In today’s news and commentary, Americans celebrate Labor Day while the two Presidential candidates continue their efforts to court labor, the California Legislature considers several labor and employment measures, and Israel’s largest union leads a general strike to pressure the government to make a ceasefire-hostage deal in Gaza.

As Americans celebrate the 130^th official Labor Day, the Presidential tickets have planned events targeting union members. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Pittsburgh this evening celebrating labor unions. This is their first joint campaign event since President Biden endorsed Harris as the nominee in July. Harris and Biden will meet with leaders of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the A.F.L.-C.I.O and the United Steelworkers. Harris is hoping to assume Biden’s role and status as the most pro-union president.

Before joining Biden in Pittsburgh, Harris will make a stop in Detroit for an event with the American Federation of Teachers’ Randi Weingarten and the United Auto Workers’ Shawn Fain. The DNC released billboards in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin ahead of Labor Day weekend, calling Former President Trump an anti-unionist. Trump will address the national board of the Fraternal Order of Police later this week in Charlotte, North Carolina. JD Vance addressed the International Association of Firefighters at a conference in Boston last Thursday. In a pre-Labor Day speech, A.F.L.-C.I.O. President Liz Shuler reminded the campaigns that union workers make up 1 in 5 voters in swing states. That, despite union workers making up only 1 in 10 of all U.S. workers.

The California Legislature has seen much labor and employment legislation recently. As Esther reported, the California Senate recently passed a bill regulating the replacement of human performers with artificial intelligence. However, another bill regulating the use of AI in the workplace was dropped just before the legislature adjourned on Saturday night. The bill would have created anti-discrimination rules for companies developing AI tools used to hire, promote, or make other employment decisions. Developers would have been required to conduct assessments on their product’s impact and potential for bias and applicants and employees would have been entitled to advance notice that these technologies were in use. Businesses and tech groups claimed the bill would burden companies’ everyday use of automated technology. The bill was moved to the inactive file. Meanwhile, on the same day, a bill banning captive audience meetings cleared the California Senate by a vote of 31-9. If Governor Gavin Newsom signs SB 399 into law, California will become the largest over half a dozen states to prohibit employers from disciplining workers for not participating in employer-held religious or political events.

Israel’s largest public sector union, the Histradrut Labor Federation, called for a one-day general strike to protest the government’s failure to reach a ceasefire-hostage deal in Gaza. The strike comes just a few days after the bodies of six hostages were brought back to Israel. Workers across the country shut down banks, tech firms, public transport, healthcare funds and other businesses. The strike closed Israel’s main airport for over two hours before a labor court issued a temporary injunction ordering the unions to resume work and calling the solidarity strike political in nature. Histadrut represents some 800,000 workers from 27 different unions. Today’s strike was among the country’s largest and broadest protests of the Israeli government since the war began.