In the Wall Street Journal, President Trump’s failed Labor Secretary nominee, Andy Puzder, comments on Amazon’s decision to withdraw its plan to build a second headquarters in New York City. Puzder argues that progressive groups won a victory for workers in the Amazon case — but not for the reason they think. He says that workers will win when Amazon relocates its plans to Virginia, Tennessee, or other rumored states because their salaries will go much further in these low-cost, “more capitalist than socialist” regions. Of course, Puzder is speaking only of Amazon’s highly paid white-collar workers, not its warehouse workers, who might appreciate New York’s higher minimum wage. Puzder also blames unions for Amazon’s withdrawal, and notes appreciatively that unions are much weaker in Virginia and Tennessee. Puzder is the the former CEO of CKE Restaurants, which was recently sued by Towards Justice and several state attorneys general for its illegal use of noncompete clauses for fast-food workers. David Seligman and Brian Shearer discussed the application of antitrust law to such employer activity recently right here at OnLabor.
Southwest Airlines blamed its mechanics’ union for flight delays and cancellations last week. The airline and the union have been locked in contract negotiations for years over issues of pay, benefits, overtime, staffing shortages, and safety concerns. The FAA has increased its oversight of the airline during the labor dispute, concerned that it could harm passenger safety.
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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.
September 11
California rideshare deal advances; Boeing reaches tentative agreement with union; FTC scrutinizes healthcare noncompetes.
September 10
A federal judge denies a motion by the Trump Administration to dismiss a lawsuit led by the American Federation of Government Employees against President Trump for his mass layoffs of federal workers; the Supreme Court grants a stay on a federal district court order that originally barred ICE agents from questioning and detaining individuals based on their presence at a particular location, the type of work they do, their race or ethnicity, and their accent while speaking English or Spanish; and a hospital seeks to limit OSHA's ability to cite employers for failing to halt workplace violence without a specific regulation in place.
September 9
Ninth Circuit revives Trader Joe’s lawsuit against employee union; new bill aims to make striking workers eligible for benefits; university lecturer who praised Hitler gets another chance at First Amendment claims.