Mackenzie Bouverat is a student at Harvard Law School.
U.S. District Judge David Hurd in Albany on Tuesday entered a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of a New York state health department rule requiring health care workers workers in hospitals and nursing homes to get a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by Sept. 27, for those employed in public institutions, and October 9th, for those employed in private institutions. The injunction arises from a case, Dr. A. v. Hochul, 21-cv-01009, U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York (Albany), involving a group of 17 medical professionals sued New York Governor Kathy Hochul and other state officials to invalidate the law. The plaintiffs in the case claim that the mandate violates their religious beliefs, as the vaccines were tested, developed or manufactured using cell lines from aborted fetuses.
On Tuesday, Arizona also filed suit against the Biden Administration’s employer vaccine and testing mandates, seeking a declaration that the mandates are unconstitutional in the the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. As Tascha reported on September 10th, the mandate requires businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure their workers are vaccinated or test weekly for Covid-19. Arizona’s lawsuit argues that Biden lacks authority under the U.S. Constitution to require vaccines. The complaint also contends that the mandate violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, as U.S. workers face discrimination compared with undocumented persons who are given the option whether to receive the vaccine.
The Teamsters Local Union 362 has filed an application with the Alberta Labour Relations Board to hold a vote to unionize workers in an Amazon facility located in Nisku, an Edmonton suburb. The facility employs between 600 and 800 workers, who will be the first Canadian Amazon employees to hold a unionization vote. The Alberta Labour Relations Board must verify the application before a date is set, but the union expects a vote before the end of the year. “Amazon won’t change without a union,” Teamsters National President François Laporte said in a statement. “Be it on job security, pace of work, discrimination, favoritism, or wages, the company has proven itself to be profoundly anti-worker.”
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
February 7
Alarming reports about labor conditions at Disney World, healthcare workers in San Diego unionize, and a NJ temporary workers' rights bill is signed into law.
February 6
YouTube subcontractors strike a Return-to-Office policy; Teamsters prepare for upcoming contract negotiations with UPS; Woburn, MA teachers union agrees to reimburse city $225,000 for costs incurred during 5-day strike.
February 5
On Friday night, Disney World workers in Orlando overwhelmingly rejected Disney’s latest offer for a five-year contract. Unions that represent the 32,000 workers—ride operators, performers, restaurant and retail employees, bus drivers, and custodians—announced that 96 percent of the workers who cast votes voted against Disney’s contract offer. The previous three-year contract expired in October, and, […]
February 3
New Jersey advances a temp worker rights bill; Johns Hopkins doctoral students join a wave of unionized graduate students; canvassers systematically misrepresented a petition for a veto referendum on the California fast food workers bill; and strikes continue in the UK
February 2
Starbucks made illegal threats during a union election; an Illinois bill would paid time off; and the UK cost of living strike continues.
February 1
Judge rules Amazon violated labor law and HuffPost workers announce readiness to strike.