Martin Drake is a student at Harvard Law School.
Vox reported yesterday on unprecedented rates of labor organizing in Mexico since the beginning of 2019, which has sparked a national movement. Thousands of Mexican factory workers have been striking in Mexican border cities, demanding higher wages from the US companies and subcontractors in operation there. The workers generally earn about $2.50 an hour making car parts, washing machines, appliances and soda for American consumers. The strikes have coalesced into the 20/32 Movement, which is spreading beyond factories and demanding a 20 percent pay raise and 32,000 peso annual bonus.
President Trump signed an executive order Thursday approving 1.9 percent pay raise for federal workers, The Hill reports. The order overrides the pay freezes that Trump put in place in August; at that time the scheduled increase was set for 2.1 percent. The pay raise will retroactively apply on January 1st, giving workers an extra bonus to cover the last three months.
Illinois manufacturing workers were fired last week after a one-hour strike protesting discrimination and unfair treatment, Truthout reports. The workers claim that their strike was protected concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Act, and they have filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. The workers were employed at Headly Manufacturing, which produces precision-drawn metal stamps; they are not unionized, but they are supported by the worker organization Arise Chicago. One fired worker had worked there for seven years, and says he and his co-workers received no written explanation for their firing.
Anti-union organizations have filed over a dozen lawsuits in California since the Janus ruling, and so far the suits have been unsuccessful, the Sacramento Bee reports. The majority of the lawsuits attempt to force unions to let members leave before their contracts run out. The plaintiffs in the lawsuits are backed by right-leaning groups that are attempting to weaken unions at all levels of government, with some of the lawsuits attempting to force unions to pay back dues they have collected for up to two years.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
July 18
Trump names two NLRB nominees; Bernie Sanders introduces guaranteed universal pension plan legislation; the DOL ends its job training program for low-income seniors; and USCIS sunsets DALE.
July 17
EEOC resumes processing transgender workers' complaints; Senate questions Trump's NLRB General Counsel nominee; South Korean unions strike for reforms.
July 16
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services lays off thousands of employees; attorneys for the Trump Administration argue against revealing plans to reduce the workforce of federal agencies; and the Fourth Circuit grants an emergency stay on the termination of TPS for thousands of Afghans.
July 15
The Department of Labor announces new guidance around Occupational Safety and Health Administration penalty and debt collection procedures; a Cornell University graduate student challenges graduate student employee-status under the National Labor Relations Act; the Supreme Court clears the way for the Trump administration to move forward with a significant staff reduction at the Department of Education.
July 14
More circuits weigh in on two-step certification; Uber challengers Seattle deactivation ordinance.
July 13
APWU and USPS ratify a new contract, ICE barred from racial profiling in Los Angeles, and the fight continues over the dismantling of NIOSH