Maddy Joseph is a student at Harvard Law School.
In advance of Monday’s oral argument in Janus, Bloomberg and the New York Times consider what might become of public sector unions if Abood is overruled. In These Times has a long feature on the advocacy groups who are funding not only Janus but also other efforts to undermine public sector unions. Key groups include the National Right to Work Foundation, whose legal fund represents Janus, and the State Policy Network, a network of conservative think tanks and nonprofits connected with the state lobbying giant the American Legislative Exchange Council. See all of our coverage of Janus here.
West Virginia’s teachers went on strike yesterday seeking higher pay. In a last-ditch effort to halt the strike, the Governor signed a bill on Wednesday giving teachers a 2% pay raise over three years. (There’s no public sector collective bargaining in West Virginia, so the legislature sets teacher salaries.) The state ranks 48th in teacher pay.
The New York Times highlights that, although black unemployment is at an all-time low, inequality persists between black and white workers. Economic theory claims that discrimination is expensive when the labor market is as strong as it is right now, so economists are struggling to account for the gaps between black and white employment rates. The Times looks to Minneapolis, and to the workers building that city’s stadium, for some insights. A new study from the Economic Policy Institute examining demographic trends in annual work hours gives a more granular view of these inequalities, noting that black men with less education are the most disconnected from the work force.
Another major fault line shows up in the study, which finds that all workers are increasingly fractured into two categories: “prime-age adults who are falling out of, or never get into, the labor market at all, and prime-age adults who are employed and working more hours.”
The magazine Dissent has a piece about the real estate company WeWork, which owns hip co-working spaces designed for freelancers or small companies or nonprofits. The piece notes that WeWork has some labor issues. For the most part, the piece explores what WeWork means for work now and in the future.
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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.
November 17
Justices receive petition to resolve FLSA circuit split, vaccine religious discrimination plaintiffs lose ground, and NJ sues Amazon over misclassification.