Continuing with our State of the Union coverage, Dave Jamieson at the Huffington Post writes about one of President Obama’s most important labor initiatives: defining which workers are entitled to overtime pay. The Department of Labor is likely to release revised rules on overtime next month, the result of a year-long revision process, according to the Post.
Air France has announced that it will cut 800 jobs over the next three years, according to the New York Times. The airline will also reduce salaries over the same timeframe. Air France will explain the details of its plan to its works council at a special meeting on February 5th.
Politico reports that mental health workers represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers are asking Kaiser Permanente to return to the bargaining table. According to NPR, 2,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente have been on strike for the past week. The workers ended this strike this past Monday, before requesting more bargaining.
More locally, the New York Times reports that workers at the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market in the Bronx approved a new three-year contract on Wednesday. 97 percent of workers, who are represented by Teamsters local 202, approved the new contract. The new contract would raise wages and would increase the merchant’s contribution to workers’ health plans.
On Wednesday, FedEx announced that the Teamsters lost a “ballot among drivers at a FedEx freight facility” and withdrew another ballot, according to the New York Times. The Teamster’s organizing drive at FedEx’s freight facilities is part of a renewed organizing effort following the Teamster’s first ballot win among FedEx’s freight workers in October. That win came after decades of failed attempts to organize FedEx employees, according to the Times.
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May 24
A majority of House Representatives sign a discharge petition for the Faster Labor Contracts Act, and the House Transportation Committee adopts a railroad safety amendment in the Build America 250 Act.
May 22
U.S. employers spend $1.7B on union avoidance each year and the ICJ declares the right to strike a protected activity.
May 21
UAW backs legal challenge to Trump “gold card” visa; DOL requests unemployment fraud technology funding; Samsung reaches eleventh-hour union agreement.
May 20
LIRR strike ends after three-day shutdown; key senators reject Trump's proposed 26% cut to Labor Department budget; EEOC moves to eliminate employer demographic reporting requirement.
May 19
Amazon urges 11th Circuit to overturn captive-audience meeting ban; DOL scraps Biden overtime rule; SCOTUS to decide on Title IX private right of action for school employees
May 18
California Department of Justice finds conditions at ICE facilities inhumane; Second Circuit rejects race bias claim from Black and Hispanic social workers; FAA cuts air traffic controller staffing target.