
Nicholas Anway is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s news and commentary: auto workers at Rivian Automotive filed safety violation complaints against the electric vehicle manufacturer; members of New York’s first farm-worker union and supporters protested outside of Pindar Vinyards on Long Island; and temporary staffing agencies have ramped up lobbying efforts to stop a temp worker protection bill from passing in the New Jersey State Senate.
At least a dozen auto workers employed by Rivian Automotive Inc. filed complaints with federal regulators detailing safety violations at its Illinois production facility, Fortune reported yesterday. The complaints allege that the electric vehicle manufacturer ignored hazards and deprioritized safety resources, leaving some workers to “share respirators needed during the manufacturing process” and others to injury, “including a crushed hand, a broken foot, a sliced ear and broken ribs.” According to Fortune’s analysis, “the filings depict an automaker that cut corners as it scaled rapidly to keep pace in the competitive electric-vehicle space.” In statements to Bloomberg News, a Rivian spokesperson disputed workers’ allegations.
Members of New York’s first farm-worker union and supporters protested outside of Pindar Vinyards on Long Island over the weekend to pressure the winery’s owners to negotiate a contract, according to WSHU Public Radio. A year after the union was certified by the state to represent Pindar Vinyards farm workers, the winery’s owners are “not willing to come to the table[] and negotiate a fair contract for the worker,” said Noemi Berrera, an organizer with Local 338. “Unfortunately, they’re not negotiating in good faith,” another organizer explained. Union organizers are pushing for health insurance, better wages and benefits, and improved access to overtime. A third party could be assigned to mediate if the negotiations continue to stall.
Finally, the Gothamist reported that temporary staffing agencies operating in New Jersey have ramped up lobbying efforts to stop a temp worker protection bill from passing in the State Senate today. Staffing agencies are lobbying hard against the bill, which would ban temp agencies from making unitemized paycheck deductions that lower workers’ pay below minimum wage. The bill would also require temp agencies to compensate workers who are taken to job sites but sent home without work, to pay their workers the same as permanent employees at a work site, and to tell workers where they are going to work and how much they will be paid. “This legislation doesn’t push the envelope. These are very basic worker protections. I mean, who would ever think that wage theft needed to be legislated?” said Eric Richard, the legislative director for the New Jersey state AFL-CIO, which supports the bill. “This is another model by which . . . some employers seek to increase their bottom line on the backs of workers.”
Daily News & Commentary
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October 9
Equity and the Broadway League resume talks amid a looming strike; federal judge lets alcoholism ADA suit proceed; Philadelphia agrees to pay $40,000 to resolve a First Amendment retaliation case.
October 8
In today’s news and commentary, the Trump administration threatens no back pay for furloughed federal workers; the Second Circuit denies a request from the NFL for an en banc review in the Brian Flores case; and Governor Gavin Newsom signs an agreement to create a pathway for unionization for Uber and Lyft drivers.
October 7
The Supreme Court kicks off its latest term, granting and declining certiorari in several labor-related cases.
October 6
EEOC regains quorum; Second Circuit issues opinion on DEI causing hostile work environment.
October 5
In today’s news and commentary, HELP committee schedules a vote on Trump’s NLRB nominees, the 5th Circuit rejects Amazon’s request for en banc review, and TV production workers win their first union contract. After a nomination hearing on Wednesday, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee scheduled a committee vote on President Trump’s NLRB nominees […]
October 3
California legislation empowers state labor board; ChatGPT used in hostile workplace case; more lawsuits challenge ICE arrests