News & Commentary

October 7, 2019

Lolita DePalma

Lolita De Palma is a student at Harvard Law School.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in three cases that turn on whether Title VII’s protections against sex discrimination extend to anti-LGBTQ discrimination. In anticipation of the argument, NBC News published the stories of transgender employees who have faced job discrimination. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality’s 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, one in six transgender adults have lost a job because of their gender identity or expression.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg spoke in support of unions at SEIU’s weekend summit. He said he supported “not just a higher minimum wage, but more ability to unionize.” In fact, Buttigieg would “like to see us double unionization rates in the country.”

Talks between General Motors and the UAW have taken a turn for the worse. The biggest hurdle in negotiations has been the union’s request for GM to move some of its production from Mexico to its idle plants in the United States. Now in its 22nd day, the strike has cost GM about $600 million in total lost profits.

The unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans has risen from 3.9% to 4.5% over the past year. The unemployment rate for all veterans stands at 3.1%.

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