Anita Alem is a student at Harvard Law School.
The Biden Administration has filed an amicus brief arguing that the Supreme Court should not take up an appeal in a case that would require airlines to change their staffing practices in California to comply with rest and meal break laws. In 2021, the Ninth Circuit held in Virgin America v. Bernstein that the airline was not complying with state law and needed to staff additional flight attendants to ensure all attendants could access duty-free breaks to which they are entitled. The Justice Department sided with the flight attendants, despite Virgin Airlines’ insistence that the decision would wreak “nationwide havoc in the airline industry” and opposition from an airline lobbying trade association, Airlines for America.
Bloomberg reported that the NLRB general counsel’s office released an advice memo asking regional NLRB prosecutors to challenge two Trump-era decisions that limit the rights of unions. The two cases, Kroger and UPMC, narrowed union access to the employer’s property. The NLRB memo argued that the decisions unfairly discriminated against unions by permitting an employer to ban union access while nonemployees engaging in other activities, like charitable or commercial activities, remained free to access the property. The memo stated that the Region should “is authorized to argue” that the decisione be overruled, and that the Region should in fact “urge the Board to overrule Kroger and UPMC.”
In union news, Apple will likely face at least three union drives over the coming months across stores in Georgia, Maryland, and New York. On Wednesday, an internal Apple video leaked to the Verge showed the vice president of people and retail attempting to persuade employees that they did not need a union and that a collective bargaining agreement would diminish Apple’s ability to respond to issues that employees raise. The anti-union video continues a series of union-busting actions Apple has taken over the past several weeks.
Daily News & Commentary
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May 8
Court upholds DOL farmworker protections; Fifth Circuit rejects Amazon appeal; NJTransit navigates negotiations and potential strike.
May 7
U.S. Department of Labor announces termination of mental health and child care benefits for its employees; SEIU pursues challenge of NLRB's 2020 joint employer rule in the D.C. Circuit; Columbia University lays off 180 researchers
May 6
HHS canceled a scheduled bargaining session with the FDA's largest workers union; members of 1199SEIU voted out longtime union president George Gresham in rare leadership upset.
May 5
Unemployment rates for Black women go up under Trump; NLRB argues Amazon lacks standing to challenge captive audience meeting rule; Teamsters use Wilcox's reinstatement orders to argue against injunction.
May 4
In today’s news and commentary, DOL pauses the 2024 gig worker rule, a coalition of unions, cities, and nonprofits sues to stop DOGE, and the Chicago Teachers Union reaches a remarkable deal. On May 1, the Department of Labor announced it would pause enforcement of the Biden Administration’s independent contractor classification rule. Under the January […]
May 2
Immigrant detainees win class certification; Missouri sick leave law in effect; OSHA unexpectedly continues Biden-Era Worker Heat Rule