Senate Republicans won’t even consider legislation to raise the federal minimum wage. Last month, the House approved the Raise the Wage Act, which would raise the federal minimum wage to $15, by a vote of 231 to 199. But to get to the President’s desk, the legislation would have to pass the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee—and committee Chair Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TE) refuses to consider the bill, or any legislation to raise the federal minimum wage at all. A $15 federal minimum wage would raise pay for 27 million American workers.
This week, Senator and Presidential contender Elizabeth Warren weighed in on the California worker misclassification debate. California’s state legislature is debating several bills to address rampant worker misclassification. One high profile bill is AB-5, which would codify the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex ruling into state law, modernizing the legal test used to determine whether a worker is an employee, who is entitled to key protections like the minimum wage and family leave, or an independent contractor, who is not. But the pro-worker bill is squaring off in the legislature against legislation to overturn Dynamex, leaving gig workers like Uber and Lyft drivers newly vulnerable to misclassification. Warren urged legislators to pass AB-5, ensuring workers have access to “basic protections like the right to organize, wage and hour laws, health care coverage and protections against sexual harassment.” You can read OnLabor’s recap of the legislative debate here and here.
Workers at the sports and pop culture website The Ringer announced that they’re unionizing earlier this week. Three days after their public announcement, Ringer management agreed to voluntarily recognize the union—a testament to growing union strength in digital media.
Gilded Age steel baron Andrew Carnegie famously crushed unions at his steel plants. Instead of paying his workers a living wage, he used a fraction his fabulous wealth to build libraries. This week, hundreds of employees at the Carnegie Library system in Pennsylvania voted to unionize.
Daily News & Commentary
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March 4
In today’s news and commentary, the Tennessee Drivers Union allegedly faces retaliation for organizing, major hospital groups are hit with a wage suppression lawsuit, and updates from Capitol Hill. The Tennessee Drivers Union announced on social media that its members are facing retaliation from Uber and Lyft for their rideshare organizing activities. Specifically, 34 members […]
March 3
Democrats invite fired federal workers to Trump’s address to a joint session; the NLRB’s acting general counsel announces agency focus on boosting settlements; the United Federation of Teachers may face a regime change
March 2
Judge partially blocks federal worker firings; Trump Administration wants data on federal worker unions; AFT fights Musk by pressuring Tesla.
February 28
In today’s news and commentary, a Senate committee advances Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination and UAW reaches a tentative agreement with Rolls-Royce. On Thursday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions voted to advance the nomination of Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Secretary of Labor, 14-9. At the Senate hearing, Senator Bernie Sanders, the committee’s ranking member, […]
February 27
Nearly 60,000 University of California workers represented by a pair of unions initiate strike, FTC forms Joint Labor Task Force, and DoorDash reaches settlement with New York AG’s Office to pay $16.8 million in restitution for wage theft practice.
February 25
NLRB stops defending removal protections but continues defending against injunctions; Colorado legislature considers ending right-to-work