Today, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will hold a hearing on the Trump administration’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) nominations. Janet Dhillon and Daniel Gade are the nominees. Dhillon, who is currently the general counsel of Burlington Stores, began her career at a large corporate law firm before transitioning in-house. She was tapped to become the next chairwoman. Gade, an Iraq War veteran and West Point professor, would be the only non-lawyer on the Commission if confirmed. Gade, who was wounded during service resulting in the loss of his right leg, was once profiled in the New York Times for his advocacy of reining in disability pay for veterans (“People who stay home because they are getting paid enough to get by on disability are worse off”). The addition of Dhillon and Gade would produce a 3-2 Republican majority on the Commission.
In other appointment news, the Trump administration announced last week that it will nominate Peter Robb to be the next general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Robb is a management-side labor attorney based in Vermont. He previously worked as an NLRB field attorney before transitioning into the private sector. Robb has reportedly been critical of certain Obama-era policies, including the rule limiting the period of time between employees filing a petition to organize and the corresponding election.
The New York Times discusses the State Department’s tightened rules for visas into the U.S. As Gardiner Harris reports, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson informed various U.S. embassies that “visitors who require a visa before entering the United States must then follow through on their stated plans for at least three months. If in that period they do something they failed to mention in an interview with a consular official … it will be presumed that they have deliberately lied.” Under previous rules, a change in plans was viewed as a misrepresentation only for the first month after arrival to the U.S.
Ontario-based General Motors workers began striking on Sunday. Union leaders report an impasse in discussions to keep jobs from moving to Mexico. The union also reports that negotiations began to fail upon its demand that the plant be the primary assembly site for the Chevrolet Equinox, a car that has been very successful for G.M.
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April 17
Utahns sign a petition supporting referendum to repeal law prohibiting public sector collective bargaining; the US District Court for the District of Columbia declines to dismiss claims filed by the AFL-CIO against several government agencies; and the DOGE faces reports that staffers of the agency accessed the NLRB’s sensitive case files.
April 16
7th Circuit questions the relevance of NLRB precedent after Loper Bright, unions seek to defend silica rule, and Abrego Garcia's union speaks out.
April 15
In today’s news and commentary, SAG-AFTRA reaches a tentative agreement, AFT sues the Trump Administration, and California offers its mediation services to make up for federal cuts. SAG-AFTRA, the union representing approximately 133,000 commercial actors and singers, has reached a tentative agreement with advertisers and advertising agencies. These companies were represented in contract negotiations by […]
April 14
Department of Labor publishes unemployment statistics; Kentucky unions resist deportation orders; Teamsters win three elections in Texas.
April 13
Shawn Fain equivocates on tariffs; Trump quietly ends federal union dues collection; pro-Palestinian Google employees sue over firings.
April 11
Trump considers measures to return farm and hospitality workers to the US after deportation; Utah labor leaders make final push to get the “Protect Utah Workers” referendum on the state’s ballot; hundreds of probationary National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees were re-terminated