Fight for $15 was a winner at the Democratic presidential debate on Thursday night. As Politico reports, when asked about their support for a $15 minimum wage bill, both Democratic candidates indicated their support. In a shift in Hillary Clinton’s platform, Clinton explained she would “set a national level of 12 and then urge any place that can go above it to go above it,” adding “[b]ut of course if we have a Democratic Congress, we will go to 15.” Previously, Clinton supported $12 rather than $15 citing President Obama’s former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers for support.
According to the New York Times, producers and actors in the original cast of “Hamilton” have come to an agreement, providing a share for original cast members in the musical’s profits. “Hamilton” makes about $500,000 a week in profits, and its profits will multiply as it begins its national and international tours. “Hamilton” isn’t the first show to establish profit-sharing for original cast members; “The Book of Mormon” famously still pays its original cast regular checks, and other shows such as “Rent” and “Avenue Q” established similar schemes. The president of Actors’ Equity emphasized the agreement’s significance in the broader discussion about how actors are compensated for contributions to developing shows.
Earlier this week, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent a letter on behalf of eight states attorneys general to retailers they believe engage in “on-call scheduling,” requiring employees to be available during hours in which they are not getting paid to work. According to the Huffington Post, letter recipients include American Eagle, Payless, Forever 21, Uniqlo, and Coach. National Retail Federation explains, “Retailers need flexibility to adapt to changing conditions in a store, and they don’t need the government telling them how to do what they do best – run their businesses.” On the other hand, Michael Wasser, senior policy analyst at advocacy group Jobs for Justice, argues on-call shifts “push the business risk onto the backs of their employees,” where “the employees have no chance at the rewards that come with that risk.” You can read Schneiderman’s press release here.
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September 17
A union argues the NLRB's quorum rule is unconstitutional; the California Building Trades back a state housing law; and Missouri proposes raising the bar for citizen ballot initiatives
September 16
In today’s news and commentary, the NLRB sues New York, a flight attendant sues United, and the Third Circuit considers the employment status of Uber drivers The NLRB sued New York to block a new law that would grant the state authority over private-sector labor disputes. As reported on recently by Finlay, the law, which […]
September 15
Unemployment claims rise; a federal court hands victory to government employees union; and employers fire workers over social media posts.
September 14
Workers at Boeing reject the company’s third contract proposal; NLRB Acting General Counsel William Cohen plans to sue New York over the state’s trigger bill; Air Canada flight attendants reject a tentative contract.
September 12
Zohran Mamdani calls on FIFA to end dynamic pricing for the World Cup; the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement opens a probe into Scale AI’s labor practices; and union members organize immigration defense trainings.
September 11
California rideshare deal advances; Boeing reaches tentative agreement with union; FTC scrutinizes healthcare noncompetes.