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Zachary Boullt is a student at Harvard Law School.
Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and United Steelworkers President Tom Conway are kicking off the USW’s “We Supply America” bus tour to advocate for the current congressional infrastructure bill. The bus tour partly hopes to highlight the connection between infrastructure investment and good-paying steelworker jobs. Starting at the USW Local 6787 union hall in Chesterton, the We Supply America campaign will visit union halls and industrial sites in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
The November deadline for the UAW’s referendum regarding leadership election protocols may get pushed back depending on the resolution of an impasse between the UAW and the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards. The UAW is pushing to amend the consent decree to allow for “limited and monitored use of union resources” to advocate for either side of the referendum question. Any current use of union resources is a violation of the rules set by the Office of Labor-Management Standards. If the consent decree amendment is successful, the election may be pushed back a few weeks to adjust to the new rules.
The presidents of the United Food & Commercial Workers, the Communications Workers of America, and the United Auto Workers have announced that their unions are resigning from the board of the National Consumers League due to funding from Amazon. The unions claim that Amazon’s funding of the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization has compromised its progressive mission and that the NCL has prioritized anti-worker donations ahead of its pro-labor commitment. The board chair is a representative of SEIU and one of the vice chairs is from the AFL-CIO; neither have commented yet on the other unions’ departures.
An Illinois state appellate court has ruled that Hobby Lobby violated Illinois’s anti-bias law by denying a transgender woman employee access to the women’s bathroom. The ruling stated that plaintiff Meggan Sommerville was “unquestionably female” and that Hobby Lobby thus discriminated against her based on her gender identity. Sommerville was disciplined in 2013 for using the women’s bathroom at the store, and the Illinois Human Rights Commission ruled in her favor in 2019 that the bathroom policy was illegal. Hobby Lobby’s bathroom ban had driven Sommerville to limit her fluid intake, causing her health problems, and given her nightmares. Sommerville still works at Hobby Lobby. The three-judge panel unanimously rejected Hobby Lobby’s argument that sex is an immutable condition.
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June 28
Gig driver classification deal reached in Massachusetts; Amazon drivers in Illinois strike over ULP; CEO pay accelerates.
June 27
The economy and immigration expected to play a central role in the upcoming presidential debate and Washington gets involved in AI regulation of the entertainment industry.
June 26
California judge fines companies for child labor violations; IATSE reaches tentative deal with studios; Texas judge likely to block Biden Administration's overtime rule
June 25
Supreme Court grants petition to hear a case on the scope of ADA standing; Texas federal district court blocks DOL rule expanding wage requirements for construction contractors, and South Korean Hyundai workers authorize strike.
June 24
Workers across the country face extreme heat exposure with minimal government protections; Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2 reaches a tentative agreement with Con Edison narrowly avoiding a strike; the Tenth Circuit grants a continuation of a freeze on a wage increase for some federal contractors
June 23
Teamsters president will speak at RNC; Supreme Court weighs in on overtime exemptions; Honda faces ULP allegations.