements.
July 4
The DOL scraps a Biden-era proposed rule to end subminimum wages for disabled workers; millions will lose access to Medicaid and SNAP due to new proof of work requirements; and states step up in the noncompete policy space.
July 3
California compromises with unions on housing; 11th Circuit rules against transgender teacher; Harvard removes hundreds from grad student union.
July 2
Block, Nanda, and Nayak argue that the NLRA is under attack, harming democracy; the EEOC files a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by former EEOC Commissioner Jocelyn Samuels; and SEIU Local 1000 strikes an agreement with the State of California to delay the state's return-to-office executive order for state workers.
July 1
In today’s news and commentary, the Department of Labor proposes to roll back minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by public defenders over a union’s Gaza statements, and Philadelphia’s largest municipal union is on strike for first time in nearly 40 years. On Monday, the U.S. […]
June 30
Antidiscrimination scholars question McDonnell Douglas, George Washington University Hospital bargained in bad faith, and NY regulators defend LPA dispensary law.