Despite facing opposition from some quarters of the labor movement, venture capitalist Bruce Rauner has won the nomination to serve as the GOP’s candidate in the Illinois gubernatorial race. The Chicago Tribune reports that Mr. Rauner is running on “a decidedly anti-government union theme alleging the state workforce has been featherbedded and overpaid.”
New York City has agreed to settle a long-running legal dispute over claims that the city’s fire department intentionally discriminated against minority applicants. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal explore the background and details of the nearly $100 million settlement.
British retailer Primark will to pay $9 million in long-term compensation to the nearly 580 workers (or their next-of-kin) who made its clothes at Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza factory, which collapsed last year leaving more than 1,100 dead. The Wall Street Journal reports that Primark’s decision has been criticized by workers’ rights groups, who are upset that Primark won’t be anchoring a collective compensation plan. That plan would apply to all 3,000 Rana Plaza workers (or next-of-kin), but won’t kick off until it meets its $40 million target.
Emily Badger of the Washington Post Wonkblog examines how the labor market has changed in the past decade. In what she describes an “unprecedented ‘great age twist’” jobs have become scarcer for those just entering the labor market, while employment rates have increased for those at or near retirement age.
A bond insurer has sought to intervene in the Detroit bankruptcy and is challenging the City’s treatment of a group of creditors that provided $1.4 billion for City pensions. Both the Journal and Times report, with the Times speculating that the filing might lead to a fight to claw back funds from the pension system, “which would throw a wrench into Detroit’s efforts to cushion its workers and retirees from some of the pain as it attempts to resolve its outsized debts.”
Daily News & Commentary
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August 29
Trump fires regulator in charge of reviewing railroad mergers; fired Fed Governor sues Trump asserting unlawful termination; and Trump attacks more federal sector unions.
August 28
contested election for UAW at Kentucky battery plant; NLRB down to one member; public approval of unions remains high.
August 27
The U.S. Department of Justice welcomes new hires and forces reassignments in the Civil Rights Division; the Ninth Circuit hears oral arguments in Brown v. Alaska Airlines Inc.; and Amazon violates federal labor law at its air cargo facility in Kentucky.
August 26
Park employees at Yosemite vote to unionize; Philadelphia teachers reach tentative three-year agreement; a new report finds California’s union coverage remains steady even as national union density declines.
August 25
Consequences of SpaceX decision, AI may undermine white-collar overtime exemptions, Sixth Circuit heightens standard for client harassment.
August 24
HHS cancels union contracts, the California Supreme Court rules on minimum wage violations, and jobless claims rise