Martin Drake is a student at Harvard Law School.
Stop & Shop workers ended their strike after reaching an agreement with their employer Sunday night, WPRI reports. The strike has been ongoing since April 11, and was triggered by proposed changes to pay and healthcare benefits, Fox Business reports. Many Stop & Shop customers took their business elsewhere as a result of the strike, and the workers had support from several Democratic presidential contenders, as OnLabor previously reported.
Democratic candidates are making significant efforts to win union support in their bids for the presidency, particularly through criticism of corporate power, the Hill reports. The anti-corporate and pro-union messaging from Democratic candidates, including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Pete Buttigieg, reflects a sense that the Democratic party has drifted from its working-class reputation, thereby ceding legitimacy in formerly Democratic strongholds, like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Unions, for their part, are waiting longer to endorse candidates than in the 2016 presidential race.
In other electoral news, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and the Service Employees International Union of Illinois spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in a failed effort to elect Toni Preckwinkle as the mayor of Chicago, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Despite the loss, both unions say they’re proud of successfully swinging the Chicago City Council to the left, and CTU has highlighted the fact that the Mayor-elect, Lori Lightfoot, supported many elements of the CTU’s platform on the campaign trail. Meanwhile, the International Network of Charter School’s political fund saw six supported candidates win in the runoffs, totaling 10 wins out of their 13 endorsed candidates.
The Department of Labor is investigating a prominent hedge fund, Alden Global Capital, over its handling of hundreds of thousands of dollars in pension funds, USA Today reports. Alden is the controlling shareholder of MNG Enterprises, the publisher responsible for over 100 local news outlets, including the Denver Post and the Boston Herald. As much as 90 percent of MNG newspapers’ pension assets were invested in hedge funds controlled by Alden, a potential violation of U.S. retirement laws. An MNG spokesman has asserted that Alden’s investment choices complied with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which safeguards private industry pension funds.
Daily News & Commentary
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November 26
In today’s news and commentary, NLRB lawyers urge the 3rd Circuit to follow recent district court cases that declined to enjoin Board proceedings; the percentage of unemployed Americans with a college degree reaches its highest level since tracking began in 1992; and a member of the House proposes a bill that would require secret ballot […]
November 25
In today’s news and commentary, OSHA fines Taylor Foods, Santa Fe raises their living wage, and a date is set for a Senate committee to consider Trump’s NLRB nominee. OSHA has issued an approximately $1.1 million dollar fine to Taylor Farms New Jersey, a subsidiary of Taylor Fresh Foods, after identifying repeated and serious safety […]
November 24
Labor leaders criticize tariffs; White House cancels jobs report; and student organizers launch chaperone program for noncitizens.
November 23
Workers at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority vote to authorize a strike; Washington State legislators consider a bill empowering public employees to bargain over workplace AI implementation; and University of California workers engage in a two-day strike.
November 21
The “Big Three” record labels make a deal with an AI music streaming startup; 30 stores join the now week-old Starbucks Workers United strike; and the Mine Safety and Health Administration draws scrutiny over a recent worker death.
November 20
Law professors file brief in Slaughter; New York appeals court hears arguments about blog post firing; Senate committee delays consideration of NLRB nominee.