Lolita De Palma is a student at Harvard Law School.
This week, thousands of therapists, psychologists, and social workers are picketing Kaiser Permanente medical centers throughout California. Kaiser’s contract with the National Union of Healthcare Workers expired in September 2018 and the two sides are still in negotiations for a new contract. Mental health clinicians are particularly concerned about the long waits for patients seeing access to mental health services. After an over-the-phone intake, patients will often wait four to eight weeks to see a therapist in person. Kaiser marriage and family therapist Kristin Quinn Siegel said, “What I want to ask Kaiser executives is, ‘Would you want to send your loved one to our clinic? Would you want your family member with severe depression or debilitating anxiety or some other mental health condition to be seen once every six to eight weeks? I don’t think they would. I think they would want their loved one to get more treatment than we are able to provide.”
On Sunday, the St. Louis County Teamsters Local 320, representing about 180 public works employees, voted to authorize a strike if the county’s healthcare benefits are not improved. The majority of the workers who will be striking are plow drivers, mechanics, and bridge workers.
In France, hundreds of thousands of people are participating in a general strike in protest of President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to forge a single pension system. Labor unions oppose Macron’s proposal because the plan is likely to decrease pensions for many workers and take away some of the benefits afforded to specific groups of workers, like railway workers’ earlier retirement age. Now in its thirteenth day, the strike has brought rail services in the state to a standstill. Paris’s bus and metro operator Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) has attempted to strike break by entering into deals with private transportation companies, including Uber and Lime, to offer discounted rides within the city. Harold Meyerson, writing for NBC News, believes that American organized labor can learn from the French protests.
Lee Sang-hoon, chairman of Samsung Electronic’s board, has been convicted of violating South Korean labor laws. Sang-hoon, along with more than twenty other current and former Samsung officials, were found guilty of disrupting union activities at Samsung. He has been sentenced to eighteen months in jail.
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.