Jacqueline Rayfield is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News and Commentary, the Big Three Automakers continue to lay off striking workers, SEIU nursing home workers strike in Michigan, and commentators wonder: what is making this recent wave of strikes so successful?
Since the UAW began their strike at Big Three automakers four weeks ago, the three employers have laid off over 5,000 workers. Automakers claim that they are forced to lay off these workers because their jobs are tied to struck factories. However, talks continue between automakers and the UAW. UAW President Shawn Fain said Friday that negotiations are heading in the right direction.
Three Detroit nursing homes representing nearly 250 SEIU workers went on strike Tuesday for higher wages and benefits. Striking workers gathered at the Four Seasons Nursing home and were joined by U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib. “For you to walk out demand better it takes courage and you are inspiring some many other people to take that step. You do deserve better. You all take care of the most vulnerable among us,” Tlaib said speaking to striking workers.
Amid a wave of aggressive and successful strikes and union action, including those by the Writer’s Guild and United Parcel Services, commentators wonder, what has made this recent string of labor action so successful? And what has led management to underestimate unions’ resolve? Experts point to post-covid shift in workers mentality, strong new union leadership, and public opinion on big business, which is at its lowest point in decades.
Daily News & Commentary
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May 30
Trump's tariffs temporarily reinstated after brief nationwide injunction; Louisiana Bill targets payroll deduction of union dues; Colorado Supreme Court to consider a self-defense exception to at-will employment
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