The ride sharing app Uber is recruiting veterans to work as drivers, the Boston Globe reports. Uber representatives attended a veteran job fair in Boston last week to pitch the company to former service members looking for work. The recruitment effort is part of the company’s new UberMILITARY strategy, an attempt to hire 50,000 new drivers who are affiliated with the armed services. Cities and taxi companies have challenged Uber, and the company remains controversial as On Labor has reported.
Union leaders are calling on the Obama administration to provide greater protections against the Ebola virus for U.S. workers, the Wall Street Journal reports. Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, asked President Obama to implement mandatory national protection standards and to protect workers who raised health and safety concerns from employer retaliation. The Service Employees International Union, which represents airport employees, has conducted its own safety training for its members.
New Jersey governor Chris Christie said yesterday that he’s “tired of hearing about the minimum wage,” while addressing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s legal reform. Governor Christie went on to say: “I don’t think there’s a mother or father sitting around a kitchen table tonight in America who are saying, “You know, honey, if our son or daughter could just make a higher minimum wage, my God, all our dreams would be realized.” Politico points out that 69% of minimum wage workers are 20 years or older, while 44% are 25 or older.
In South Korea, workers at Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilding company, have endorsed a possible strike. The Wall Street Journal reports that two-thirds of the Hyundai’s employees voted to strike over wage and benefit issues. The unionized members are asking for a 6.5 percent pay increase and a one-time bonus after the company began cutting bonus and overtime pay last year.
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March 6
The Harvard Graduate Students Union announces a strike authorization vote.
March 5
Colorado judge grants AFSCME’s motion to intervene to defend Colorado’s county employee collective bargaining law; Arizona proposes constitutional amendment to ban teachers unions’ use public resources; NLRB unlikely to use rulemaking to overturn precedent.
March 4
The NLRB and Ex-Cell-O; top aides to Labor Secretary resign; attacks on the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
March 3
Texas dismantles contracting program for minorities; NextEra settles ERISA lawsuit; Chipotle beats an age discrimination suit.
March 2
Block lays off over 4,000 workers; H-1B fee data is revealed.
March 1
The NLRB officially rescinds the Biden-era standard for determining joint-employer status; the DOL proposes a rule that would rescind the Biden-era standard for determining independent contractor status; and Walmart pays $100 million for deceiving delivery drivers regarding wages and tips.