Vivian Dong is a student at Harvard Law School.
NLRB Chairman Philip Miscimarra will leave his position upon his term’s expiry in December. Miscimarra wrote in an undated letter to NLRB employees that though he had been “encouraged to consider a reappointment,” he has informed the White House that he cannot remain past the term for family reasons. Miscimarra has criticized many of the pro-labor opinions issued by the NLRB throughout the Obama era. Prior to joining the NLRB, Miscimarra was a partner at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, a law firm noted for its management-side labor law practice. If and when the Senate confirms William Emanuel’s nomination, the NLRB will have its first Republican majority in almost ten years.
Kansas City residents will vote today on whether to raise the city’s minimum wage from $7.70 to $10, and eventually $15 in 2022. The vote will be purely symbolic, as the Missouri state legislature passed a measure in May barring municipalities from increasing the minimum wage above the state floor, pre-empting local action. The May measure pre-empted an earlier St. Louis city ordinance raising the minimum wage to $10, so that St. Louis workers making minimum wage will see their wages revert back later this August to $7.70. In response, local SEIU chapters are organizing for a statewide referendum proposing a $12 minimum wage across Missouri.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai released a letter to employees, available also to the general public, regarding a widely-circulated internal memo by a male engineer at Google criticizing gender diversity initiatives and claiming biological differences account for women’s underrepresentation in tech. Pichai announced that the memo’s author had been fired. Pichai recognized employees’ rights to express their opinions, especially with respect to the wisdom of company policies, but stated that “to suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK.” Damore confirmed that he has been fired for “perpetuating gender stereotypes,” and stated that he will be exploring legal remedies. Before Damore was fired, he had submitted a charge to the NLRB accusing Google and attempting to silence him after the memo’s release sparked a furor.
Daily News & Commentary
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September 18
Senate Democrats introduce a bill to nullify Trump’s executive orders ending collective bargaining rights for federal employees; the Massachusetts Teachers Association faces backlash; and Loyola Marymount University claims a religious exemption and stops recognizing its faculty union.
September 17
A union argues the NLRB's quorum rule is unconstitutional; the California Building Trades back a state housing law; and Missouri proposes raising the bar for citizen ballot initiatives
September 16
In today’s news and commentary, the NLRB sues New York, a flight attendant sues United, and the Third Circuit considers the employment status of Uber drivers The NLRB sued New York to block a new law that would grant the state authority over private-sector labor disputes. As reported on recently by Finlay, the law, which […]
September 15
Unemployment claims rise; a federal court hands victory to government employees union; and employers fire workers over social media posts.
September 14
Workers at Boeing reject the company’s third contract proposal; NLRB Acting General Counsel William Cohen plans to sue New York over the state’s trigger bill; Air Canada flight attendants reject a tentative contract.
September 12
Zohran Mamdani calls on FIFA to end dynamic pricing for the World Cup; the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement opens a probe into Scale AI’s labor practices; and union members organize immigration defense trainings.