Anita Alem is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s news and commentary: Hyundai and supplier factory face lawsuit following Reuters investigation revealing child labor in manufacturing, NLRB orders United Mine Workers of America to pay $13M for unlawful strike, NLRB dismisses charges against Starbucks union workers, and Reuters journalists plan to strike Thursday.
SMART, an auto manufacturing supplier for Hyundai, allegedly employs children as young as 12 in its Montgomery, Alabama facility according to a Reuters investigation as well as a recently filed federal class-action lawsuit on behalf of Hyundai vehicle owners. The Reuters investigation began when a fourteen year-old child, who is Guatemalan and whom Reuters referred to as a “migrant child,” briefly went missing and was later found. She and her 12 year-old and 15 year-old brothers all worked at the SMART factory. Several others have confirmed that SMART regularly exploits underage workers in a dangerous facility with potential amputation hazards. Hyundai and SMART have both denied the use of child labor, which is prohibited under Alabama law for children under the age of 16 in the manufacturing industiry. Both federal and state labor agencies are investigating the child labor reports.
The NLRB has ordered mine workers in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, to pay upwards of $13M in fines to its employer, Warrior Met Coal Mining. The approximately 1,100 affected workers are organized under United Mine Workers of America and have been on strike for longer than one year. The union stated it would appeal the ruling for infringing on workers’ right to strike.
Workers United achieved another win in organizing Starbucks workers recently, as the NLRB dismissed the charges that Starbucks filed alleging that union organizers in Phoenix intimidated workers and customers. Starbucks had alleged that organizers had blocked exits and entrances and intimidated and bullied workers in the charge, filed in April. The NLRB found there was not sufficient evidence to support the charge. While Starbucks has filed only two charges against the union to date, the union has filed more than 250 unfair labor practice charges against the company.
Finally, Bloomberg reported that nearly 300 Reuters journalists plan to strike on Thursday, August 4, for the first time in decades. The workers, organized under Communication Workers of America NewsGuild, are seeking more significant raises after Reuters offered only a 1% increase amid nearly 9% inflation rates. The strike will begin with a walkout, set to coincide with Reuters’ earnings call. The CWA has also filed an unfair labor practice charge against Reuters for failing to bargain in good faith.
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November 24
Labor leaders criticize tariffs; White House cancels jobs report; and student organizers launch chaperone program for noncitizens.
November 23
Workers at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority vote to authorize a strike; Washington State legislators consider a bill empowering public employees to bargain over workplace AI implementation; and University of California workers engage in a two-day strike.
November 21
The “Big Three” record labels make a deal with an AI music streaming startup; 30 stores join the now week-old Starbucks Workers United strike; and the Mine Safety and Health Administration draws scrutiny over a recent worker death.
November 20
Law professors file brief in Slaughter; New York appeals court hears arguments about blog post firing; Senate committee delays consideration of NLRB nominee.
November 19
A federal judge blocks the Trump administration’s efforts to cancel the collective bargaining rights of workers at the U.S. Agency for Global Media; Representative Jared Golden secures 218 signatures for a bill that would repeal a Trump administration executive order stripping federal workers of their collective bargaining rights; and Dallas residents sue the City of Dallas in hopes of declaring hundreds of ordinances that ban bias against LGBTQ+ individuals void.
November 18
A federal judge pressed DOJ lawyers to define “illegal” DEI programs; Peco Foods prevails in ERISA challenge over 401(k) forfeitures; D.C. court restores collective bargaining rights for Voice of America workers; Rep. Jared Golden secures House vote on restoring federal workers' union rights.