Maxwell Ulin is a student at Harvard Law School.
Unemployment claims dropped but held steady overall this past week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning. Around 709,000 Americans filed first-time claims within the past seven days, on top of roughly 300,000 additional claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). The number of first-time claims marks a new low since March, but unemployment remains stubbornly high overall. Long-term joblessness is also a growing concern; the number of American who have transitioned over the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PUEC) program following the expiration of their state benefits now exceeds 4.1 million, up from 4 million last week.
Even as Trump continues to contest the election results in unprecedented fashion, a more traditional scramble has begun for cabinet and staff positions within the incoming Biden administration. Yesterday, President-elect Biden announced his intention to appoint Ron Klain as his Chief of Staff, much to pleasure of progressives. The fight for Labor Secretary of has been brewing; yesterday Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) publicly confirmed his interest in the position on CNN. Sanders’s efforts to garner support have been met with mixed reactions from union leaders, however. And with the Senate destined for either divided leadership or an outright Republican majority, the odds of Sanders’s confirmation appear limited. In the meantime, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has been actively marshaling support among labor leaders for Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, as have AFT President Randi Weingarten and AFSCME President Lee Saunders. Meanwhile, Michigan Congressman Andy Levin, a former union organizer, has also been jockeying for the top DoL position and has already secured support from CWA and UAW leaders.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
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
July 11
Regional director orders election without Board quorum; 9th Circuit pauses injunction on Executive Order; Driverless car legislation in Massachusetts
July 10
Wisconsin Supreme Court holds UW Health nurses are not covered by Wisconsin’s Labor Peace Act; a district judge denies the request to stay an injunction pending appeal; the NFLPA appeals an arbitration decision.
July 9
the Supreme Court allows Trump to proceed with mass firings; Secretary of Agriculture suggests Medicaid recipients replace deported migrant farmworkers; DHS ends TPS for Nicaragua and Honduras