Vivian Dong is a student at Harvard Law School.
Teachers’ unions in other states are grappling with whether to follow the lead of West Virginia after the successful teachers’ union strike that concluded last week. Rumblings of strike activity have emerged in Kentucky, Arizona, and Oklahoma. Arizona and Oklahoma rank among the lowest in teacher pay in the country. Joe Thomas, the president of the Arizona Education Association, recently met with Dale Lee, the president of the West Virginia Education Association, to discuss tactics Arizona teachers can use to put pressure on legislators to increase pay. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma teachers’ union has given legislators a deadline of April 1 to propose an offer to address the low pay and severe teacher shortage in the state.
Servers often feel pressured to accept harassing behavior in exchange for the tips that make up their living wage, the New York Times reports. One commonly proposed way to alleviate the power imbalance between servers and customers that allows harassing behavior is getting rid of tips. But many servers, restaurant managers, and customers oppose the idea, since it often leads to significantly lower net pay for servers overall.
Unions have thrown their full weight behind Democratic candidate Conor Lamb in the special congressional election in southwest Pennsylvania. Though President Trump won the district by 20 percentage points in 2016, current polls show a dead heat between Lamb and Rick Saccone, the Republican candidate. On Saturday, Trump visited the 18th Congressional District to raise support for Saccone, touting the steel and aluminum tariffs the White House put in place last week to the community, which is heavily dependent on steel production. Though union leaders support Lamb, rank-and-file union members are more split between the candidates.
Daily News & Commentary
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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.
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 […]