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
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March 13
Republican Senators urge changes on OSHA heat standard; OpenAI and building trades announce partnership on data center construction; forced labor investigations could lead to new tariffs
March 12
EPA terminates contract with second-largest union; Florida advances bill restricting public sector unions; Trump administration seeks Supreme Court assistance in TPS termination.
March 11
The partial government shutdown results in TSA agents losing their first full paycheck; the Fifth Circuit upholds the certification of a class of former United Airline workers who were placed on unpaid leave for declining to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for religious reasons during the pandemic; and an academic group files a lawsuit against the State Department over a policy that revokes and denies visas to noncitizens for their work in fact-checking and content moderation.
March 10
Court rules Kari Lake unlawfully led USAGM, voiding mass layoffs; Florida Senate passes bill tightening union recertification rules; Fifth Circuit revives whistleblower suit against Lockheed Martin.
March 9
6th Circuit rejects Cemex, Board may overrule precedents with two members.
March 8
In today’s news and commentary, a weak jobs report, the NIH decides it will no longer recognize a research fellows’ union, and WNBA contract talks continue to stall as season approaches. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that employers cut 92,000 jobs in February while the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.4 percent. A loss […]