Maia Usui is a student at Harvard Law School.
Trump’s Labor Secretary pick — Andy Puzder, a fast-food CEO opposed to raising the minimum wage — is still drawing criticism. Politicians have chimed in; Senator Elizabeth Warren has called the appointment “a slap in the face for every hardworking American family.” The Atlantic takes a closer look at the controversial choice.
One puzzling aspect of Trump’s pick, as noted in our previous coverage, is that Puzder has disagreed with the President-elect on immigration issues. Puzder has argued for bringing in more low-wage immigrant workers, and in a Wall Street Journal editorial he penned earlier this year, Puzder claimed that “deporting 11 million people is unworkable.” While some have viewed the Puzder pick as a hopeful sign of a more balanced immigration policy under the Trump administration, Puzder seems to have already changed his tune on immigration; in a statement released Saturday, he threw his support behind Trump’s immigration plan, claiming that it “will boost wages and ensure that open jobs are offered to American workers first.”
Meanwhile, unions are feeling nervous in the wake of Trump’s bitter Twitter war with Chuck Jones, leader of the union representing Carrier workers, earlier this week. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump’s Carrier intervention — and the resulting conflict — has union leaders worried that the new President will intervene more and more in the work of organized labor.
And finally, as the holiday season approaches, Amazon is ramping up to deliver gifts across the world. But at what cost? A reporter from The Times went undercover in Amazon’s biggest warehouse in the U.K.; she reports backbreaking working conditions with low pay, and under “Orwellian surveillance.”
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
July 3
California compromises with unions on housing; 11th Circuit rules against transgender teacher; Harvard removes hundreds from grad student union.
July 2
Block, Nanda, and Nayak argue that the NLRA is under attack, harming democracy; the EEOC files a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by former EEOC Commissioner Jocelyn Samuels; and SEIU Local 1000 strikes an agreement with the State of California to delay the state's return-to-office executive order for state workers.
July 1
In today’s news and commentary, the Department of Labor proposes to roll back minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by public defenders over a union’s Gaza statements, and Philadelphia’s largest municipal union is on strike for first time in nearly 40 years. On Monday, the U.S. […]
June 30
Antidiscrimination scholars question McDonnell Douglas, George Washington University Hospital bargained in bad faith, and NY regulators defend LPA dispensary law.
June 29
In today’s news and commentary, Trump v. CASA restricts nationwide injunctions, a preliminary injunction continues to stop DOL from shutting down Job Corps, and the minimum wage is set to rise in multiple cities and states. On Friday, the Supreme Court held in Trump v. CASA that universal injunctions “likely exceed the equitable authority that […]
June 27
Labor's role in Zohran Mamdani's victory; DHS funding amendment aims to expand guest worker programs; COSELL submission deadline rapidly approaching