Ajayan Williamson is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s news and commentary, Starbucks workers vote to authorize a strike; the Sixth Circuit rejects Thryv remedies; and OPEIU tries to intervene, again, to defend the NLRB.
Yesterday, Starbucks Workers United announced that its members have voted to authorize an strike if a contract is not finalized by November 13. Contract talks have been in progress since late last year; the union voted down a potential deal in April, seeking concessions on hours, pay, and the outstanding unfair labor practice charges. Yesterday’s vote authorizes an open-ended strike beginning on “Red Cup Day,” the start of the company’s busy holiday season. However, the union represents only about 9,000 of the company’s 200,000 workers, and the company claimed it would be able to keep most stores open “regardless of the union’s plans.”
Meanwhile, the Sixth Circuit ruled yesterday that the NLRB may not order a company to pay for the “direct or foreseeable pecuniary harms” of an unfair labor practice, rejecting the “Thryv remedy” that the Board had imposed. As Ted and I have written, the Third and Fifth Circuits recently rejected Thryv remedies, but the Ninth Circuit recently reaffirmed them. This latest ruling — which also happens to involve allegations of unfair labor practices by Starbucks — contributes to a growing circuit split over the propriety of such remedies.
Finally, the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) announced yesterday that it would attempt to seek certiorari in SpaceX’s suit against the NLRB. As Anjali explained in August, the Fifth Circuit’s ruling in that case effectively halted unfair labor practice charges in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The NLRB announced last month that it would not appeal the decision; in a complex procedural posture, OPEIU was previously allowed to intervene and argue the case, but it was ejected from the proceeding by the Fifth Circuit a few months later. The latest motion directly asks the Supreme Court to allow OPEIU to intervene again and appeal the Fifth Circuit’s decision.
Daily News & Commentary
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August 28
Calls for a “token tax” on AI consumption grow and the number of Amazon workers on federal aid explodes.
August 27
NLRB GC targets Biden-era precedent; Starbucks Workers United calls for boycott; Encore Boston Harbor workers authorize strike
August 26
Trump administration proposes $103,000 H-1B visa fee after court blocks earlier attempt; Illinois governor signs law enabling state investment in AFL-CIO housing trust; Deloitte pays $21.5 million to settle DOJ probe alleging DEI-related discrimination in federal contracts.
August 25
Hyundai workers reach a tentative agreement; Federal-sector unions sue the Trump Administration over OPM rule changes; Federal judge dismisses a teachers’ union free speech suit.
August 24
Boeing engineers and technicians reject contract proposals and authorize a strike; Ninth Circuit holds that unions charged under 8(b)(4)(D) cannot invoke the work-preservation defense to disregard 10(k) determination.
August 23
Hyundai Motors workers launch full-day strike; federal judge rules in favor of Vermont dairy plant in closure dispute