Lolita De Palma is a student at Harvard Law School.
On Sunday, The Wall Street Journal explored the disconnect between the current record-low unemployment rate and wage stagnation. Theoretically, a low unemployment rate should lead to wage inflation because employers need to boost pay to attract new employees. However, wages have failed to rise as the unemployment rate has decreased. This has led economists to abandon the unemployment rate as a means of gauging the health of the job market. Instead, they have turned to other measures like the underemployment rate, which factors in those who want to rejoin the labor force or switch from part-time to full-time employment.
Proctor & Gamble, one of U.S. Soccer’s official sponsors, took out a full-page New York Times advertisement on Sunday to demonstrate its support for equal pay for the United States women’s soccer team. The company also said that it is making a donation of $529,000 to the women’s national team’s players association, $23,000 for each member of the 23-player World Cup roster. Megan Rapinoe responded by stressing the power of corporate support on “Meet the Press.” “These are some of the most powerful corporations, not just in sports but in the world, and have so much weight that they can throw around,” she said. “And I think that they just need to get comfortable with throwing it around.”
Héctor Figueroa died of a heart attack on Thursday. He was 57. As president of New York’s 32BJ SEIU, Figueroa represented more than 170,000 building cleaners, security guards, doormen, and airport workers. He supported the Fight for 15 and led airport workers to securing a minimum wage of $19 an hour. “Héctor was a champion for working people, minorities, the poor, the voiceless,” said Governor Cuomo in a statement. On Friday, The New York Times published a letter authored by Figueroa before his death. The letter calls for revitalizing the labor movement by expanding union activism on behalf of non-unionized workers.
Kaiser Permanente’s employees, represented by the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions or CKPU, are heading towards a strike. CKPU includes most Kaiser employees who are not doctors, registered nurses, or mental health workers. The majority of these workers are based in California. CKPU’s contract expired September 30th and talks on a new contract have broken down. CKPU members will vote in late July or early August on whether to authorize a strike. Los Angeles grocery store workers are readying themselves for a strike as well. They have been operating without an official contract since March and negotiations broke down in June.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
January 8
Pittsburg Post-Gazette announces closure in response to labor dispute, Texas AFT sues the state on First Amendment grounds, Baltimore approves its first project labor agreement, and the Board formally regains a quorum.
January 7
Wilcox requests en banc review at DC Circuit; 9th Circuit rules that ministry can consider sexual orientation in hiring decisions
January 5
Minor league hockey players strike and win new deal; Hochul endorses no tax on tips; Trump administration drops appeal concerning layoffs.
December 22
Worker-friendly legislation enacted in New York; UW Professor wins free speech case; Trucking company ordered to pay $23 million to Teamsters.
December 21
Argentine unions march against labor law reform; WNBA players vote to authorize a strike; and the NLRB prepares to clear its backlog.
December 19
Labor law professors file an amici curiae and the NLRB regains quorum.