StreetsBlogUSA recaps a Demos study that recommends improving public transportation in order to address the racial gap in employment rates. Car ownership tracks race, and, for instance, black workers in Detroit are 13 times more likely to commute via public transportation than their white counterparts. As StreetsBlogUSA points out, the job mix generated by investment in transit infrastructure also favors black and Latino workers.
Tennessee’s unemployment rate is historically low, and the Wall Street Journal cautions against celebrating that fact: workforce participation is also trending down, which suggests that people have stopped looking for work. The Journal proposes low education levels and opiod addiction as explanations. Whatever its causes, this low unemployment rate hasn’t discouraged Tyson Foods, Inc., which already employs 5,000 in Tennessee. Tyson added 300 jobs in August of this year and announced yesterday that it will open a new chicken processing plant and employ 1,500 more there by late 2019.
The Washington Post reports that sexual harassment in the restaurant industry is widespread and severe. Interviews with victims, witnesses, researchers, and the advocacy group Restaurant Opportunities Center United illuminate the severity of the problem. The Post identifies four factors that foster abusive behavior: a macho culture; the way tips disincentivize complaints against customers; the vulnerability of workers, especially young and undocumented workers; and prevalent alcohol and drug use.
For the first time in 25 years, a new vehicle assembly plant is set to open in the Detroit area. Indian conglomerate Mahindra plans to produce the Roxor—an all-terrain utility vehicle—in Auburn Hills, Michigan. This is an expansion of Mahindra’s existing work in southeastern Michigan, and it will create 400 new jobs by 2020. As the company stated, “this is India outsourcing to America to get the talent we need.”
Daily News & Commentary
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August 1
The Michigan Supreme Court grants heightened judicial scrutiny over employment contracts that shorten the limitations period for filing civil rights claims; the California Labor Commission gains new enforcement power over tip theft; and a new Florida law further empowers employers issuing noncompete agreements.
July 31
EEOC sued over trans rights enforcement; railroad union opposes railroad merger; suits against NLRB slow down.
July 30
In today’s news and commentary, the First Circuit will hear oral arguments on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) revocation of parole grants for thousands of migrants; United Airlines’ flight attendants vote against a new labor contract; and the AFL-CIO files a complaint against a Trump Administrative Executive Order that strips the collective bargaining rights of the vast majority of federal workers.
July 29
The Trump administration released new guidelines for federal employers regarding religious expression in the workplace; the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers is suing former union president for repayment of mismanagement of union funds; Uber has criticized a new proposal requiring delivery workers to carry company-issued identification numbers.
July 28
Lower courts work out meaning of Muldrow; NLRB releases memos on recording and union salts.
July 27
In today’s news and commentary, Trump issues an EO on college sports, a second district court judge blocks the Department of Labor from winding down Job Corps, and Safeway workers in California reach a tentative agreement. On Thursday, President Trump announced an executive order titled “Saving College Sports,” which declared it common sense that “college […]