Mackenzie Bouverat is a student at Harvard Law School.
As Nikita reported this weekend, the federal eviction moratorium has now lapsed. An estimated 11 million renters — a figure which amounts to one in six renters — now stand at risk of eviction. The executive branch is unable to act, per a Supreme Court order that further extensions to the eviction moratorium would require “clear and specific Congressional authorization.” And Congress is not in session.
Last week, both private and public employers have begun to institute vaccine mandates. California was the first, announcing that all state employees must provide proof of vaccination or wear masks and submit to coronavirus testing. On Wednesday, Google, Facebook and Netflix issued vaccine mandates for certain employees. Separately, on Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York’s 130,000 government workers must be vaccinated or face weekly testing. On Thursday, President Biden announced a vaccine mandate for federal workers, “encouraging employers across the private sector to follow this strong model.” Also on Thursday, North Carolina and San Diego County announced a vaccine requirement for its public workforce. And on Friday, Walt Disney Co. and Wal Mart followed suit: all salaried and nonunion hourly Disney employees must be vaccinated within sixty days; all employees at Walmart headquarters, and managers who travel within the United States, must be vaccinated by early October. Wal Mart also doubled its vaccination cash incentive for store and warehouse workers to $150.
California’s SEIU Local 1000 has objected to Governor Newsom’s mandate that all state employees provide proof of vaccination, demanding bargaining on the question of vaccine mandates before the mandate is implemented. Newsom’s order also applies to private-sector health care workers. In New Jersey, health care unions are also demanding bargaining over vaccine mandates issued by private hospitals: mandates are opposed by HPAE, with 14,000 members; 1199SEIU, which represents approximately 8,000 nursing home workers in New Jersey; and JNESO, a professional health workers union of 5,000.
Daily News & Commentary
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October 15
New reporting examines the rollback of child labor protections; California tries to block a strike; NLRB charges Wisconsin mental health provider with firing workers during union drive.
October 14
Eleventh Circuit overturns ERISA exhaustion rule; DHS finalizes removal of automatic renewal for work permits; AFGE challenges SSA over flexible scheduling policy.
October 13
Chicago hotel workers remain on strike; a coalition of Democratic states sues the Labor Department over canceled unemployment insurance grants; the Federal Labor Relations Authority establishes a new mediation framework for federal worker disputes.
October 12
Workers at the Obama Foundation begin organizing; MLB submits its latest collective bargaining agreement proposal; Brigham & Women's nurses postpone strike.
October 11
UAW President Shawn Fain succeeds in his reelection bid, and Spanish unions call for a general strike.
October 9
DHS proposes a $100k fee for the foreign grad employment program; Trump suspends tech company access to green card program; and private equity perpetuates poor working conditions for home care workers.