In today’s news and commentary, a US District Court orders the Trump Administration to provide its plans for firing federal workers; the Massachusetts Legislature considers multiple labor bills; and waste-collection workers at Republic Services strike throughout the nation.

On Friday, US District Judge Susan Illston ordered the Trump Administration to provide copies of its plans to fire federal workers for review. Judge Illston, the Senior Judge of the District Court for the Northern District of California, did not require the Administration to release its Agency Reduction in Force and Reorganization Plans (ARRPs) publicly, but instead provide them for in camera review by the court and plaintiff’s counsel. Plaintiffs in the case include the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), as well as non-profits, cities, and counties throughout the nation. The Trump Administration resisted the release of ARRPs on the grounds of deliberative process privilege, arguing that the documents are part of a policy-making process and it would be premature to disclose them. However, Judge Illston found that “the need for accurate fact-finding in this litigation overrides any interest in non-disclosure.” Earlier this month, the Supreme Court lifted Judge Illston’s injunction on the Administration’s reduction-in-force plans.

Earlier this week, the Massachusetts Legislature held a hearing on legislation that would affect the labor rights of public and private employees in the Commonwealth. Particularly of note is the Protect Labor Act, which would automatically grant the Massachusetts Commonwealth Employment Relations Board jurisdiction over “any employer, employees, trade or industry… (that) falls outside the jurisdiction of the NLRA”, or where the Board declines jurisdiction. At the hearing, members of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development asked Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Chrissy Lynch questions regarding federal preemption and how the Trump Administration’s attacks on labor rights are affecting Massachusetts workers. The Protect Labor Act is one of several proposed state laws (see California and New York) that would expand the jurisdiction of state labor agencies. As Ben writes, the lack of an NLRB quorum provides a rationale for states to challenge federal Garmon preemption. The Massachusetts Legislature also discussed a bill securing public employees (excluding “public safety employees”) the right to legally strike. Last year, public school teachers in Beverly, Gloucester, and Marblehead went on strike during contract negotiations, with teachers’ unions fined up to $50,000 per day they remained striking.

Stalled contract negotiations between the Teamsters and Republic Services are resulting in strikes by waste collection workers throughout the nation. Over 2,000 Republic Services workers in Washington State, California, and Ohio are either currently on strike, or have recently resolved strikes, in the last two weeks. Republic Services is the second-largest waste-management company in the US; the Teamsters cite the company’s union-busting tactics and refusal to bargain in good faith as motivating the strike. Of particular note are the workers striking at the Carbon Limestone Landfill in Poland, Ohio. The Landfill is one of the largest landfills in the country and collects over 12 million pounds of trash from New York and New Jersey each day.