
Travis Lavenski is a student at Harvard Law School.
In Today’s News & Commentary: Starbucks shuts down the first store in Seattle to unionize; and the nation’s largest rail union rejects labor deal.
In Starbucks news, allegations of the coffee chain’s union-busting continue as the chain shuts down another unionized store in Seattle. The store, located at Broadway and Denny in Capitol Hill, is the fourth unionized store in Seattle to shut down since the union push began. Starbucks has cited “safety and security concerns” as the reason for the closure. Starbucks Workers United, the union that represents Starbucks workers, called the move “unacceptable” and “the most clear-cut case of retaliation this company has shown closing a union store yet” on Twitter, noting that the store is set to close on the anniversary of the first union victory in Buffalo last winter. The more than 260 unionized Starbucks stores still remain without a contract.
Members of SMART-TD, the nation’s largest rail union representing more than 37,000 workers, narrowly rejected a proposed labor deal on Monday, raising the likelihood of a national pre-Christmas rail strike. The BLET, another large rail union representing nearly 24,000 workers, voted to approve the deal. As it currently stands, 4 rail unions have rejected the proposed labor deal, while 7 rail unions have approved. A strike may nevertheless occur if just one union does not come to approve of the deal. Some experts have indicated that a looming strike before Christmas might pressure Congress into forcing unions to accept a deal; Republicans in the Senate already drafted a resolution earlier this term that would have forced unions to agree to the Presidential Emergency Board recommendations. The exclusion of paid sick days in the proposed deal has been a major source of pushback from rail workers, as this video from More Perfect Union explains.
Daily News & Commentary
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July 4
The DOL scraps a Biden-era proposed rule to end subminimum wages for disabled workers; millions will lose access to Medicaid and SNAP due to new proof of work requirements; and states step up in the noncompete policy space.
July 3
California compromises with unions on housing; 11th Circuit rules against transgender teacher; Harvard removes hundreds from grad student union.
July 2
Block, Nanda, and Nayak argue that the NLRA is under attack, harming democracy; the EEOC files a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by former EEOC Commissioner Jocelyn Samuels; and SEIU Local 1000 strikes an agreement with the State of California to delay the state's return-to-office executive order for state workers.
July 1
In today’s news and commentary, the Department of Labor proposes to roll back minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by public defenders over a union’s Gaza statements, and Philadelphia’s largest municipal union is on strike for first time in nearly 40 years. On Monday, the U.S. […]
June 30
Antidiscrimination scholars question McDonnell Douglas, George Washington University Hospital bargained in bad faith, and NY regulators defend LPA dispensary law.
June 29
In today’s news and commentary, Trump v. CASA restricts nationwide injunctions, a preliminary injunction continues to stop DOL from shutting down Job Corps, and the minimum wage is set to rise in multiple cities and states. On Friday, the Supreme Court held in Trump v. CASA that universal injunctions “likely exceed the equitable authority that […]