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
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
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 […]
September 15
Unemployment claims rise; a federal court hands victory to government employees union; and employers fire workers over social media posts.
September 14
Workers at Boeing reject the company’s third contract proposal; NLRB Acting General Counsel William Cohen plans to sue New York over the state’s trigger bill; Air Canada flight attendants reject a tentative contract.
September 12
Zohran Mamdani calls on FIFA to end dynamic pricing for the World Cup; the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement opens a probe into Scale AI’s labor practices; and union members organize immigration defense trainings.
September 11
California rideshare deal advances; Boeing reaches tentative agreement with union; FTC scrutinizes healthcare noncompetes.
September 10
A federal judge denies a motion by the Trump Administration to dismiss a lawsuit led by the American Federation of Government Employees against President Trump for his mass layoffs of federal workers; the Supreme Court grants a stay on a federal district court order that originally barred ICE agents from questioning and detaining individuals based on their presence at a particular location, the type of work they do, their race or ethnicity, and their accent while speaking English or Spanish; and a hospital seeks to limit OSHA's ability to cite employers for failing to halt workplace violence without a specific regulation in place.