Jack Goldsmith is the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where he teaches and writes about national security law, international law, internet law, and, recently, labor history. Before coming to Harvard, Professor Goldsmith served as Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel from 2003-2004, and Special Counsel to the Department of Defense from 2002-2003.
My academic fields of expertise are at the intersection of national security law and international law, and I already blog at a site devoted to these topics. One thus might wonder why I am participating in this blog on labor law and politics. The short answer is that I grew up in a labor family, I have had a significant intellectual interest in labor history and politics for several years, and I am in the process of writing a book about Jimmy Hoffa’s place in American political and legal history. I have nothing like Ben’s experience or expertise in this area, my interests are more selective than his, and I will almost certainly post less frequently than he will. But my outlook differs as well, and hopefully the labor literature I will be reading over the next few years, and my reactions to it, will be of some interest to some readers. Right now I am reading Nelson Lichtenstein’s terrific (and 16-year-old) biography of Walter Reuther, which has interesting implications for the modern American labor movement, some of which I hope to sketch when I am done.
Our ambition for the site is to make it a place to collect and analyze the important events of the day – in law and politics – that relate to labor, unions, and workers. We will be offering commentary on important cases, laws, political developments, and the like, and we hope to build a daily “news and commentary” summary and student-written “explainer” posts as well. Ben and I each have particular takes on these issues, but our aim is to keep the analysis and conversation — with each other, and others outside the site — civil and constructive.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
November 6
Starbucks workers authorize a strike; Sixth Circuit rejects Thryv remedies; OPEIU tries to intervene to defend the NLRB.
November 5
Denver Labor helps workers recover over $2.3 million in unpaid wages; the Eighth Circuit denies a request for an en ban hearing on Minnesota’s ban on captive audience meetings; and many top labor unions break from AFGE’s support for a Republican-backed government funding bill.
November 4
Second Circuit declines to revive musician’s defamation claims against former student; Trump administration adds new eligibility requirements for employers under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program; major labor unions break with the AFGE's stance on the government shutdown.
November 3
Fifth Circuit rejects Thryv remedies, Third Circuit considers applying Ames to NJ statute, and some circuits relax McDonnell Douglas framework.
November 2
In today’s news and commentary, states tackle “stay-or-pay” contracts, a new preliminary injunction bars additional shutdown layoffs, and two federal judges order the Trump administration to fund SNAP. Earlier this year, NLRB acting general counsel William Cowen rescinded a 2024 NLRB memo targeting “stay-or-pay” contracts. Former General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo had declared that these kinds […]
October 31
DHS ends work permit renewal grace period; Starbucks strike authorization vote; captive-audience ban case appeal