Jacqueline Rayfield is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News and Commentary, Union-negotiated pay raises hit an all-time high, the National Labor Relations Board rules that Apple illegally interrogated staff about their union, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee will be marking up the PRO Act.
For likely the first time ever, union negotiators have secured an average first-year pay raise of 7%. This average makes the 8th straight quarterly increase in pay raises negotiated in union contracts. Some worry that this increase could cause employers to drag their feet in the hundreds of workplaces that have unionized but still have not ratified their first contract. However, for most represented workers hoping to keep up with inflation, these pay increases are a significant win.
Yesterday, an NLRB judge ruled that Apple violated its New York store employees’ rights by interrogation workers about their legally protected activity with the union. The judge held that Apple must cease confiscating union literature and interfering with employee’s exercise of their rights. However, Apple’s actions against their workers and union activity had already halted the organizing campaign by the case’s first hearing in January.
Today, the Senate HELP Committee will be marking up the landmark PRO Act—one of the most significant labor law reforms in modern American history. The PRO Act aims to make it easier for workers to form a union by repealing state “right-to-work” laws, which undermine union organizing. The chairman of the HELP Committee, Sen. Bernie Sanders, discussed the PRO Act and accompanying legislation in detail yesterday afternoon.
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.