The New York Times’ Teresa Tritch urges President Obama to issue several executive orders that would make it harder for companies with wage and safety violations to obtain federal contracts. Between 2007 and 2012, 49 federal contractors, including Tyson Foods, Verizon Communications, AT&T, Nestle, and Hewlett-Packard, were cited 1,776 times for serious wage and/or safety and health violations. Nonetheless, those same 49 companies won $81 billion worth of federal contracts in 2012 alone. Tritch, citing a recent congressional report, argues that President Obama could begin to address this problem by issuing executive orders requiring contracting officials to obtain and consider up-to-date data about each prospective contractor’s labor record before awarding contracts, and requiring companies with labor violations to take certain steps in order to continue or renew their federal contracts. Tritch adds that President Obama could reverse the trend of federal contracts increasingly being awarded to companies that pay low wages and provide few or no benefits by issuing an executive order requiring contracting officials to take into account the quality of the jobs the contractors would offer workers.
In the midst of calls for a higher federal minimum wage and fast food workers’ push for $15 an hour, the New York Times rehashes the decades-old debate about the effect of raising the minimum wage on unemployment levels. Citing economists David Card and Alan Krueger’s famous 1992 study, the Times notes that there is reason to believe an increase in the minimum wage would have no negative effect on the unemployment rate. Especially in industries like fast food that have high turnover rates, a boost in the minimum wage could keep workers around longer and increase productivity. Moreover, as Krueger argues, “It helps low-wage workers to raise their family above the poverty line. It has a small ripple effect for people making more than the minimum wage. It particularly helps women.” Still, the effect of increased wages on unemployment remains disputed among economists. In addition, unemployment rate aside, an increased minimum wage does nothing for those below the poverty line who make more than minimum wage or those who are unemployed.
The LA Times reports that recent polls show a decline in public support for organized labor in California. According to the most recent poll, released Friday, 45% of surveyed Californians believe unions do more harm than good (compared to 35% in March 2011). Following several recent BART strikes, 47% of those polled said public transportation workers should be permitted to strike (44% said they should not). Those in the Bay Area are more likely than others to oppose transit workers’ right to strike.
Salon reports that workers at a California warehouse that exclusively services Walmart settled their lawsuit against the Walmart contractor this week. The 568 worker plaintiffs in the suit, Quezada v. Schneider, won $4.7 million for alleged wage theft. The workers claimed that, among other violations, they were forced to sign forms waiving their right to a meal break. A second suit against the contractor, Carrillo v. Schneider, in which Walmart is named as a co-defendant, is ongoing.
Food service workers at two Smithsonian museums – the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of American History, won union representation on Monday, the Washington Post reports. After a series of one-day strikes and protests, Compass Group, the federal contractor that runs the restaurants in the two museums, agreed to negotiate with Unite-Here for a contract for the 220 workers. Negotiations are set to begin next month.
Daily News & Commentary
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August 1
The Michigan Supreme Court grants heightened judicial scrutiny over employment contracts that shorten the limitations period for filing civil rights claims; the California Labor Commission gains new enforcement power over tip theft; and a new Florida law further empowers employers issuing noncompete agreements.
July 31
EEOC sued over trans rights enforcement; railroad union opposes railroad merger; suits against NLRB slow down.
July 30
In today’s news and commentary, the First Circuit will hear oral arguments on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) revocation of parole grants for thousands of migrants; United Airlines’ flight attendants vote against a new labor contract; and the AFL-CIO files a complaint against a Trump Administrative Executive Order that strips the collective bargaining rights of the vast majority of federal workers.
July 29
The Trump administration released new guidelines for federal employers regarding religious expression in the workplace; the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers is suing former union president for repayment of mismanagement of union funds; Uber has criticized a new proposal requiring delivery workers to carry company-issued identification numbers.
July 28
Lower courts work out meaning of Muldrow; NLRB releases memos on recording and union salts.
July 27
In today’s news and commentary, Trump issues an EO on college sports, a second district court judge blocks the Department of Labor from winding down Job Corps, and Safeway workers in California reach a tentative agreement. On Thursday, President Trump announced an executive order titled “Saving College Sports,” which declared it common sense that “college […]