Hannah Belitz is a student at Harvard Law School.
The Service Employees International Union has voted to endorse Hillary Clinton, The Hill reports. In an interview following the endorsement vote, SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry stated that the SEIU feels “very confident about Hillary Clinton’s capacity to fight, win and deliver for working people.” Although Senator Bernie Sanders has won the support of a few smaller unions, the major unions have backed Clinton. According to the Los Angeles Times, Clinton now has the support of unions representing approximately two-thirds of the nation’s unionized workers.
IKEA workers in Stoughton, MA are attempting to unionize. The Boston Globe has covered their efforts, noting that workers picketed the store on Monday “in an effort to get the company to recognize them as a union.” The workers want to join the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union, but IKEA has not yet responded to their request. Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley have made public statements supporting the workers’ unionization efforts.
A Papa Johns’ franchisee will serve two months in jail for failing to pay his workers overtime. Although 60 days is not a particularly long sentence, the Huffington Post notes that “any jail time at all is notable in a wage theft case.” In addition to the jail sentence, the franchisee has also agreed to pay $230,000 in compensation to the workers. Because the workers “were technically employed by the franchisee,” Papa John’s International Inc. was not a party to the settlement.
In international news, Afghani President Ashraf Ghani has instituted a new job program, entitled Jobs for Peace, in an attempt to prevent the departure of young Afghans to Europe. The program also aims to restore some confidence in the struggling government and economy. The New York Times explains that economic hardship, increasing insecurity, and a lack of hope about the future have led to a huge wave of migration: just this year, about 146,000 Afghanis migrated to Europe.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
May 21
UAW backs legal challenge to Trump “gold card” visa; DOL requests unemployment fraud technology funding; Samsung reaches eleventh-hour union agreement.
May 20
LIRR strike ends after three-day shutdown; key senators reject Trump's proposed 26% cut to Labor Department budget; EEOC moves to eliminate employer demographic reporting requirement.
May 19
Amazon urges 11th Circuit to overturn captive-audience meeting ban; DOL scraps Biden overtime rule; SCOTUS to decide on Title IX private right of action for school employees
May 18
California Department of Justice finds conditions at ICE facilities inhumane; Second Circuit rejects race bias claim from Black and Hispanic social workers; FAA cuts air traffic controller staffing target.
May 17
UC workers avoid striking with an 11th-hour agreement; Governor Spanberger vetoes public employee collective bargaining protections; Samsung workers prepare for an 18-day strike.
May 15
SEIU 32BJ pioneers new health insurance model; LIRR unions approach a strike; and Starbucks prevails against NRLB in Fifth Circuit.