According to Reuters, five Volkswagen workers have filed a petition asking to intervene in the United Auto Worker’s pending election objection before the National Labor Relations Board. The five Chattanooga workers argue that the UAW and Volkswagen colluded in the run up to the election.
Los Angeles County supervisors approved a contract deal with the Service Employees International Union Local 721, the largest public employee union in Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles Times, the contract includes a 6% raise over three years and an agreement to hire 450 new social workers to ease caseloads for the Department of Children and Family Services.
Yesterday marked the last National Labor Relations Board hearing date for the nascent College Athletes Players Association, which is attempting to represent and collectively bargain on behalf of Northwestern University’s football players on scholarship. The Players Association argues that playing football in exchange for scholarship constitutes a ‘condition of employment’ according to the Chicago Tribune.
The Washington Post profiles public sector pension concerns in San Jose, CA. The article details various legislative fixes to looming retirement cost expansion as well as attempts to create plans for more workers, including the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Trust Act, which would create a state-managed retirement savings plan for California’s private sector workers.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) opposes any minimum wage below $10.10 an hour. Senator Reid delayed a vote amid rumors that some Democratic politicians were inclined to compromise on the increase.
In international news, Reuters reports that Croatian public and private sector unions engaged in a two-hour strike across the nation in opposition to the ruling government’s proposed loosening of labor laws.
Between 15,000 and 40,000 labor union members rallied in Seoul, South Korea yesterday to protest the one-year anniversary of President Park Geun-Hye taking office. According to the Wall Street Journal, the protesters demands include rejecting a free-trade agreement with China and investigating the presidential elections from the previous year.
The Associated Press reports that hundreds of Greek dockworkers engaged in a 24-hour strike in Athens to protest the privatization of the Piraeus Port Authority, the largest port in the country.
Daily News & Commentary
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March 13
Republican Senators urge changes on OSHA heat standard; OpenAI and building trades announce partnership on data center construction; forced labor investigations could lead to new tariffs
March 12
EPA terminates contract with second-largest union; Florida advances bill restricting public sector unions; Trump administration seeks Supreme Court assistance in TPS termination.
March 11
The partial government shutdown results in TSA agents losing their first full paycheck; the Fifth Circuit upholds the certification of a class of former United Airline workers who were placed on unpaid leave for declining to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for religious reasons during the pandemic; and an academic group files a lawsuit against the State Department over a policy that revokes and denies visas to noncitizens for their work in fact-checking and content moderation.
March 10
Court rules Kari Lake unlawfully led USAGM, voiding mass layoffs; Florida Senate passes bill tightening union recertification rules; Fifth Circuit revives whistleblower suit against Lockheed Martin.
March 9
6th Circuit rejects Cemex, Board may overrule precedents with two members.
March 8
In today’s news and commentary, a weak jobs report, the NIH decides it will no longer recognize a research fellows’ union, and WNBA contract talks continue to stall as season approaches. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that employers cut 92,000 jobs in February while the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.4 percent. A loss […]