Henry Green is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News and Commentary, multiple unions express support for David Huerta as the Department of Justice brings charges against him, and the NLRB’s acting general counsel says the Board is likely not covered by Humphrey’s Executor.
The Department of Justice has charged SEIU-USWW President David Huerta with conspiracy to impede an officer after Huerta was arrested at a protest over Los Angeles immigration raids last week, per the New York Times. The charge carries a maximum of up to six years in prison. Huerta was briefly hospitalized with a head injury after his arrest. He was released on bond on Monday. The Times reports that Huerta spoke to a crowd of supporters after his release, showing the crowd notes from fellow inmates at the Detention Center. See video of Huerta speaking after his release here.
The Wall Street Journal frames immigration as an area where unions are clashing with the Trump administration, noting that after Huerta’s arrest, multiple prominent unions expressed support for him and for SEIU. On Monday, UNITE HERE members joined an SEIU rally in Los Angeles – “Todos somos Huerta,” an SEIU leader said at the rally. Other unions to speak out in support of Huerta include “regional branches of the Teamsters and United Auto Workers” as well as the national AFL-CIO. The article notes that some of the biggest organizing wins in recent decades have been in the service sector, where undocumented immigrants make up a large share of the workforce. Among these is SEIU’s Justice for Janitors campaign, which organized janitors in Los Angeles in the 1980s.
NLRB acting general counsel William Cowen said at a conference that the NLRB was likely not covered by Humphrey’s Executor, Bloomberg reports. Humphrey’s is the 90 year old Supreme Court precedent that allows Congress to restrict presidential removal power for independent agencies. “Humphrey’s talks about an agency that doesn’t execute any serious executive power, is multi-membered, and is statutorily balanced. All of those things are not true of the board,” Bloomberg quotes Cowen saying. Cowen also defended the NLRB’s 2026 budget request, which asks for a 4.7% reduction in funding from current levels. “I see hope in all of this,” Cowen said in part. Bloomberg notes that “Cowen’s stance is a sharp break” from Biden NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran’s, who said during her tenure that the agency’s staff was overwhelmed with case filings. The NLRB has received just one budget increase since 2014.
Daily News & Commentary
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March 3
In today’s news and commentary, Texas dismantles their contracting program for minorities, NextEra settles an ERISA lawsuit, and Chipotle beats an age discrimination suit. Texas Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock is being sued in state court for allegedly unlawfully dismantling the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program, a 1990s initiative signed by former Governor George W. Bush […]
March 2
Block lays off over 4,000 workers; H-1B fee data is revealed.
March 1
The NLRB officially rescinds the Biden-era standard for determining joint-employer status; the DOL proposes a rule that would rescind the Biden-era standard for determining independent contractor status; and Walmart pays $100 million for deceiving delivery drivers regarding wages and tips.
February 27
The Ninth Circuit allows Trump to dismantle certain government unions based on national security concerns; and the DOL set to focus enforcement on firms with “outsized market power.”
February 26
Workplace AI regulations proposed in Michigan; en banc D.C. Circuit hears oral argument in CFPB case; white police officers sue Philadelphia over DEI policy.
February 25
OSHA workplace inspections significantly drop in 2025; the Court denies a petition for certiorari to review a Minnesota law banning mandatory anti-union meetings at work; and the Court declines two petitions to determine whether Air Force service members should receive backpay as a result of religious challenges to the now-revoked COVID-19 vaccine mandate.