Alexander W. Miller is a student at Harvard Law School.
Following up on our reporting yesterday about state efforts to undermine labor unions in Wisconsin and Iowa, the New York Times looks at the impact of one-party rule in the 25 states where Republicans now control both houses of the state legislature and the state executive. Of note are initiatives in the four states (Missouri, Iowa, New Hampshire, and Kentucky) where Republicans took control of a previously Democratic governorship or upper legislative chamber last November. Lawmakers in those states have moved quickly to enact right to work laws, limit collective bargaining by public employees, and implement school choice laws generally viewed as reducing the strength of teachers’ unions.
The Times also reports on decreasing gender disparities in workplace participation rates among workers in their 60s and 70s, with the number of women working past the age of 65 doubling over the past thirty years. Interestingly, most of the gains appear to be among women with higher levels of education and in higher economic strata.
Workers at Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner plant in South Carolina will vote Wednesday on whether to unionize. South Carolina now has the lowest rate of unionization in the country, with the already slim number decreasing by almost a quarter in the past year. In the lead up to the vote by the approximately 3,000 workers employed at the plant, The State catalogues the history of unionization in the area and some recent tentative successes.
Two weeks ago, President Trump signed an executive order potentially beginning a military buildup over the next several years that could increase by 30% the number of ships in the U.S. Navy. Politico Magazine explores the potential human costs of that buildup, detailing years of safety violations by private shipbuilding firms and highlighting the gaps in legal protections for workers that prevent systemic negligence from being remedied.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
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.
September 10
A federal judge denies a motion by the Trump Administration to dismiss a lawsuit led by the American Federation of Government Employees against President Trump for his mass layoffs of federal workers; the Supreme Court grants a stay on a federal district court order that originally barred ICE agents from questioning and detaining individuals based on their presence at a particular location, the type of work they do, their race or ethnicity, and their accent while speaking English or Spanish; and a hospital seeks to limit OSHA's ability to cite employers for failing to halt workplace violence without a specific regulation in place.
September 9
Ninth Circuit revives Trader Joe’s lawsuit against employee union; new bill aims to make striking workers eligible for benefits; university lecturer who praised Hitler gets another chance at First Amendment claims.
September 8
DC Circuit to rule on deference to NLRB, more vaccine exemption cases, Senate considers ban on forced arbitration for age discrimination claims.