
Rachel Sandalow-Ash is a student at Harvard Law School and a member of the Labor and Employment Lab.
Governor Bruce Rauner (R) of Illinois vetoed a bill that would have allowed graduate research assistants at the state’s public universities to join labor unions. Currently, graduate teaching assistants — but not research assistants — at the University of Illinois are unionized with the Graduate Employees’ Organization (GEO), an American Federation of Teachers (AFT) affiliate. Though a spokesperson for the University of Illinois said that graduate research assistants’ research activities “are not work,” GEO pointed out that research assistants perform “invaluable and lucrative labor” for Illinois’ public universities.
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a proposed initiative to raise income taxes on the rich to fund the state’s public education system could not proceed to the ballot. The initiative was supported by the Arizona Education Association, the state’s teachers’ union, as well as by Arizona Educators United, the teacher activist group that led the #RedForEd teacher walkout last spring. Supporters of the ballot initiative (Proposition 207) blamed Republican Governor Doug Ducey for stacking the court and are urging Arizona residents to vote for pro-education candidates in the November elections.
Alex Press writes in the Washington Post about the dangers of two-tiered union contracts; and, more specifically, why UPS workers must reject a two-tiered contract proposal (previously covered by OnLabor). Since the 1970s, two-tier union contracts, which divide workers into distinct wage and benefit categories based on their hiring dates, “have been central to the attack on workers’ rights,” Press writes. Such contracts undermine worker solidarity by encouraging workers in the lower tier to mistrust and resent the workers in the higher tier. Two-tier contracts also enable companies to squeeze every penny from their workers. The Teamsters and UPS have reached a tentative agreement that allow the company to create a “new class” of drivers who — unlike the old drivers — would be required to work on weekends; would have less of a say in scheduling; and would be paid less than their coworkers. Many UPS workers are deeply unhappy with this proposed arrangement, and Press writes that “thousands of rank-and-file UPS workers . . . are calling for workers to vote the contract down” and insist on renegotiation.
MIT professor Thomas A. Kochan writes in the Boston Review that to address the contemporary challenges facing the labor movement, we should take inspiration from Frances Perkins, who served as Secretary of Labor in the FDR Administration. Specifically, we must follow Perkins’ lead in developing and implementing wide-ranging and innovative policies to combat inequality and increase worker power. Kochan writes that we must guarantee living wages and paid family leave for all workers; invest in physical and digital infrastructure; ensure that workers have access to ongoing training; promote collective bargaining as well as “emerging models of worker voice and representation”; and establish “a new integrated system of justice” based in specialized labor courts.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
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.
June 29
In today’s news and commentary, Trump v. CASA restricts nationwide injunctions, a preliminary injunction continues to stop DOL from shutting down Job Corps, and the minimum wage is set to rise in multiple cities and states. On Friday, the Supreme Court held in Trump v. CASA that universal injunctions “likely exceed the equitable authority that […]