Jacqueline Rayfield is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News and Commentary, Amazon workers in Missouri file an unfair labor practice charge based on company surveillance, labor unions push for a repeal of corporate tax cuts, and Mary Kay Henry steps down as president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
Amazon warehouse workers in Missouri charge the company with using an algorithm to surveil and “interfere with Section 7 rights of employees.” The workers allege that the company uses an intrusive algorithm to monitor their activity and deter any discussion of unionizing. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has not yet investigated these charges. However, in 2022, the NLRB general counsel issued a memo explaining that challenging automated surveillance techniques would be a priority for the board.
Labor unions, including the United Auto Worker, the AFL-CIO, and the SEIU, joined a letter to congressional leaders yesterday, urging an end to Trump-era tax cuts for corporations. The Trump administration’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) lowered corporate taxes and cut individual and estate taxes in ways that benefit the wealthy, according to these labor leaders. The Congressional Research Service in 2019 confirmed that tax cuts from this act largely benefited high income people. Labor leaders call for this Act’s repeal before November.
SEIU president Mary Kay Henry steps down after 14 years in leadership. Henry expressed her enthusiasm for the next generation of leadership to continue the fight for sectoral organizing. In Henry’s 14 years as president, she oversaw the historic Fight for $15 campaign, organizing fast food workers around minimum wage increases around the country.
Daily News & Commentary
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June 25
Supreme Court grants petition to hear a case on the scope of ADA standing; Texas federal district court blocks DOL rule expanding wage requirements for construction contractors, and South Korean Hyundai workers authorize strike.
June 24
Workers across the country face extreme heat exposure with minimal government protections; Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2 reaches a tentative agreement with Con Edison narrowly avoiding a strike; the Tenth Circuit grants a continuation of a freeze on a wage increase for some federal contractors
June 23
Teamsters president will speak at RNC; Supreme Court weighs in on overtime exemptions; Honda faces ULP allegations.
June 21
The Amazon Labor Union voted to affiliate with the Teamsters; a Pennsylvania jury was unable to decide Uber Black drivers are employees; a recent article questioned the legality of southern governors’ anti-union activities.
June 20
NLRB issues Cemex order requiring casinos to recognize union; Amazon fined nearly $6 million for violating California’s Warehouse Quotas law; Waffle House commits to raise wages after pressure from labor advocates.
June 18
EEOC regulations requiring abortion accommodations survive; Bird Union seeks first contract; NLRB applies standard for when misconduct loses protection of Section 7.