OnLabor

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May 2, 2022

Fred Wang

Fred Wang is a student at Harvard Law School.

All by Fred

Daily News & Commentary

Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all

September 17

A union argues the NLRB's quorum rule is unconstitutional; the California Building Trades back a state housing law; and Missouri proposes raising the bar for citizen ballot initiatives

September 16

In today’s news and commentary, the NLRB sues New York, a flight attendant sues United, and the Third Circuit considers the employment status of Uber drivers The NLRB sued New York to block a new law that would grant the state authority over private-sector labor disputes. As reported on recently by Finlay, the law, which […]

September 15

Unemployment claims rise; a federal court hands victory to government employees union; and employers fire workers over social media posts.

September 14

Workers at Boeing reject the company’s third contract proposal; NLRB Acting General Counsel William Cohen plans to sue New York over the state’s trigger bill; Air Canada flight attendants reject a tentative contract.

September 12

Zohran Mamdani calls on FIFA to end dynamic pricing for the World Cup; the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement opens a probe into Scale AI’s labor practices; and union members organize immigration defense trainings.

September 11

California rideshare deal advances; Boeing reaches tentative agreement with union; FTC scrutinizes healthcare noncompetes.

OnLabor In The News

Wired

Hundreds of Video Game Workers Join New Union as Trump Attacks Labor Rights: Prof. Sachs on challenges to union organizing under the second Trump Administration.

Los Angeles Times

Column: How anti-union southern governors may be violating federal law: Ben Sachs quoted in a column about the anti-union governors' letter and the fragmentation of labor law; John Fry's post referenced on the question of whether state level card-check bans are preempted by the NLRA.

Fast Company

Amazon’s Labor Union is divided but closing in on electing leadership: Prof. Sachs on Amazon's use of legal roadblocks to delay negotiations.

Semafor

Unions’ picket power now extends to U.S. boardrooms: Prof. Block on the influence of labor unions on other playing fields.

Bloomberg Law

Boeing Talks Will Test Unions’ Sway as Labor Market Softens: Prof. Block on Boeing's labor negotiations with the International Association of Machinists.

More From OnLabor

Ruelas v. County of Alameda — California Pretrial Detainees Denied Minimum Wage for Corporate Labor (Part 3)

Aug 8, 2025 Amy Eisenstein

In Ruelas v. County of Alameda, the Supreme Court of California denied pretrial detainees’ state minimum wage claim, reasoning that section 4019.3 of the state’s Penal Code — capping jail laborers’ wages at two dollars per day — instead governed. The first part of this three-part series discussed the California Supreme Court’s holding and reasoning. The second part gave a history of California’s constitution and jail labor in the state, concluding that the two-dollar daily wage cap could not have applied to plaintiffs, who were pretrial detainees performing unpaid labor for a corporation.

Ruelas v. County of Alameda — California Pretrial Detainees Denied Minimum Wage for Corporate Labor (Part 2)

Aug 6, 2025 Amy Eisenstein

In Ruelas v. County of Alameda, the Supreme Court of California held that pretrial detainees forced to labor for a corporation are ineligible for a minimum wage under the state’s Labor Code. The court construed Penal Code section 4019.3 broadly, interpreting it as incompatible with California’s Labor Code. The court concluded that the Penal Code prevents pretrial detainees from earning more than two dollars per day for their labor, absent a local ordinance.

How Three Simple Labor Laws Helped Unions Organize Amazon and UBER in Canada

Aug 5, 2025 David Doorey

In early July, the British Columbia Labour Relations Board (BCLRB) certified UFCW-Canada as the bargaining representative for over 500 UBER drivers in the province’s capital city of Victoria. A few days later, the BCLRB issued another decision that certified the union Unifor (formerly the Canadian Auto Workers) for a bargaining unit of hundreds of employees employed at an Amazon distribution centre […]

Ruelas v. County of Alameda — California Pretrial Detainees Denied Minimum Wage for Corporate Labor (Part 1)

Aug 4, 2025 Amy Eisenstein

Pretrial detainees in Santa Rita Jail are forced to labor for Aramark, a food-preparation company that provides meals to third parties outside of the jail. Neither Aramark nor the county pays detainees for their labor. In 1990, California amended its constitution to allow companies to contract with prisons — facilities run by the state or federal government that detain convicted offenders — for labor, so long as prisoners were paid comparable wages to non-inmate laborers.

The HGSU Bargaining Unit

Jul 15, 2025 Sharon Block, Benjamin Sachs and Laura Weinrib

On July 2nd, Harvard announced that it had decided to remove a significant number of graduate students from the bargaining unit represented by HGSU. The University said that it would no longer “include any students in the bargaining unit receiving stipends to pursue research toward their degrees.” The explanation for this decision was brief. The […]

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