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.
Daily News & Commentary
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August 23
Hyundai Motors workers launch full-day strike; federal judge rules in favor of Vermont dairy plant in closure dispute
August 21
Tyson workers respond to abrupt plant shutdown; DOL ends its power to police federal contractor bias.
August 20
Unions sue the government over new visa rule; Judge declines to dismiss former Amazon worker's suit.
August 19
NLRB swears in third Trump-appointed Member; Teamster file complaint against Amazon in New York; unions and college students sue Trump admin for international student immigration restrictions
August 18
New Trump administration rules will remove the Merit Systems Protection Board's independence; a CFPB union leader suspended alleges retaliation; the National Treasury Employees Union requires its members to pay dues as it battles to stay financially afloat.
August 17
Tensions rise between New York City's teachers' union and City Hall; NLRB judge finds Brooklyn hospital violated labor law.