Weekend News & Commentary — September 26–27, 2015

Yesterday, hundreds of workers gathered at the United Farm Workers’ Forty Acre complex in Delano, CA to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Delano grape strike. Organized by Filipino American and Latino workers, the strike incited an international boycott of nonunion grapes and led to the formation of UFW. The Fresno Bee reports that the anniversary event featured speeches by the sons of both Cesar Chavez and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as well as UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta.

American Apparel has turned to notorious union busting firm Cruz & Associates to stymie growing labor unrest at its Los Angeles headquarters. Per the New York Post, workers have been attempting to organize under the auspices of the General Brotherhood of Workers in response to cuts in hours and wages, layoffs, and the forced departure of founder Dov Charney.

Scott Walker may no longer be running for president, but at least one commentator hopes that his proposal to repeal the Davis-Beacon Act has longer legs than the Wisconsin governor’s campaign. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Andy Koenig describes the history of the law — which requires that federal construction projects of $2,000 or more pay the prevailing union wage — as “despicable” and “disturbing.” He goes on to suggest that repealing the law would “restore fairness to the bidding process for federal construction projects, end a discriminatory policy that continues to hurt minority communities, and save billions of dollars for the American taxpayer.”