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
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
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.
May 28
A proposal to make the NLRB purely adjudicatory; a work stoppage among court-appointed lawyers in Massachusetts; portable benefits laws gain ground
May 27
a judge extends a pause on the Trump Administration’s mass-layoffs, the Fifth Circuit refuses to enforce an NLRB order, and the Texas Supreme court extends workplace discrimination suits to co-workers.
May 26
Federal court blocks mass firings at Department of Education; EPA deploys new AI tool; Chiquita fires thousands of workers.
May 25
United Airlines flight attendants reach tentative agreement; Whole Foods workers secure union certification; One Big Beautiful Bill Act cuts $1.1 trillion
May 23
United Steelworkers union speaks out against proposed steel merger; Goodwin Procter turns over diversity data; Anthropic AI's fair use claim over authors' creative work