News & Commentary

October 18, 2016

Edward Nasser

Edward Nasser is a student at Harvard Law School.

The NLRB has challenged some provisions in the required employment contracts that Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, requires each full-time employee to sign. The NLRB filed an administrative action against the firm in July saying that Bridgewater has interfered with, restrained and coerced employees from exercising their rights. Because many other money management firms share the same contractual provisions being challenged against, the case has has the potential for wide reaching effects.

Unsurprisingly, unions are spending more money than ever before on the 2016 elections. Spending has overwhelmingly gone to support Hillary Clinton and a Democratic majority in the Senate, despite many white working-class voters and union members support for Donald Trump. Union leaders are trying to inform members on how each candidates policies–and Supreme Court nominations–will affect them.

Opinions at the Federal Reserve are split on when to raise interest rates. Janet Yellen, the chairwoman, has discussed the difficulty in assessing what effect monetary policy has on the labor market and inflation and advocated for a cautious approach. Eric Rosengren, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, has suggested that the Fed should raise rates as early as December to avoid going beyond full employment.

Major League Baseball is proposing an international draft to complement the domestic amateur draft as a component of the new CBA being negotiated with players. The move calls for a minimum-age requirement of 18 for eligible players. Baseball executives believe the draft would lessen the potential for abuse and exploitation of international players, a market which currently has little oversight. International players can currently be signed by any team on their 16th, but often play in team-run camps for years prior to making any money. The current system has come under widespread fire for promoting corruption and aggressive labor practices.

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