Los Angeles has become the latest city to implement a $15 per hour minimum wage, according to the New York Times. In a 14-1 vote, the city council approved a plan to increase the minimum wage from $9 to $15 by 2020. Los Angeles County, moreover, is considering a plan to similarly increase wages in surrounding areas that are not part of the city of Los Angeles. According to the Times, “proponents of the wage increase say they expect that several nearby cities, including Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Pasadena, will also approve higher wages.” The Los Angeles Times has further coverage.
The Washington Post reports that Democrats in Congress are increasingly skeptical about the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Of particular concern is whether the deal will adequately ensure that participating countries implement higher labor standards for their workers. Taking Vietnam as an example, Democratic Representative Sander Levin told the Post that “[a]t this point, there are no commitments from Vietnam to take any steps” and said that he had “no confidence that it will be done before we vote.” That the deal would include “enforceable improvements in the labor standards of participating countries” has been central to the Obama administration’s arguments in favor of the plan.
In her presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton has thus far remained neutral on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, although she was “a one-time booster of the pact,” according to the Wall Street Journal. Despite this, she continues to enjoy the strong support of labor unions, who have been staunch opponents of the trade deal but who “don’t appear eager to bloody the Democrats’ front-runner for the nomination.”
In further international news, the Associated Press reports on the lack of labor rights for refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria. Many of these refugees work in Jordan and Lebanon, “usually for far less than what local residents would accept, driving down wages across the board for unskilled labor.” The humanitarian crisis has been further exacerbated by cuts to U.N. aid programs.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
September 16
In today’s news and commentary, the NLRB sues New York, a flight attendant sues United, and the Third Circuit considers the employment status of Uber drivers The NLRB sued New York to block a new law that would grant the state authority over private-sector labor disputes. As reported on recently by Finlay, the law, which […]
September 15
Unemployment claims rise; a federal court hands victory to government employees union; and employers fire workers over social media posts.
September 14
Workers at Boeing reject the company’s third contract proposal; NLRB Acting General Counsel William Cohen plans to sue New York over the state’s trigger bill; Air Canada flight attendants reject a tentative contract.
September 12
Zohran Mamdani calls on FIFA to end dynamic pricing for the World Cup; the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement opens a probe into Scale AI’s labor practices; and union members organize immigration defense trainings.
September 11
California rideshare deal advances; Boeing reaches tentative agreement with union; FTC scrutinizes healthcare noncompetes.
September 10
A federal judge denies a motion by the Trump Administration to dismiss a lawsuit led by the American Federation of Government Employees against President Trump for his mass layoffs of federal workers; the Supreme Court grants a stay on a federal district court order that originally barred ICE agents from questioning and detaining individuals based on their presence at a particular location, the type of work they do, their race or ethnicity, and their accent while speaking English or Spanish; and a hospital seeks to limit OSHA's ability to cite employers for failing to halt workplace violence without a specific regulation in place.