Jason Vazquez is a staff attorney at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 2023. His writing on this blog reflects his personal views and should not be attributed to the Teamsters.
As an economically crippling national rail shutdown hangs in the balance, progressive resistance is mounting in both chambers of Congress, threatening to derail President Biden’s maneuvers to secure legislative implementation of the tentative agreement his administration helped craft last month. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) encouraged his upper chamber colleagues to “stand with rail workers” on Sunday, and in the House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), among other progressive voices, insisted that lawmakers should intervene only to “have workers’ backs and secure their demands in legislation.” Interestingly, the rail workers have mobilized a limited degree of bipartisan support, as Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) indicated that he, too, would oppose a deal that “doesn’t have the support of the rail workers.”
Congression leaders have proven undeterred, however, swiftly advancing their plans to use the legislative power to forestall a shuttering of the nation’s railways. The House is poised to approve legislation implementing the agreement as soon as today, and Senate leadership has signaled they have the votes to overcome a filibuster. All told, then, President Biden conveyed confidence on Tuesday that his plans would prevail and his maneuvering would manage to avert a rail strike.
In regulatory news, the Senate HELP Committee voted on Tuesday to advance Biden’s nomination for Administrator of the DOL’s Wage and House Division, following a series of procedural delays. President Biden nominated Jessica Looman, a former labor lawyer and union official, to the role — the top enforcer of the FLSA and other major workplace laws — in July, after the Senate rejected his first pick. Looman has been leading the agency as Principal Deputy Administrator since January 2021
Lastly, the NLRB extended the deadline for submitting comments on its rulemaking concerning blocking charges to next February. The rule would rescind a regulation promulgated by the Trump Board in 2020, thereby restoring the traditional approach to so-called “blocking charges” supplanted by the Trump rule, under which RDs are empowered to delay the processing of election petitions in the face of pending charges.
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July 15
U.S. labor productivity is climbing at its fastest pace in decades; a federal judge grants a preliminary injunction to anti-abortion groups challenging Michigan’s civil rights law; and Jackson, Mississippi’s bus workers walk off the job.
July 14
DOJ opens investigation of UAW president; LIUNA protests Pfizer building collapse; national park workers unionize
July 13
New York Times files retaliation suit against the EEOC; US government pushes back TPS designation termination for Haiti; federal judge grants preliminary injunction to federal workers seeking reasonable telework accommodations.
July 12
Postal workers demand investigation into Atlanta distribution center conditions following deaths; University of Chicago Press Workers vote to unionize.
July 10
Brigham and Women’s Hospital locks out 4,000 nurses after one-day strike; appeal filed challenging agency-shop agreements.
July 9
The Second Circuit declines to vacate an arbitration award over a nursing union dispute; federal workers sue the Department of Defense for termination of union contracts; New York City announces settlement with companies for violating New York work laws.