Adi Kamdar is a student at Harvard Law School.
Why don’t all jobs matter? The provocative question is posed by Paul Krugman in today’s New York Times. Krugman questions why so much focus is on mining and manufacturing jobs, when the service sector—a much bigger slice of the economy—is dwindling. He points to several possible reasons, though complicates them all: the importance of mining jobs to local economies, the “political footballs” they have become, and the fact that miners and manufacturers tend to be white and male. Krugman ultimately concludes that saving jobs that are being lost may not be the smartest tack; instead, we should be investing in reeducation and guaranteeing benefits like health care.
Dylan Matthews of Vox summarizes a number of ideas—inspired largely by Europe—for how to save unions. First, unions could be organized on the sector level instead of on the company level, so all workers in a particular industry are affected. With less cross-company labor competition, the argument goes, businesses will be less union-averse. But how do you avoid the “free rider” problem, where, as in France, nearly every worker is covered by a collective bargaining agreement but fewer than 10% of workers are actually in unions? Some countries, like Denmark and Finland, have systems where unions run unemployment insurance, increasing the contact between the labor organizations and possible members. As Professor Sachs notes in the piece, however, such a change might be very tough during the Trump years.
Fast Company Co.Design covers a recent report by the Center for Business and Human Rights at NYU Stern School of Business on migrant workers. The report highlights how many of these workers end up paying to work: agents and recruiters require trumped-up fees and many workers end up dishing out extra for airline tickets and other documents. As the piece notes, “When you finally get to work, you might already owe a year’s worth of wages.”
Daily News & Commentary
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February 21
In today’s News & Commentary, Trump spending cuts continue to threaten federal workers, and Google AI workers allege violations of labor rights. Trump’s massive federal spending cuts have put millions of workers, both inside and outside the federal government, in jeopardy. Yesterday, thousands of workers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs research office were […]
February 20
President Trump's labor secretary pick retreats from some of her pro-labor stances during Senate confirmation hearing and Lynn Rhinehart discusses implications of NLRB and other agency removals.
February 19
In today’s news and commentary, Lori Chavez-Deremer’s confirmation hearing, striking King Soopers workers return to the bargaining table, and UAW members at Rolls-Royce authorize a strike. Lori Chavez-Deremer, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Labor, faces a Senate confirmation hearing today. Chavez-Deremer may face more No votes from Republicans than other Trump cabinet members. Rand […]
February 18
In today’s news and commentary, an air traffic union examines the impact of federal aviation worker firings, Southwest Airlines lays off 15% of its corporate workforce, and the NLRB’s General Counsel withdraws Biden-era memos Following the Trump Administration’s dismissal of hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), a […]
February 17
President Trump breaks campaign promise to support workers and Utah’s governor signs a law banning public sector collective bargaining
February 16
Unions fight unlawful federal workforce purges; Amazon union push suffers setback in North Carolina.