The New York Times reports that, on Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Unite Here Local 355 v. Mulhall. The piece quotes Professor Sachs, who has observed that Mulhall is potentially “the most significant labor case in a generation.” OnLabor will have more coverage of the Mulhall case this week.
In international news, the Washington Post describes the continuing struggles of garment workers in Bangladesh. Today, thousands of workers demanding better wages threw rocks and sticks at clothing factories. Police clashed with the protestors, and ultimately used tear gas against them. At least 30 people were injured.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that violence erupted yesterday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as police arrested hundreds undocumented foreign workers. The arrests were part of a larger government plan to overhaul the Saudi labor market. Two people were killed and at least 68 were injured.
The Los Angeles Times discusses the conditions faced by workers on tomato farms in Sinaloa, Mexico. Many of these workers were recruited from villages in Mexico’s poorest states, and had few other options for employment. Critics of the farming operations say that the laborers work under conditions that are tantamount to indentured servitude.
On the opinion pages, Gen. James Jones and Dan Goldenberg of the Los Angeles Times observe that post-9/11 veterans face a grim employment picture: those ages 20 to 24 are 81% more likely to be unemployed than their non-veteran peers, while those ages 25 to 29 are 71% more likely to be unemployed than non-veterans. The piece suggests that we can improve veterans’ chances of obtaining meaningful civilian employment by working to debunk the “stubborn and misleading narrative that persists in the minds of many Americans: Every veteran is either a hero or damaged.”
Frank Keating of the Los Angeles Times explains that, from his perspective as a “Reagan Republican,” Americans should support immigration reform. He contends that the Senate’s immigration reform bill promises economic benefits and an opportunity to stand behind the American principle that it is “unconscionable to leave a class of neighbors who share our values in perpetual second-class status.”
Finally, in the Wall Street Journal, Peter Cappelli suggests that it may be unwise for students to obtain a highly technical college degree that prepares them for a narrow class of jobs. He explains that “nobody can predict where the jobs will be—not the employers, not the schools, not the government officials who are making such loud calls for vocational training.” As a result, students who develop job-specific skill sets run the risk that, in the future, their skills will not be in demand.
Daily News & Commentary
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July 4
The DOL scraps a Biden-era proposed rule to end subminimum wages for disabled workers; millions will lose access to Medicaid and SNAP due to new proof of work requirements; and states step up in the noncompete policy space.
July 3
California compromises with unions on housing; 11th Circuit rules against transgender teacher; Harvard removes hundreds from grad student union.
July 2
Block, Nanda, and Nayak argue that the NLRA is under attack, harming democracy; the EEOC files a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by former EEOC Commissioner Jocelyn Samuels; and SEIU Local 1000 strikes an agreement with the State of California to delay the state's return-to-office executive order for state workers.
July 1
In today’s news and commentary, the Department of Labor proposes to roll back minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by public defenders over a union’s Gaza statements, and Philadelphia’s largest municipal union is on strike for first time in nearly 40 years. On Monday, the U.S. […]
June 30
Antidiscrimination scholars question McDonnell Douglas, George Washington University Hospital bargained in bad faith, and NY regulators defend LPA dispensary law.
June 29
In today’s news and commentary, Trump v. CASA restricts nationwide injunctions, a preliminary injunction continues to stop DOL from shutting down Job Corps, and the minimum wage is set to rise in multiple cities and states. On Friday, the Supreme Court held in Trump v. CASA that universal injunctions “likely exceed the equitable authority that […]