Henry Green is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News and Commentary, a class action lawsuit accuses supermarket chains of collusion, residents and physicians in Boston organize, and a Mississippi judge blocks enforcement of a DOL rule aimed at protecting farmworkers.
A worker at a Colorado supermarket is suing Kroger and Albertsons, accusing the supermarket chains of colluding in ways that reduced union bargaining power during a strike at Kroger-owned King Soopers. The proposed class action lawsuit was filed on Monday in Colorado state court and follows a similar lawsuit by the Colorado Attorney General. In 2022, members of UFCW Local 7 struck for ten days at King Soopers stores in Colorado. The complaint accuses Albertsons of agreeing not to hire striking workers or solicit Kroger customers. Kroger and Albertsons are two of the largest grocery companies in the US and are seeking to merge. The Federal Trade Commission has attempted to block the merger.
Residents and physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center filed for an NLRB election on Thursday. The Committee of Interns and Residents, an affiliate of SEIU, would represent the 850-person unit. The Beth Israel election is one of several organizing drives among medical professionals in the Boston area: physicians at Mass General Brigham, clinicians at the Cambridge Health Alliance, and residents and fellows at Brown Medical School affiliated hospitals have all filed for elections in the last month. Residents and fellows at Mass General are currently bargaining their first contract after voting to unionize in June.
A Mississippi federal judge has blocked enforcement of DOL organizing protections for farmworkers on temporary visas. The DOL’s farmworker protection rule, which was finalized in June, extended certain labor protections to workers not covered by the National Labor Relations Act. However, farm industry groups have repeatedly challenged the rule and have now won three injunctions against its enforcement. In August, a federal district court in Georgia issued an injunction blocking the rule’s enforcement in 17 Republican-led states. Earlier this week, the Eastern District of Kentucky blocked the rule in four states and for members of certain farm trade groups.
Daily News & Commentary
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November 21
The “Big Three” record labels make a deal with an AI music streaming startup; 30 stores join the now week-old Starbucks Workers United strike; and the Mine Safety and Health Administration draws scrutiny over a recent worker death.
November 20
Law professors file brief in Slaughter; New York appeals court hears arguments about blog post firing; Senate committee delays consideration of NLRB nominee.
November 19
A federal judge blocks the Trump administration’s efforts to cancel the collective bargaining rights of workers at the U.S. Agency for Global Media; Representative Jared Golden secures 218 signatures for a bill that would repeal a Trump administration executive order stripping federal workers of their collective bargaining rights; and Dallas residents sue the City of Dallas in hopes of declaring hundreds of ordinances that ban bias against LGBTQ+ individuals void.
November 18
A federal judge pressed DOJ lawyers to define “illegal” DEI programs; Peco Foods prevails in ERISA challenge over 401(k) forfeitures; D.C. court restores collective bargaining rights for Voice of America workers; Rep. Jared Golden secures House vote on restoring federal workers' union rights.
November 17
Justices receive petition to resolve FLSA circuit split, vaccine religious discrimination plaintiffs lose ground, and NJ sues Amazon over misclassification.
November 16
Boeing workers in St. Louis end a 102-day strike, unionized Starbucks baristas launch a new strike, and Illinois seeks to expand protections for immigrant workers