Jon Weinberg is a student at Harvard Law School.
Walmart organizes its business on a global scale, and now its workers are following suit. According to Reuters, “OUR Walmart and the Wal-Mart Chinese Workers Association (WCWA) discussed strategy for recent strikes in China on a Skype call last month using a translator.” OUR Walmart consists of American Walmart employees. The two groups are “discussing joint strategies to address challenges that workers in both countries face, including work schedule changes.” International collaboration between labor movements is rare, but may continue as the groups “also agreed to support each other’s actions, have follow-up calls and link via social media.”
Verizon may have labor peace for the foreseeable future, but its chief competitor is facing difficulties in negotiating a new labor contract. Fortune reports that “a group of more than 40,000 unionized workers in AT&T’s wireless business rejected a proposed benefits contract, marking the first contentious labor negotiation at the telecom giant in several years.” Representatives of the Communication Workers of America (CWA) had previously negotiated the contract with AT&T. Negotiations will continue. AT&T has not faced a major strike since 2012.
Union organizing in the South can be extremely difficult, as a new video shows. Writing for The Huffington Post, Dave Jamieson describes a video showing how police officers in Georgia disrupted lawful attempted organizing of truckers by three Teamsters last month. One of the Teamsters said “the truck drivers were generally receptive to their message and cordial in their encounters with the organizers. But the citations by police, he said, would make drivers nervous about talking with union representatives in the future.” He also said “the encounter epitomized what it’s like to do union organizing in union-unfriendly pockets of the South.”
As predicted, Donald Trump’s selection of Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate hasn’t sat well with worker advocates. The American Prospect discusses how the selection of Pence solidifies Trump as an anti-labor candidate.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
July 6
Municipal workers in Philadelphia continue to strike; Zohran Mamdani collects union endorsements; UFCW grocery workers in California and Colorado reach tentative agreements.
July 4
The DOL scraps a Biden-era proposed rule to end subminimum wages for disabled workers; millions will lose access to Medicaid and SNAP due to new proof of work requirements; and states step up in the noncompete policy space.
July 3
California compromises with unions on housing; 11th Circuit rules against transgender teacher; Harvard removes hundreds from grad student union.
July 2
Block, Nanda, and Nayak argue that the NLRA is under attack, harming democracy; the EEOC files a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by former EEOC Commissioner Jocelyn Samuels; and SEIU Local 1000 strikes an agreement with the State of California to delay the state's return-to-office executive order for state workers.
July 1
In today’s news and commentary, the Department of Labor proposes to roll back minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by public defenders over a union’s Gaza statements, and Philadelphia’s largest municipal union is on strike for first time in nearly 40 years. On Monday, the U.S. […]
June 30
Antidiscrimination scholars question McDonnell Douglas, George Washington University Hospital bargained in bad faith, and NY regulators defend LPA dispensary law.