Alexander W. Miller is a student at Harvard Law School.
The Democratic National Committee elected former labor secretary Thomas Perez as the first Latino chairman of the party. The race for who would lead the rebuilding Democratic Party had been unusually contentious, going to a second ballot after the strong showing of Representative Keith Ellison. Perez immediately named Ellison his deputy, expressing a desire to present a united front against President Trump with progressive activists who had strongly supported the Minnesota Congressman’s bid.
Yesterday afternoon, after hours of impassioned testimony by workers and union members, the New Mexico House of Representatives killed a bill that would have made the state the 29th with so-called right-to-work laws on its books.
The New York Times looks at the career of Wilbur Ross, the billionaire investor who made much of his fortune through business decisions that embraced free trade and moved jobs overseas, but will now be tasked as commerce secretary with overseeing President Trump’s protectionist agenda.
The Lincoln Journal Star has an in-depth feature this weekend about the struggles of employers in Nebraska’s second-largest city to attract and retain workers. With an unemployment rate of just 3.4% and a dearth of young college graduates, new businesses are having to look further and further afield to fill vacancies.
Finally, the Guardian has a pair of articles covering potential impacts of Brexit on vulnerable sectors of the UK economy. The first addresses the potential for automation to replace EU workers involved in food production, but concludes that robots would be unable to fill the roles currently occupied by foreign employees. The second looks at the crucial roll immigrants from other EU nations play in staffing the country’s social care system.
Daily News & Commentary
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July 17
Canadian wildfires endanger rail workers; 26 Meta employees allege targeted layoffs for those on paid leave; FIFPRO pushes for more rigorous heat protections for players.
July 16
Trump's NLRB nominee set for Senate vote, federal district court grants partial win on WARN Act claims, Brigham and Women's nurses return to work.
July 15
U.S. labor productivity climbs at its fastest pace in decades; a federal judge grants a preliminary injunction to anti-abortion groups challenging Michigan’s civil rights law; and Jackson, Mississippi’s bus workers walk off the job.
July 14
DOJ opens investigation of UAW president; LIUNA protests Pfizer building collapse; national park workers unionize
July 13
New York Times files retaliation suit against the EEOC; US government pushes back TPS designation termination for Haiti; federal judge grants preliminary injunction to federal workers seeking reasonable telework accommodations.
July 12
Postal workers demand investigation into Atlanta distribution center conditions following deaths; University of Chicago Press Workers vote to unionize.