OnLabor

Law. Workers. Organizing.

  • Follow OnLabor on X
  • Subscribe via RSS
News & Commentary

April 20, 2016

  • Hannah Belitz
Hannah Belitz

Hannah Belitz is a student at Harvard Law School.

All by Hannah
  • Share
  • Share
  • Print

The United Steelworkers union is calling on the United States to impose higher tariffs on aluminum imports, the New York Times reports.  On Monday, the union’s law firm filed a petition under Section 201 of the 1974 Trade Act, which permits “domestic industries seriously injured or threatened with serious injury by increased imports [to] petition the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) for import relief.”  According to the union, the U.S. aluminum smelting industry is suffering: by this summer, over three-quarters of the industry that existed five years ago will have been idled or shut down.  The union cites China’s rising exports as a key reason for the industry’s decline.

According to the Washington Post, Airbnb is negotiating with the SEIU over a deal to employ unionized housekeepers who make at least $15/hour.  Under the terms of the agreement, Airbnb would “endorse the union’s Fight for $15 and encourage vendors who provide services to homeowners on the Airbnb platform to pay their staff at least $15 per hour.”  Airbnb’s platform would also direct its hosts to cleaners that the SEIU has approved.  As for Airbnb, the deal would give it “new ammunition for its myriad political battles,” allowing the company “to make the claim that it is creating good jobs for local residents.”

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has found that employment has finally returned to pre-financial crisis levels.  As the Wall Street Journal explains, the employment rate fell significantly following the 2008 crisis, bottomed out in late 2010, and has been rising “slowly but steadily” ever since.  However, the fact that it has taken over seven years to recover “serves as a reminder of how damaging the crisis was.”  Moreover, the extent of the recovery varies widely across economies.  Japan, Germany, and the U.K, for example, have exceeded pre-crisis employment rates; the United States has not.

 

  • Share
  • Share
  • Print

The Latest From OnLabor

Dealing with the Likely Demise of Humphrey’s Executor

by Samuel Estreicher, G. Roger King and David Sherwyn

Justice Jackson Shows Us How to Read a Statute

by Andrew Strom

Cut College Sports’ Gordian Knot: Go Straight to Collective Bargaining (Part II)

by Wilma Liebman and Lance Compa

Cut College Sports’ Gordian Knot: Go Straight to Collective Bargaining (Part I)

by Wilma Liebman and Lance Compa

Tagged

More by Hannah Belitz

Browse all

Daily News & Commentary: May 17, 2017

May 17, 2017

Daily News & Commentary: May 3, 2017

May 3, 2017

Daily News & Commentary: April 19, 2017

April 19, 2017

Daily News & Commentary

Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all

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 […]

OnLabor In The News

Browse all

Wired

Hundreds of Video Game Workers Join New Union as Trump Attacks Labor Rights
Prof. Sachs on challenges to union organizing under the second Trump Administration.

Los Angeles Times

Column: How anti-union southern governors may be violating federal law
Ben Sachs quoted in a column about the anti-union governors' letter and the fragmentation of labor law; John Fry's post referenced on the question of whether state level card-check bans are preempted by the NLRA.

Fast Company

Amazon’s Labor Union is divided but closing in on electing leadership
Prof. Sachs on Amazon's use of legal roadblocks to delay negotiations.

Semafor

Unions’ picket power now extends to U.S. boardrooms
Prof. Block on the influence of labor unions on other playing fields.

Bloomberg Law

Boeing Talks Will Test Unions’ Sway as Labor Market Softens
Prof. Block on Boeing's labor negotiations with the International Association of Machinists.

More From OnLabor

See more

Weight Discrimination is Still Legal in Massachusetts. State Lawmakers Can Change That.

May 27, 2025 Miriam Li

Earlier this year, Massachusetts legislators introduced a bill that would prohibit weight-based discrimination in the workplace. This type of legislation isn’t new—since the late 1990s, Massachusetts lawmakers have repeatedly proposed similar measures, but none has advanced to a vote. And because federal civil rights laws, including Title VII, still don’t prohibit weight discrimination, Massachusetts employers […]

The IRS-ICE Deal Threatens All Workers 

May 26, 2025 Liana Wang

Since early February, the Trump Administration has been pressuring the Internal Revenue Service to support the deportation of undocumented immigrants. In April, court filings showed that the I.R.S. ultimately capitulated, signing a “Memorandum of Understanding” with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Although the agreement was heavily redacted, an anonymous ICE official told Politico Pro that the “[I.R.S.’s] data would likely improve […]

Tracking Attacks on the NLRB: Supreme Court Reaffirms Wilcox Stay

May 23, 2025 Ted Parker

Supreme Court reaffirms stay on Wilcox's return, giving clues as to how it could eventually rule on the merits.

National Park Workers in Peril

May 23, 2025 JJ Zeng

Some of America’s most beloved federal employees, National Park Services workers, are some of the thousands of workers who have been hit by the Trump Administration’s firing of federal probationary officers. These indiscriminate firings could be irreparable. Since January, the Trump Administration has aggressively culled the federal workforce, including firing over 16,000 probationary workers across federal […]

The NLRB’s Existence is at Stake

May 22, 2025 Andrew Strom

It seems increasing likely that Gwynne Wilcox’s lawsuit challenging Donald Trump’s attempt to fire her in the middle of her five-year term as a Member of the National Labor Relations Board will, one way or the other, result in the end of the NLRB as we have known it.   Congress created the NLRB as an […]

Enjoy OnLabor’s fresh takes on the day’s labor news, right in your inbox.

* indicates required

OnLabor

Law. Workers. Organizing.

OnLabor is a blog devoted to workers, unions, and their politics. We interpret our subject broadly to include the current crisis in the traditional union movement (why union decline is happening and what it means for our society); the new and contested forms of worker organization that are filling the labor union gap; how work ought to be structured and managed; how workers ought to be represented and compensated; and the appropriate role of government — all three branches — in each of these issues.

Learn more about OnLabor

Copyright © 2025 OnLabor. All rights reserved.

OnLabor is unable to accept unsolicited submissions.

  • Follow OnLabor on X
  • Subscribe via RSS
Contact
[email protected]
Site design
Jon White Studio

Sections

  • All Editorial Writing
  • All News & Commentary
  • From The Editor
  • From Senior Contributors
  • Analysis From Guest Voices
  • OnLabor In The News
  • All Featured Coverage
  • About

Connect

  • Follow OnLabor on X
  • Subscribe via RSS