Martin Drake is a student at Harvard Law School.
Five unions representing New England Stop & Shop workers have voted to authorize a strike, the Boston Globe reports. As OnLabor reported yesterday, strike votes have been coming in steadily during the stalled negotiations with Stop & Shop. The most recent votes amount to over 31,000 workers authorizing strikes by their union leadership, according to United Food & Commercial Workers International.
In the UK, unions have commissioned an expert legal opinion warning that government promises of post-Brexit workers’ rights cannot be guaranteed, the Guardian reports. The opinion argues that the current prime minister’s plan to “embed the strongest possible protections” for workers does not commit the UK to matching future EU worker protection standards, and that current MPs cannot bind future parliaments to deliver any such pledges. This contradicts claims by some Labour MPs who have stated that they will support May’s deal partially on the basis of workers’ rights guarantees.
Many Amazon employees in Washington state would be exempt from new labor protections passed in the state senate, after Amazon’s lobbyists pushed for a key change in the legislation, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports. The protections would limit non-compete clauses, but Amazon lobbied to have the income threshold set at a level that would likely exempt many of its Seattle workers. The original wage threshold in the bill was about $180,000, but Amazon succeeded in dropping the threshold to $100,000, leaving the company free to impose non-competes on a wider swath of higher-paid employees.
Wells Fargo employees dispute claims by the company that it has changed its workplace culture following recent scandals, the New York Times reports. Top executives claim to have changed the company culture which led to fake bank accounts, unwarranted fees and unwanted products, but workers say they are still under heavy pressure to squeeze extra money out of customers. Some employees say they witnessed colleagues breaking internal rules to meet performance goals.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
July 30
In today’s news and commentary, the First Circuit will hear oral arguments on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) revocation of parole grants for thousands of migrants; United Airlines’ flight attendants vote against a new labor contract; and the AFL-CIO files a complaint against a Trump Administrative Executive Order that strips the collective bargaining rights of the vast majority of federal workers.
July 29
The Trump administration released new guidelines for federal employers regarding religious expression in the workplace; the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers is suing former union president for repayment of mismanagement of union funds; Uber has criticized a new proposal requiring delivery workers to carry company-issued identification numbers.
July 28
Lower courts work out meaning of Muldrow; NLRB releases memos on recording and union salts.
July 27
In today’s news and commentary, Trump issues an EO on college sports, a second district court judge blocks the Department of Labor from winding down Job Corps, and Safeway workers in California reach a tentative agreement. On Thursday, President Trump announced an executive order titled “Saving College Sports,” which declared it common sense that “college […]
July 25
Philadelphia municipal workers ratify new contract; Chocolate companies escape liability in trafficking suit; Missouri Republicans kill paid sick leave
July 24
Texas District Court dismisses case requesting a declaratory judgement authorizing agencies to end collective bargaining agreements for Texas workers; jury awards two firefighters $1 million after they were terminated for union activity; and Democratic lawmakers are boycotting venues that have not rehired food service workers.