Today’s News & Commentary — September 14, 2018

Governor Andrew Cuomo defeated opponent Cynthia Nixon in yesterday’s New York primary to win the Democratic nomination for governor.  Yesterday, OnLabor contributor Jared Odessky reported on the critical role labor unions were expected to play in the election, writing that Governor Cuomo,–despite past disagreements with unions–was “counting on them” to defeat Nixon.

With the general midterm election less than two months out, Politico reports that the Ohio Democratic Party is embroiled in grueling negotiations with its unionized campaign workers.  In July, the Ohio Democratic Party recognized the Campaign Workers Guild Chapter–becoming the first state to do so–but now the Party finds itself in a difficult negotiating position, as a campaign-workers strike this close to Election Day could have significantly adverse repercussions.  The campaign workers are seeking a monthly income floor and better car-driving mileage reimbursements (which are currently below the federal level).  Furthermore, campaign workers and union organizers have expressed frustration that one of the management-side lawyers hired by the Ohio Democratic Party for the negotiations is a registered Republican.  Field organizer and union negotiating team member Jake McClelland stated, “We need a fair contract, and we need it before we’re 40 days, 30 days out from the election.  Staring a party in the face [that’s] hired a Republican to bust our union is, I think, a pretty good catalyst for escalation.”

Mitesh Sheth–Chief Executive Officer of Redington Ltd., a London-based investment consultancy–was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal about how his company eradicated its internal pay gap between men and women in less than two years.  The firm both empowered a newly appointed female managing partner “to challenge every pay promotion process” and began working with The Return Hub, a recruiting firm that specializes in placing women back in financial-services roles after a career break.  Regarding the latter, Mr. Sheth stated the “myths around [women returning to work], that all want flexible hours, or that all are mothers returning from raising children—that isn’t true.”

During a year in which thousands of teachers have gone on strike across West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona, and Colorado, BuzzFeed News explains how some teachers have creatively began supplementing their income through Instagram as “teacher influencers.”