Jon Weinberg is a student at Harvard Law School.
While the fashion industry remains good at disguising labor, at least some fashion workers will now be part of organized labor. Buzzfeed reports that more than 1,000 “store workers at Zara, the flagship brand of Inditex, the world’s largest fashion retailer, have voted to form a union in New York City.” The workers will be represented by the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU). The company agreed to card check recognition.
An Iowa court became the latest to express skepticism about the National Labor Relations Board’s general ability to seek injunctive relief. According to Bloomberg BNA, the District Court for the Northern District of Iowa held last week that “a National Labor Relations Board official couldn’t obtain an injunction against a corn products processor because the company’s alleged labor law violations haven’t caused a union to lose any of its members.” Since ” the NLRB’s evidence didn’t show that irreparable harm would likely occur without a federal court injunction, [the judge] denied the board’s petition for injunctive relief.”
The power of unions, in the United States and abroad, continues to generate commentary. Writing for the Washington Post, Robert Gebelhoff asks why “the United States consistently ranks near the bottom among developed nations in terms of union membership,” while Al Jazeera investigates whether the influence of French unions is declining in spite of their ability to organize paralyzing strikes.
Daily News & Commentary
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July 18
Trump names two NLRB nominees; Bernie Sanders introduces guaranteed universal pension plan legislation; the DOL ends its job training program for low-income seniors; and USCIS sunsets DALE.
July 17
EEOC resumes processing transgender workers' complaints; Senate questions Trump's NLRB General Counsel nominee; South Korean unions strike for reforms.
July 16
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services lays off thousands of employees; attorneys for the Trump Administration argue against revealing plans to reduce the workforce of federal agencies; and the Fourth Circuit grants an emergency stay on the termination of TPS for thousands of Afghans.
July 15
The Department of Labor announces new guidance around Occupational Safety and Health Administration penalty and debt collection procedures; a Cornell University graduate student challenges graduate student employee-status under the National Labor Relations Act; the Supreme Court clears the way for the Trump administration to move forward with a significant staff reduction at the Department of Education.
July 14
More circuits weigh in on two-step certification; Uber challengers Seattle deactivation ordinance.
July 13
APWU and USPS ratify a new contract, ICE barred from racial profiling in Los Angeles, and the fight continues over the dismantling of NIOSH