
Jason Vazquez is a staff attorney at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 2023. His writing on this blog reflects his personal views and should not be attributed to the IBT.
On Monday morning, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval to the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. The FDA’s release assured the public that it should feel “very confident” that the vaccine, which has already been administered to more than 100 million individuals in the United States since being authorized for emergency use, “meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product.” The shot’s full approval triggers vaccination mandates for more than one million workers across a range of industries, including hospitals, universities, the public sector, the military, and private enterprises. In addition, the FDA’s approval will likely give rise to more such mandates in the coming weeks. Indeed, following the news, New York City announced stricter vaccination requirements for city employees, and oil giant Chevron ordered its field workers to receive inoculations.
In organizing news, the New York City Council Union secured recognition from the New York City Council on Sunday night. The Union, which represents more than 350 Council aides, commenced its unionization efforts in 2019, although discontent among the poorly-paid staffers had been stewing for more than a decade.
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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.