The New York Times profiles stories on unemployed workers, as the emergency federal unemployment-insurance program – which extended benefits by up to 73 weeks beyond state maximums – is set to expire at the end of the month. Meanwhile, the Washington Post highlights the impact the change will have on each state’s maximum weeks of benefit eligibility in two stark graphics.
The number of asylum claims from immigrants who have entered the U.S. illegally has tripled this year, according to the L.A. Times. The sharp spike in claims is leading some to conclude that many may be fraudulent claims designed to delay deportation, but others say such suspicions shouldn’t alter a process that is vital to protect vulnerable people from persecution abroad.
The nation’s highest municipal minimum wage, $15/hr in SeaTac, Washington passed by referendum earlier this year, is facing a crucial court test today, reports the New York Times. As labor advocates anxiously await the law’s effective date of January 1, 2014, a challenge to the law brought by Alaska Airlines and the Washington Restaurant Association is being heard in a Seattle courtroom today.
New York University teaching assistants have voted by a 620 to 10 margin to join the United Automobile Workers, reports the New York Times. The workers will become the first union of graduate assistants recognized at a private university anywhere in the country.
The Washington Post highlights a cost-of-living pay increase for federal workers contained in the new Budget deal that obtained bi-partisan support in Congress.
Talks between Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers have collapsed, according to the Wall Street Journal, in the latest wrinkle in the ongoing drama over where the company’s planned 777x jetliner will be manufactured. A Boeing spokesperson stated they had no plans to go back to the negotiating table, characterizing the most recent proposal as their “best and final” offer.
Laura D’Andrea Tyson in the New York Times reviews the evidence on what effect a minimum wage hike has on job numbers and prices.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
May 22
U.S. employers spend $1.7B on union avoidance each year and the ICJ declares the right to strike a protected activity.
May 21
UAW backs legal challenge to Trump “gold card” visa; DOL requests unemployment fraud technology funding; Samsung reaches eleventh-hour union agreement.
May 20
LIRR strike ends after three-day shutdown; key senators reject Trump's proposed 26% cut to Labor Department budget; EEOC moves to eliminate employer demographic reporting requirement.
May 19
Amazon urges 11th Circuit to overturn captive-audience meeting ban; DOL scraps Biden overtime rule; SCOTUS to decide on Title IX private right of action for school employees
May 18
California Department of Justice finds conditions at ICE facilities inhumane; Second Circuit rejects race bias claim from Black and Hispanic social workers; FAA cuts air traffic controller staffing target.
May 17
UC workers avoid striking with an 11th-hour agreement; Governor Spanberger vetoes public employee collective bargaining protections; Samsung workers prepare for an 18-day strike.