Jacqueline Rayfield is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News and Commentary, Senator J.D. Vance joins Donald Trump’s campaign, targeting pro-labor voters, Project 2025 includes gutting the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and Seattle Boeing workers prepare for a strike vote.
Senator J.D. Vance joined the Republican ticket as Trump’s vice-presidential nominee on Monday. While Vance has voiced support for unions during his career, his track record supporting labor law is mixed. Vance joined an autoworkers picket line in 2023 and claimed he is “not a fan” of right to work laws. In office, however, Vance opposed the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which aimed to close gaps and expand worker protections under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Vance also rejected pro-worker nominees to the NLRB and voted against the NLRB’s expanded protections for employees of joint employers. Prominent labor leaders at Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Association of Flight Attendants voiced skepticism of Vance’s ostensibly pro-labor stance.
As the Republican party courts labor leaders, critics in the labor movement analyze how conservative policy will affect organized labor. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank in Washington, D.C., published Project 2025, a policy wish list for a Trump presidency. Critics point out that the plan includes initiatives to abolish overtime law, outlaw public sector unions, cut back on health and safety protections for workers, and eliminate the federal minimum wage.
In Seattle, Boeing workers prepare for a strike vote today. Union leadership say they hope a strong turnout for the vote will send a strong message to Boeing and the negotiating committee. Nearly 30,000 union workers are eligible to vote to authorize a strike when their contract expires on September 12. Their negotiating committee aims to win a 40% raise in their historic negotiation—the first for this group of workers in 16 years.
Daily News & Commentary
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May 13
House Republicans push for vote on the SCORE Act; Wells Fargo wins 401(k) forfeiture appeal; Georgia passes portable benefits bill.
May 12
Trump administration proposes expanding fertility care benefits; Connecticut passes employment legislation; NFL referees ratify new collective bargaining agreement.
May 11
NLRB Judge finds UPS violated federal labor law; Tennessee bans certain noncompetes; and Colorado passes a bill restricting AI price- and wage-setting
May 10
Workers at the Long Island Rail Road threaten to strike, and referees at the National Football League reach a collective bargaining agreement.
May 9
HGSU wraps up its third week on strike and economists find that firms tend to target workers with “wage premiums” for AI replacement.
May 7
DOL drops litigation of Biden-era overtime rule; EEOC sues NYT for discrimination against white male employee; New Jersey finalizes employee classification rule.