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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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.
June 29
In today’s news and commentary, Trump v. CASA restricts nationwide injunctions, a preliminary injunction continues to stop DOL from shutting down Job Corps, and the minimum wage is set to rise in multiple cities and states. On Friday, the Supreme Court held in Trump v. CASA that universal injunctions “likely exceed the equitable authority that […]
June 27
Labor's role in Zohran Mamdani's victory; DHS funding amendment aims to expand guest worker programs; COSELL submission deadline rapidly approaching