Sharon Block is a Professor of Practice and the Executive Director of the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School.
The pace of nominations and appointments to the Department of Labor, National Labor Relations Board, and other federal labor agencies is expected to continue to accelerate. Following the nominations earlier this week of Marvin Kaplan to the NLRB and Patrick Pizzella to be the Deputy Secretary of Labor, the White House announced the nomination ofKyle Fortson to a seat on the National Mediation Board and that Nathan Paul Mehrens would serve as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (and thereby Acting Assistant Secretary) for Policy at DOL. Fortson previously served as a top labor staffer for the Republicans on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Mehrens was previously the president of Americans for Limited Government. Still expected in the very near future is the nomination of management lawyer, William Emanuel to the NLRB, the first Assistant Secretary-level nominations at the Department of Labor and more appointments to political positions that don’t need Senate confirmation, such as the principal deputy assistant secretary slots at DOL.
One interesting development on the nominations front is the revival of concerns about Patrick Pizzella’s ties to Jack Abramoff’s work in the Northern Mariana Islands in the late 1990’s on behalf of employers accused of serious human rights violations. The conditions for workers in the Northern Mariana Island – making goods sold as “Made in the USA” – were appalling. Ms. Magazine did a cover story on the Abramoff/Mariana Islands situation in 2006. Although Pizzella was confirmed for a Republican seat on the FLRA during the Obama Administration after the Abramoff story broke, the Deputy Secretary position is the most senior position for which he has been nominated. The Deputy Secretary has responsibility across all of DOL and frequently stands in for the Secretary of Labor. Pizzella’s Abramoff ties may get more scrutiny in this confirmation process than in the past.
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June 4
Federal agencies violate federal court order pausing mass layoffs; Walmart terminates some jobs in Florida following Supreme Court rulings on the legal status of migrants; and LA firefighters receive a $9.5 million settlement for failure to pay firefighters during shift changes.
June 3
Federal judge blocks Trump's attack on TSA collective bargaining rights; NLRB argues that Grindr's Return-to-Office policy was union busting; International Trade Union Confederation report highlights global decline in workers' rights.
June 2
Proposed budgets for DOL and NLRB show cuts on the horizon; Oregon law requiring LPAs in cannabis dispensaries struck down.
June 1
In today’s news and commentary, the Ninth Circuit upholds a preliminary injunction against the Trump Administration, a federal judge vacates parts of the EEOC’s pregnancy accommodation rules, and video game workers reach a tentative agreement with Microsoft. In a 2-1 decision issued on Friday, the Ninth Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction against the Trump Administration […]
May 30
Trump's tariffs temporarily reinstated after brief nationwide injunction; Louisiana Bill targets payroll deduction of union dues; Colorado Supreme Court to consider a self-defense exception to at-will employment
May 29
AFGE argues termination of collective bargaining agreement violates the union’s First Amendment rights; agricultural workers challenge card check laws; and the California Court of Appeal reaffirms San Francisco city workers’ right to strike.