New tariffs announced by the Trump administration on Tuesday for the import of solar panels will have ripple effects on the solar industry and undertaking of solar projects in the U.S. Though the tariffs, starting at 30% next year, were implemented to “protect U.S. manufacturing,” less than 2,000 of the over 260,000 Americans employed in the solar energy sector actually work in the manufacturing of solar panels. Most are employed in making steel racks for the panels, or installing and maintaining the projects. An increase in the cost of solar panels will likely cause solar to be less competitive with other industries like gas and wind, and may impact employees relying on industry growth. The New York Times reports.
In other energy news, despite President Trump’s promises to revitalize the coal industry, coal consumption continues to fall, reaching its lowest level in nearly four decades last year. Successful mines produce metallurgical coal for steelmaking in the U.S. and abroad, for countries like China. As mines are closing, the impact is being felt in the economy of the local communities where miners live, work, and spend their money. The New York Times reports.
Next month, the Culinary Union, which represents tens of thousands of hotel workers in Las Vegas, will ask casino-resort operators to give every housekeeper a “panic button” amid the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct and harassment. The hospitality industry in New York City has been supplying panic buttons since 2013, and Seattle passed a city ordinance requiring panic buttons for employees working alone in hotel rooms in 2016. The Washington Post reports.
The United States is the only industrialized country to not mandate paid parental leave. Leave policies have largely been set by individual employers and have often resulted in a large gap between salaried and hourly workers. Now, some companies like Walmart are providing salaried and hourly workers the same parental benefits. An analysis of companies and their policies is here. The New York Times reports.
Fear that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 320 union would strike at the University of Minnesota and cause delays at the Superbowl has been allayed. The union represents nearly 1,500 custodial and food service workers at the University. Previously, NFL players had sent a letter of support of workers to the University president. The details of the negotiation reveal that the union has accepted, among other things, a new base wage of $15 an hour for some of its employees, setting a new wage floor.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
July 14
More circuits weigh in on two-step certification; Uber challengers Seattle deactivation ordinance.
July 13
APWU and USPS ratify a new contract, ICE barred from racial profiling in Los Angeles, and the fight continues over the dismantling of NIOSH
July 11
Regional director orders election without Board quorum; 9th Circuit pauses injunction on Executive Order; Driverless car legislation in Massachusetts
July 10
Wisconsin Supreme Court holds UW Health nurses are not covered by Wisconsin’s Labor Peace Act; a district judge denies the request to stay an injunction pending appeal; the NFLPA appeals an arbitration decision.
July 9
the Supreme Court allows Trump to proceed with mass firings; Secretary of Agriculture suggests Medicaid recipients replace deported migrant farmworkers; DHS ends TPS for Nicaragua and Honduras
July 8
In today’s news and commentary, Apple wins at the Fifth Circuit against the NLRB, Florida enacts a noncompete-friendly law, and complications with the No Tax on Tips in the Big Beautiful Bill. Apple won an appeal overturning a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision that the company violated labor law by coercively questioning an employee […]