Adi Kamdar is a student at Harvard Law School.
Happy Halloween! In order to get your fright night started right, check out this list of union-made candies from the AFL-CIO.
The Washington Post reports that federal workers earn 34.07% less on average than comparable workers in the private sector. The number was derived by the Federal Salary Council, a group that oversees the General Schedule pay system that covers most government workers. This figure is around the same as it has been the last three years, which has led federal employee unions to call for higher wages, though the number has been disputed by conservative and libertarian groups (finding a 14 to 78% pay advantage) and the Congressional Budget Office (finding a 2% pay advantage).
A new poll by the National Employment Law Project found 84% of voters, both Republican and Democrat, “bristle when corporations illegally misclassify employees,” as put by the NELP’s Rebecca Smith in The Hill. These voters are in favor of policies that make it harder for companies to classify workers as independent contractors and that subject such companies to higher fines.
In Uber news, a new study from researchers at MIT, Stanford, and University of Washington found that Boston Uber drivers “canceled rides for men with black-sounding names more than twice as often as for other men” and “Black people in Seattle faced notably longer wait times for a car using Uber and Lyft Inc. than white customers,” as reported in Bloomberg. The researchers proposed fixes such as hiding passenger names and increasing repercussions to canceling rides, as well as periodic discrimination reviews. The paper researchers also noticed that “women were sometimes taken on significantly longer rides than men.”
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
August 26
Trump administration proposes $103,000 H-1B visa fee after court blocks earlier attempt; Illinois governor signs law enabling state investment in AFL-CIO housing trust; Deloitte pays $21.5 million to settle DOJ probe alleging DEI-related discrimination in federal contracts.
August 25
Hyundai workers reach a tentative agreement; Federal-sector unions sue the Trump Administration over OPM rule changes; Federal judge dismisses a teachers’ union free speech suit.
August 24
Boeing engineers and technicians reject contract proposals and authorize a strike; Ninth Circuit holds that unions charged under 8(b)(4)(D) cannot invoke the work-preservation defense to disregard 10(k) determination.
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.