News & Commentary

June 29, 2014

The recent NLRB v. Noel Canning Supreme Court decision has caused a “scramble” as the National Labor Relations Board revisits hundreds of decisions, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Los Angeles Times opinion page calls the ruling “reasonable” and applauds Justice Breyer for “rightly reject[ing] the appeals court’s extreme approach.”

The New York Times reports that in the last seven of ten years, Texas has had the highest number of worker fatalities in the country. Texas is the only state that allows private employers not to carry workers’ compensation insurance or a private equivalent.

In Detroit, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees has reached an agreement with the city that will restore wage cuts workers took during the bankruptcy crisis, according to the New York Times.

The Wall Street Journal reports that a Chinese arbitration panel dismissed a labor complaint brought by the country’s officially sanctioned trade union against Wal-mart. The union was seeking additional compensation for employees of a recently closed store in the city of Changde. Reuters reports that the employees now plan to sue the retailer, challenging the way in which Wal-mart handled the store closure. In Canada, the Supreme Court found that Wal-mart violated Quebec labor law when it closed a store shortly after the employees voted to unionize.

New York University and the government of Abu Dhabi has announced that an investigative firm will look into the labor conditions of South Asian workers hired to construct the university’s new Middle Eastern campus. The New York Times found that most workers were charged high recruitment fees and paid less than promised, some lived in miserable conditions, and workers who went on strike were beaten and deported.

Enjoy OnLabor’s fresh takes on the day’s labor news, right in your inbox.