New Jersey unions started the week with bad news: the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal on whether the state must pay the full share of its annual public pension contribution, reports CNBC. This leaves in place Governor Chris Christie’s plan, in which the state makes only partial contributions to the fund. New Jersey teachers, state troopers and other government workers entered a contractual agreement in 2011 for full pension funding, but Christie slashed the state’s contribution in 2014, citing a fiscal emergency. Without any Supreme Court review, the unions are left to fight in the political sphere, and will push for a November ballot measure.
The primaries remain in full swing, but Yahoo News is already forecasting the general election—with Labor Secretary Tom Perez as the Democratic vice presidential candidate. If Hillary Clinton wins the nomination, Democratic senators and Hill aides hypothesize that Perez would be a strong sidekick. At the Department of Labor, Perez has advocated for minimum wage increases, union organization, and disclosure of third-party commissions by financial advisers. Perez’ progressive economic and civil rights policies, as well as his Dominican heritage, may attract both the progressive “Warren wing” and the Latino conservatives that Clinton seeks.
The future Democratic nominee shouldn’t take the Labor vote for granted, however. Boston.com describes one anomalous voting block: union members for Donald Trump. Trump’s stance against immigrants and the Trans-Pacific Partnership speak to Massachusetts’ blue-collar workers. Bay State Republicans, accustomed to living in a liberal state, responded especially well to Trump’s “ideologically mish-mashed platform.” Trump’s rhetoric works; he stole the vote in the state’s Super Tuesday election.
How do you tell the difference between a bookkeeping mistake and breaking the law? For New York state labor investigators, it’s a fine line in the nail salon industry. Regulators have been inspecting the state’s nail salons since May, when the New York Times published an exposé on the industry. Regulators find widespread noncompliance with state and federal labor laws, for a multitude of reasons: intentional evasion, misunderstanding the technicalities of labor laws, improper accounting, or protecting their immigrant employees by paying them under the table. The New York Times reports that some nail salon owners contend they have been “unfairly singled out an industry dominated by Asian immigrants.” The state tries to protect exploited workers without hurting business owners who make innocent mistakes. One salon owner explained: “I want to follow American law and rules to be good citizen….But something we don’t know, they have to let people know first.”
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
October 14
Census Bureau layoffs, Amazon holiday hiring, and the final settlement in a meat producer wage-fixing lawsuit.
October 13
Texas hotel workers ratify a contract; Pope Leo visits labor leaders; Kaiser lays off over two hundred workers.
October 12
The Trump Administration fires thousands of federal workers; AFGE files a supplemental motion to pause the Administration’s mass firings; Democratic legislators harden their resolve during the government shutdown.
October 10
California bans algorithmic price-fixing; New York City Council passes pay transparency bills; and FEMA questions staff who signed a whistleblowing letter.
October 9
Equity and the Broadway League resume talks amid a looming strike; federal judge lets alcoholism ADA suit proceed; Philadelphia agrees to pay $40,000 to resolve a First Amendment retaliation case.
October 8
In today’s news and commentary, the Trump administration threatens no back pay for furloughed federal workers; the Second Circuit denies a request from the NFL for an en banc review in the Brian Flores case; and Governor Gavin Newsom signs an agreement to create a pathway for unionization for Uber and Lyft drivers.