Approximately 40 contract workers walked off their jobs in the U.S. Senate to join more than 1,000 activists calling for President Obama and Congress to pay federal contractors more, according to CNN. Obama passed an Executive Order in February raising the hourly wage of federal contract workers to $10.10. The workers say they need a wage that will allow them to have financial security and to provide for their families.
The New York Times reports that Congressional Democrats are uniting around a proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $12 per hour. The bill, which Senator Patty Murray will introduce in the next few days, will also gradually eliminate a separate minimum wage for tipped workers, like servers. The bill is unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled Congress.
In Illinois the state’s tollway board voted to end an agreement that would require contractors to hire union workers in return for assurances against strikes and other actions, the Chicago Tribune reports. The decision came after Governor Bruce Rauner voiced disapproval of the agreement. Rauner argued that project labor agreements prevent competitive bidding. Board members who supported the plan countered that the possibility of strikes or other job actions would bring uncertainty to the project.
A new Human Rights Watch report says that factory owners in Bangladesh have used violence and intimidation to prevent workers from forming labor unions, the New York Times reports. Bangladeshi factories make clothes for international labels like H&M, Wal-Mart, and the Gap. While Western retailers have taken steps to improve safety at the factories, they have done little to prevent other labor abuses.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
October 13
Texas hotel workers ratify a contract; Pope Leo visits labor leaders; Kaiser lays off over two hundred workers.
October 12
The Trump Administration fires thousands of federal workers; AFGE files a supplemental motion to pause the Administration’s mass firings; Democratic legislators harden their resolve during the government shutdown.
October 10
California bans algorithmic price-fixing; New York City Council passes pay transparency bills; and FEMA questions staff who signed a whistleblowing letter.
October 9
Equity and the Broadway League resume talks amid a looming strike; federal judge lets alcoholism ADA suit proceed; Philadelphia agrees to pay $40,000 to resolve a First Amendment retaliation case.
October 8
In today’s news and commentary, the Trump administration threatens no back pay for furloughed federal workers; the Second Circuit denies a request from the NFL for an en banc review in the Brian Flores case; and Governor Gavin Newsom signs an agreement to create a pathway for unionization for Uber and Lyft drivers.
October 7
The Supreme Court kicks off its latest term, granting and declining certiorari in several labor-related cases.