The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times report that Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposed minimum wage increase that would have been the world’s highest. Swiss trade unions were seeking a minimum hourly wage of $24.65 in an effort to ensure fair salaries for workers in the lowest-paid sectors, such as retail. Switzerland currently has no national minimum wage.
The Los Angeles Times reports that organized labor groups across Brazil have begun a series of strikes and protests for higher pay and better working conditions as the World Cup nears. Associations of police officers, teachers, transportation workers, public employees, security guards, homeless people, and political activists alike are engaging in these demonstrations.
The Associated Press reports that Connecticut has the largest part-time labor force. The percentage of those working fewer than 35 hours weekly now comprises 22.2% of Connecticut’s employment, outpacing the Northeast, South, Midwest, and West.
The Washington Post reports that D.C. Public Schools have reached a tentative collective-bargaining agreement with the Council of School Officers, the union representing principals, assistant principals, business managers, master educators, and other non-teachers who work in schools.
Daily News & Commentary
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May 9
Philadelphia City Council unanimously passes the POWER Act; thousands of federal worker layoffs at the Department of Interior expected; the University of Oregon student workers union reach a tentative agreement, ending 10-day strike
May 8
Court upholds DOL farmworker protections; Fifth Circuit rejects Amazon appeal; NJTransit navigates negotiations and potential strike.
May 7
U.S. Department of Labor announces termination of mental health and child care benefits for its employees; SEIU pursues challenge of NLRB's 2020 joint employer rule in the D.C. Circuit; Columbia University lays off 180 researchers
May 6
HHS canceled a scheduled bargaining session with the FDA's largest workers union; members of 1199SEIU voted out longtime union president George Gresham in rare leadership upset.
May 5
Unemployment rates for Black women go up under Trump; NLRB argues Amazon lacks standing to challenge captive audience meeting rule; Teamsters use Wilcox's reinstatement orders to argue against injunction.
May 4
In today’s news and commentary, DOL pauses the 2024 gig worker rule, a coalition of unions, cities, and nonprofits sues to stop DOGE, and the Chicago Teachers Union reaches a remarkable deal. On May 1, the Department of Labor announced it would pause enforcement of the Biden Administration’s independent contractor classification rule. Under the January […]