Hillary Clinton joined the list of presidential candidates courting the AFL-CIO this week. Politico forecasted that she would focus on her co-sponsorship of the Employee Free Choice Act and her promotion of collective bargaining, but would face pushback on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). An early report from the Wall Street Journal quoted union leaders who found Clinton’s message “cautious.” They are concerned by Clinton’s refusal to take a position on the TPP, a key issue for labor and a polarizing topic within the Democratic party.
The day before, Mike Huckabee met for an hour with the AFL-CIO’s executive council, the only Republican to accept the labor federation’s invitation. The Washington Post speculates that Huckabee’s attendance will help him garner support among blue-collar union households, even if he knows he will not receive an endorsement from labor. During the meeting, Huckabee praised the AFL-CIO’s training programs, but prefers to defer to states on whether to pass right-to-work laws.
Right-to-work laws found another champion today: the Michigan Supreme Court. The court upheld a decision to preserve the state’s right-to-work law, passed in a 2012 lame-duck session without committee hearings or public input, amidst protests by thousands of opponents. The unions who brought the suit contended that only the bipartisan Civil Service Commission—not the state legislature—could set employment conditions for civil servants. But a 4-3 majority declared that the Civil Service Commission “never had the constitutional power to impose agency fees on workers, even before the right-to-work law existed,” reports the Detroit Free Press.
One group of Silicon Valley employees has unionized: shuttle drivers, who ferry workers to corporate campuses. Shuttle drivers for Apple, eBay, Yahoo, Zynga and other firms plan to vote this weekend on a new wage and benefits package. According to USA Today, the 160 drivers sought representation from Teamsters Local 853 after the union reached a new contract for Facebook drivers in February. The Teamers have been in negotiations with the drivers’ direct employer, Compass Transportation, for five months. The new contract may reflect a growing sense of corporate responsibility for outsourced labor, predicts law professor Alan Hyde.
Latina workers in Massachusetts earn only half of what white men performing those same jobs bring in, a University of Massachusetts Boston study finds. Although a gender wage gap persists across society, Latina women in low-wage jobs highlight that disparity. The Boston Globe reports on efforts by the city of Boston and the Massachusetts State House to narrow the wage gap, including considering prohibiting employers from seeking job salary histories, and requiring employers to provide equal pay for comparable work.
Daily News & Commentary
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January 20
In today’s news and commentary, SEIU advocates for a wealth tax, the DOL gets a budget increase, and the NLRB struggles with its workforce. The SEIU United Healthcare Workers West is advancing a California ballot initiative to impose a one-time 5% tax on personal wealth above $1 billion, aiming to raise funds for the state’s […]
January 19
Department of Education pauses wage garnishment; Valero Energy announces layoffs; Labor Department wins back wages for healthcare workers.
January 18
Met Museum workers unionize; a new report reveals a $0.76 average tip for gig workers in NYC; and U.S. workers receive the smallest share of capital since 1947.
January 16
The NLRB publishes its first decision since regaining a quorum; Minneapolis labor unions call for a general strike in response to the ICE killing of Renee Good; federal workers rally in DC to show support for the Protecting America’s Workforce Act.
January 15
New investigation into the Secretary of Labor; New Jersey bill to protect child content creators; NIOSH reinstates hundreds of employees.
January 14
The Supreme Court will not review its opt-in test in ADEA cases in an age discrimination and federal wage law violation case; the Fifth Circuit rules that a jury will determine whether Enterprise Products unfairly terminated a Black truck driver; and an employee at Berry Global Inc. will receive a trial after being fired for requesting medical leave for a disability-related injury.