Holt McKeithan is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News and Commentary, Trader Joe’s must pay its union for bringing a meritless lawsuit, and reports show that U.S. union workers saw record pay raises and Latino worker deaths are surging.
Trader Joe’s was ordered to pay Trader Joe’s United $100,000 in attorneys’ fees by Judge Vera of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Judge Vera found that Trader Joe’s trademark lawsuit against the union was meritless and designed to harass the union during its organizing drive. The lawsuit, which was dismissed in January, alleged the union’s merchandise violated Trader Joe’s trademark rights by utilizing the store’s logo. Judge Vera said the case was “dangerously close” to being frivolous and would not have been filed “absent the ongoing organizing efforts that Trader Joe’s employees have mounted (successfully) in multiple locations across the country.” Trader Joe’s was represented by Latham & Watkins.
Unionized private-sector workers in the U.S saw record raises of 6.3%. That marks the largest increase since 2001, according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, nonunion workers’ pay rose 4.1% over the same period, barely beating inflation. Unions have won notable victories in the last year, including the UAW’s contract with the Big Three automakers, which included a 25% increase across 4.5 years, as Sunah reported in October.
Latino worker deaths increased by more than 50% over the last decade, according to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2022, 1,248 Latino workers were killed on the job, about two-thirds of which were undocumented workers. Latino workers predominate in low-wage, risky jobs, especially in construction. The fatality rate for Latino workers is disproportionate: while on the job deaths for white people have declined over time, that number has slightly increased for Black people and risen sharply for Latinos. This news comes amid efforts in some states, like Florida, to roll back legal protections for outdoor workers laboring in dangerous heat.
Daily News & Commentary
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September 27
In today’s news and commentary, workers at Philadelphia sports arenas go on strike, workers at Hawaii’s largest hotel join hotel workers across the country on strike, and Apple retail workers in Oklahoma City ratify a contract. Workers at three South Philadelphia sports arenas–Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field and Wells Fargo Center–went on strike this […]
September 26
US Maritime Alliance files unfair labor practice charge against longshore workers' union as strike looms, Maine’s Labor Department increases enforcement of wage theft under new state law, and UAW reaches a tentative local agreement at Ford’s tool and die unit in Michigan.
September 25
Faculty and staff of the Center for Labor and a Just Economy appeared before the Washington State Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, Boeing’s machinists union says that the company’s latest pay increase offer is not enough, and the NLRB General Counsel pressured Trader Joe’s to bargain with their workers’ union in Manhattan.
September 24
Organizers collect union authorization cards at Amazon warehouse in North Carolina; NLRB finds Starbucks' ban on union pins unlawful; GM announces layoff amid shift to electric vehicle production
September 23
Travel nurses and forced arbitration; pay transparency laws proliferate; Dockworkers prepare for strike.
September 22
Starbucks attacks the NLRB’s expanded economic make-whole remedies, Eric Blanc argues the NLRB has been a key factor in the current labor surge, and a study finds large, low-wage corporations are investing in stock buybacks rather than capital improvements or workers' wages.