This Weekend's News and Commentary — August 24/25

Wednesday is the fiftieth anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The Washington Post and NBC News report that thousands of members of civil rights organizations and labor unions unions marched on Saturday to commemorate the anniversary and renew calls for an updated federal voting rights law and more job opportunities.

On Friday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued draft regulations aiming to limit workers’ exposure to silica dust. The Hill reports that the proposed rule, which has been stalled for over two years, had become the poster child of stalled worker protections in recent years.

In Mexico City, the New York Times reports that massive street protests are blocking an educational overhaul program intended to establish professional hiring standards and weaken Mexico’s teachers’ union. While the government argues that the reforms will give teachers job stability and clear rules for promotion, the teachers are disturbed by the program’s obligatory evaluations, which could lead to tenured teachers being moved to administrative positions.

Juliet Lapidos of the New York Times’ editorial board discusses the emerging lawsuits against for-profit companies that hire unpaid interns. Lapidos argues that “proper enforcement of labor law shouldn’t depend on exploited interns’ willingness to suffer through courtroom ordeals.”