Vail Kohnert-Yount is a student at Harvard Law School.
A federal judge ruled last week that Trump’s Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta violated the Crime Victims’ Rights Act when he and other prosecutors devised a plea deal with Miami financier Jeffrey Epstein on charges of trafficking minors for sex, reported Bloomberg Law. The agreement allowed Epstein—a close associate of other powerful men accused of sex crimes including Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Alan Dershowitz, and Robert Kraft—to dodge federal charges related to an alleged sex ring he operated out of his Florida home, although he was sentenced to 13 months in prison on state charges. While some House Democrats have already called for Acosta to resign, labor union leaders are meeting today to decide whether the AFL-CIO should follow suit. Should Acosta step down, current Deputy Secretary Pat Pizzella, who began his career working with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff to shield Northern Mariana sweatshops from federal labor and immigration laws, would become acting labor secretary.
A former staffer on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign alleged that he forcibly kissed her without her consent in a new lawsuit filed yesterday. In interviews and in her complaint, Alva Johnson said Trump grabbed her hand and leaned in to kiss her on the lips at an August 2016 rally in Tampa, Florida. While over a dozen women have publicly accused Trump of sexual assault, including some that occurred in the workplace, Johnson is the only accuser to come forward since he became president and the only one to allege such behavior during the campaign. “The only thing I did was show up for work one day,” she told the Washington Post. Meanwhile, the Trump White House and campaign have come under fire for requiring employees to sign highly restrictive non-disclosure agreements, which may prevent other allegations from coming forward.
The New York Times profiled Sara Nelson, “a rising star of the labor movement and the most powerful flight attendant in America.” Nelson rose to prominence during the recent government shutdown for her leadership of the Association of Flight Attendants union, of which she is president. “Between you and me, that’s what ended the shutdown, you know,” Senator Bernie Sanders told Nelson when she was his guest to the State of the Union address. “When planes looked like they weren’t taking off.”
Domestic workers had a moment in the limelight on Sunday night, when Alfonso Cuarón’s movie Roma won three Academy Awards. The movie, which featured Mexican actor Yalitza Aparacio, a former schoolteacher, as a domestic worker in the film. Ai-jen Poo of the National Domestic Workers Alliance attended the awards ceremony as domestic workers celebrated Roma’s wins.
Daily News & Commentary
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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.
November 16
Boeing workers in St. Louis end a 102-day strike, unionized Starbucks baristas launch a new strike, and Illinois seeks to expand protections for immigrant workers