Vivian Dong is a student at Harvard Law School.
The U.S. economy added 178,000 jobs in November, decreasing the unemployment rate from 4.9% to 4.6%, the lowest it has been since 2007. However, average hourly earnings decreased by 0.1%. The Department of Labor revised its September and October data to remove 2000 jobs. The solid performance paves the way for a long-rumored federal rate increase.
President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence successfully negotiated with Carrier, a heating and cooling manufacturer, to keep 1000 factory jobs in the United States. Carrier rose to media prominence earlier in 2016 when a video emerged of management announcing to factory floor workers that their jobs would be outsourced to Mexico. Details about the President-elect’s deal with Carrier emerged Thursday morning. United Technologies Corp., Carrier’s parent company, will receive $7 million in tax breaks over 10 years in exchange for not outsourcing the jobs. According to the Indiana Business Journal however, the bigger motivation for Carrier was the threat of losing federal contracts. Senator Bernie Sanders criticized Trump for acceding to Carrier by giving it tax breaks to prevent the outsourcing.
Michigan passed legislation yesterday to take regulatory powers over ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft away from local authorities and grant them instead to the Michigan Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Communities that have existing agreements with ride-sharing services can maintain their agreements for four years. The legislation would make Uber and Lyft subject to the same regulation as taxis. Uber officials supported the legislation, as it would enable its drivers to pick up and drop off customers at airports.
Daily News & Commentary
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March 15
A U.S. District Court issues a preliminary injunction against the Department of Veterans Affairs for terminating its collective bargaining agreement, and SEIU files a lawsuit against DHS for effectively terminating immigrant workers at Boston Logan International Airport.
March 13
Republican Senators urge changes on OSHA heat standard; OpenAI and building trades announce partnership on data center construction; forced labor investigations could lead to new tariffs
March 12
EPA terminates contract with second-largest union; Florida advances bill restricting public sector unions; Trump administration seeks Supreme Court assistance in TPS termination.
March 11
The partial government shutdown results in TSA agents losing their first full paycheck; the Fifth Circuit upholds the certification of a class of former United Airline workers who were placed on unpaid leave for declining to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for religious reasons during the pandemic; and an academic group files a lawsuit against the State Department over a policy that revokes and denies visas to noncitizens for their work in fact-checking and content moderation.
March 10
Court rules Kari Lake unlawfully led USAGM, voiding mass layoffs; Florida Senate passes bill tightening union recertification rules; Fifth Circuit revives whistleblower suit against Lockheed Martin.
March 9
6th Circuit rejects Cemex, Board may overrule precedents with two members.