Emily Miller is a student at Harvard Law School.
In an op-ed for the L.A. Times, Scott Martelle outlines the potential threats to labor from a Trump administration with the N.L.R.B., Department of Labor, and federal legislation all subject to change under the new administration. However, Martelle believes that the various threats may actually be a good thing for the labor movement, providing a galvanizing force for the worker movement. Citing the Flint sit-down strike eighty years ago, he reasons that the difficult battle that lies ahead may bring workers together.
The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. Jobless Claims fell last week to 265,000, continuing the recent trend of steady improvement in the job market. Jobless claims have now been below 300,000 for 95 consecutive weeks, the longest time period since 1970. However, the Journal notes, these conditions vary widely across regions, with unemployment rates spanning from 1.7% to a high of 20.3% across U.S. metro areas. The Department of Labor will release its next jobs report at 8:30am this Friday. According to the New York Times, economists estimate that employers will have added 175,000 jobs last month, and unemployment will continue to decrease.
New York’s highly anticipated Second Avenue Subway opened yesterday and is set to be the most expensive subway in the world. Although many blame labor unions when infrastructure projects come with a high price tag, a recent article in Vox reports that it may actually be the weakness of U.S. labor unions that causes the inefficiency and skyrocketing prices of infrastructure projects, pointing to European countries with much stronger labor unions and cheaper projects.
Connecticut became the most recent state to “ban the box,” prohibiting employers from asking questions about an applicant’s criminal record at the beginning of the hiring process, except in certain circumstances. The law took effect at the start of the new year yesterday and subjects employers who violate its provisions to a $300 penalty for each violation. Under the law, employers may still ask about an applicant’s criminal history at a later stage in hiring, such as during the interview.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
November 25
In today’s news and commentary, OSHA fines Taylor Foods, Santa Fe raises their living wage, and a date is set for a Senate committee to consider Trump’s NLRB nominee. OSHA has issued an approximately $1.1 million dollar fine to Taylor Farms New Jersey, a subsidiary of Taylor Fresh Foods, after identifying repeated and serious safety […]
November 24
Labor leaders criticize tariffs; White House cancels jobs report; and student organizers launch chaperone program for noncitizens.
November 23
Workers at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority vote to authorize a strike; Washington State legislators consider a bill empowering public employees to bargain over workplace AI implementation; and University of California workers engage in a two-day strike.
November 21
The “Big Three” record labels make a deal with an AI music streaming startup; 30 stores join the now week-old Starbucks Workers United strike; and the Mine Safety and Health Administration draws scrutiny over a recent worker death.
November 20
Law professors file brief in Slaughter; New York appeals court hears arguments about blog post firing; Senate committee delays consideration of NLRB nominee.
November 19
A federal judge blocks the Trump administration’s efforts to cancel the collective bargaining rights of workers at the U.S. Agency for Global Media; Representative Jared Golden secures 218 signatures for a bill that would repeal a Trump administration executive order stripping federal workers of their collective bargaining rights; and Dallas residents sue the City of Dallas in hopes of declaring hundreds of ordinances that ban bias against LGBTQ+ individuals void.