Fran Swanson is a student at Harvard Law School.
Approximately 47,000 grocery store workers in central and southern California have voted to authorize a strike should bargaining with employers break down again after talks resume this week, NPR reports. A three-year contract covering hundreds of Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions stores expired on March 6th. Forbes reports that employees’ calls for a $5/hour raise over three years were met with a proposed $1.80 raise. 75% of Kroger workers report struggling to feed their families, at a time when the company raked in a record $4 billion profit and its CEO made $20 million. They are also calling for better schedules for part-time workers and safer conditions in the midst of a pandemic that has killed hundreds of grocery workers.
The Biden Administration would support an increase in NLRB funding over the $319.4 million in the White House’s FY 2023 budget request, Bloomberg Law reports. In testimony before the House Budget Committee, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young described the NLRB’s $45 million requested increase in the White House’s budget as the beginning of a “rebuild.” It represents the first increase in requested NLRB funding since FY 2014. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky emphasized that more was needed for “the NLRB to really do its job.”
Finally, 350 Condé Nast employees are requesting that the publishing giant voluntarily recognize a union that would cover over 500 editorial, production video workers, the Washington Post reports. It follows the successful voluntary recognition campaign waged by New Yorker employees. Both groups of employees have emphasized that the prestige associated with these jobs—ones that “a million girls would kill for,” as one pro-union employee quoting The Devil Wears Prada put it—does not make up for the long hours, culture of burnout, and meager pay. Pro-union employees have called for greater job security, better pay, and more transparency about salary and diversity.
Daily News & Commentary
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June 20
Three state bills challenge Garmon preemption; Wisconsin passes a bill establishing portable benefits for gig workers; and a sharp increase in workplace ICE raids contribute to a nationwide labor shortage.
June 19
Report finds retaliatory action by UAW President; Senators question Trump's EEOC pick; California considers new bill to address federal labor law failures.
June 18
Companies dispute NLRB regional directors' authority to make rulings while the Board lacks a quorum; the Department of Justice loses 4,500 employees to the Trump Administration's buyout offers; and a judge dismisses Columbia faculty's lawsuit over the institution's funding cuts.
June 17
NLRB finds a reporter's online criticism of the Washington Post was not protected activity under federal labor law; top union leaders leave the Democratic National Committee amid internal strife; Uber reaches a labor peace agreement with Chicago drivers.
June 16
California considers bill requiring human operators inside autonomous delivery vehicles; Eighth Circuit considers challenge to Minnesota misclassification law and whether "having a family to support" is a gendered comment.
June 15
ICE holds back on some work site raids as unions mobilize; a Maryland judge approves a $400M settlement for poultry processing workers in an antitrust case; and an OMB directive pushes federal agencies to use union PLAs.