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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June 9
SoFi Stadium workers authorize a strike ahead of the World Cup; the NLRB finds Starbucks violated labor law; Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee is struck down.
June 8
BLS releases May jobs reports; US Trade Representative proposes new tariffs.
June 7
SAG-AFTRA members ratify a four-year CBA and the International Trade Union Confederation releases its 2026 Global Rights Index.
June 4
Third Circuit tosses DOL’s $35.8 million healthcare wage award; Trump’s Republican NLRB nominee gets Senate hearing; Harvard graduate students end strike.
June 3
JOLTS data shows mixed labor market as personal income declines; New York Fed research links remote work to rising youth unemployment; Virginia Governor Spanberger signs sweeping employment reform package.
June 2
Illinois passes rideshare driver unionization bill; DOL issues new union financial reporting rule; unions push back against AI data center regulations.