Linh is a student at Harvard Law School.
To continue Jacqueline’s coverage of the UPS Teamsters’s August 1 strike, UPS has bowed to the strike pressure and agreed to return to the bargaining table next week with 340,000 workers. “We are pleased to be back at the negotiating table next week to resolve the few remaining open issues. We are prepared to increase our industry-leading pay and benefits,” UPS said in a statement on Wednesday. The pending strike has been estimated to be one of the costliest in the country in at least a century, topping $7 billion for a 10-day work stoppage.
Google is required to negotiate with YouTube contract staff, according to an NLRB ruling on Wednesday. Concluding that Google jointly employs a group of Texas Youtube workers, the Board ruled that Youtube and Google share the duty to bargain with Alphabet Workers Union, which was unanimous voted and certified represent these workers. Google can challenge the NLRB’s joint employer finding in federal courts, but it first must intentionally refuse to bargain to trigger a separate unfair labor practice case.
A whistleblower lawsuit by an ex-Google AI engineer moves ahead as a California state judge tentatively denied the company’s motion to dismiss the wrongful termination and whistleblower claims. Satrajit Chatterjee, previously a senior engineering manager at Google, alleges in the complaint that he was fired for threatening to report to the CEO that the company had exaggerated the ability of the company’s proprietary AI technology in an effort to defraud shareholders. Google can contest the ruling at a hearing today before the judge issues a final order.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
September 24
UAW expands strike, files ULP against a Republican senator and hosts Biden on the picket line. NLRB ALJ issues first Cemex bargaining order.
September 22
Biden and Lula announce Partnership for Workers’ Rights; GAO clears Su to serve as acting Secretary of Labor indefinitely.
September 21
DHS policies for Venezuelan migrants; reduced arbitration fees under No Surprises Act; increasing religious objections to workplace DEI policies.
September 19
Canadian autoworkers continue negotiations with Ford’s operations in Canada, Trump announces a rally in Detroit next week with union workers, and talk shows backtrack on plans to return to air without writers.
September 18
UAW enters its fourth day of striking with plans to meet Stellantis at the negotiating table; 13 of the 14 bargaining units representing Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) will negotiate new contracts in the next six months; a Brazilian labor court ordered Uber to pay ~$205 million in fines for irregular working relations with app drivers; unions across many sectors press lawmakers to curb potential threats from artificial intelligence
September 17
Updates from UAW’s strike, Dartmouth College athletes file petition to unionize, visual effects artists at Marvel Studios unanimously vote to unionize, and California’s legislature passes a variety of pro-worker bills.