
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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September 22
Missouri lawmakers attack pro-worker ballot initiatives, shortcomings in California rideshare deal, some sexual misconduct claimants prefer arbitration.
September 21
USFS and California seek to improve firefighter safety, Massachusetts pay transparency law to take effect, and Trump adds new hurdles for H-1B visa applicants
September 19
LIRR strike averted; DOJ sues RI over student loan repayment program; University of California employees sue Trump for financial coercion
September 18
Senate Democrats introduce a bill to nullify Trump’s executive orders ending collective bargaining rights for federal employees; the Massachusetts Teachers Association faces backlash; and Loyola Marymount University claims a religious exemption and stops recognizing its faculty union.
September 17
A union argues the NLRB's quorum rule is unconstitutional; the California Building Trades back a state housing law; and Missouri proposes raising the bar for citizen ballot initiatives
September 16
In today’s news and commentary, the NLRB sues New York, a flight attendant sues United, and the Third Circuit considers the employment status of Uber drivers The NLRB sued New York to block a new law that would grant the state authority over private-sector labor disputes. As reported on recently by Finlay, the law, which […]