On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Sandifer v. United States Steel Corp., the New York Times reports. The case poses the question whether the Fair Labor Standards Act requires that steelworkers be paid for the time it takes them to put on and take off their work clothing. The Seventh Circuit, in an opinion written by Judge Richard Posner, had previously answered emphatically no. The opinion went on to warn that workers should be wary of making such claims if “they don’t want the American steel industry to go where so much American manufacturing has gone in recent years — abroad.”
The Washington Post reports that the Senate voted 61 to 30 yesterday to advance the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a law that bans workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The bill is expected to be debated today and could pass the Senate as early as the end of this week.
The Associated Press reports that Seattle residents will vote today on whether to raise the minimum wage for workers at Washington’s Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to $15 an hour. The current minimum wage in Washington is $9.19 an hour – the highest state minimum wage in the country.
Two recordings secretly made by workers at Iron Mountain, a document storage company in Georgia, capture supervisors warning workers not to unionize, according to Salon.com. In one recording, managers tell workers they are “very disappointed” the workers are seeking unionization, and the managers vow to “educate” them about unionization. In another, a manager confronts employee Wayne Walker about his participation in the union campaign, saying: “If that’s what you want to do, by means do it if you think that’s what’s best for your family, but just make sure you’re educated.” Walker was fired a week later. The NLRB is currently investigating charges that the firing was retaliation for Walker’s organizing efforts.
In international news, the Washington Post reports that street cleaners and garbage collectors in Madrid plan to begin an open-ended strike today to protest planned layoffs of more than 1,000 workers. The workers gathered on Madrid’s Puerta del Sol plaza late yesterday, where they set off firecrackers and started bonfires in denunciation of the announced cuts.
Daily News & Commentary
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May 22
U.S. employers spend $1.7B on union avoidance each year and the ICJ declares the right to strike a protected activity.
May 21
UAW backs legal challenge to Trump “gold card” visa; DOL requests unemployment fraud technology funding; Samsung reaches eleventh-hour union agreement.
May 20
LIRR strike ends after three-day shutdown; key senators reject Trump's proposed 26% cut to Labor Department budget; EEOC moves to eliminate employer demographic reporting requirement.
May 19
Amazon urges 11th Circuit to overturn captive-audience meeting ban; DOL scraps Biden overtime rule; SCOTUS to decide on Title IX private right of action for school employees
May 18
California Department of Justice finds conditions at ICE facilities inhumane; Second Circuit rejects race bias claim from Black and Hispanic social workers; FAA cuts air traffic controller staffing target.
May 17
UC workers avoid striking with an 11th-hour agreement; Governor Spanberger vetoes public employee collective bargaining protections; Samsung workers prepare for an 18-day strike.