An embattled St. Louis ordinance raised the city’s minimum wage to $10 an hour on May 5, 2017. Yesterday, the minimum wage dropped back down to $7.70 because a state law took effect prohibiting local minimum wages above the state minimum. Though many states have prevented local increases, few have rolled back increases that were already in place. Some St. Louis workers saw their wages fall immediately. Other businesses have publicly committed to keeping wages at or above $10, perhaps due in part to urging from the Save the Raise campaign. Raise Up Missouri, an allied campaign, is building support for a ballot initiative that would raise the statewide minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2023.
Apple CEO Tim Cook just finished a mini-tour of middle America, and the New York Times notes a strong resemblance between his trip and conventional political campaigning. Cook toured a tech company in Ohio and announced a major investment in Iowa. In Texas, Cook announced that Austin Community College will become one of 30 community colleges offering an Apple-authored curriculum on app development. Critical of governmental gridlock and of President Trump’s response to Charlottesville, Cook has demonstrated a commitment to using renewable energy, and reaping the tax benefits of doing so.
Unemployment has been unnaturally low for four straight months, where ‘natural’ refers to a balance between the risk of recession and the risk of inflation. This might mean that another recession is imminent. It also might mean that structural changes—an aging workforce, globalization, and technology—are creating a new ‘natural’ for the American economy. The Wall Street Journal observes that inflation is falling rather than rising, and this supports the second explanation.
Daily News & Commentary
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July 6
Municipal workers in Philadelphia continue to strike; Zohran Mamdani collects union endorsements; UFCW grocery workers in California and Colorado reach tentative agreements.
July 4
The DOL scraps a Biden-era proposed rule to end subminimum wages for disabled workers; millions will lose access to Medicaid and SNAP due to new proof of work requirements; and states step up in the noncompete policy space.
July 3
California compromises with unions on housing; 11th Circuit rules against transgender teacher; Harvard removes hundreds from grad student union.
July 2
Block, Nanda, and Nayak argue that the NLRA is under attack, harming democracy; the EEOC files a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by former EEOC Commissioner Jocelyn Samuels; and SEIU Local 1000 strikes an agreement with the State of California to delay the state's return-to-office executive order for state workers.
July 1
In today’s news and commentary, the Department of Labor proposes to roll back minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by public defenders over a union’s Gaza statements, and Philadelphia’s largest municipal union is on strike for first time in nearly 40 years. On Monday, the U.S. […]
June 30
Antidiscrimination scholars question McDonnell Douglas, George Washington University Hospital bargained in bad faith, and NY regulators defend LPA dispensary law.