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
October 11
UAW President Shawn Fain succeeds in his reelection bid, and Spanish unions call for a general strike.
October 9
DHS proposes a $100k fee for the foreign grad employment program; Trump suspends tech company access to green card program; and private equity perpetuates poor working conditions for home care workers.
October 8
NLRB judge finds UPS unlawfully restricted union insignia; Harvard graduate workers authorize second strike; OSHA orders Union Pacific to pay $300,000 in damages in whistleblower case.
October 7
DOL scraps plan to remove decades-old wage-and-hour guidance from federal regulations; New York enacts personnel records access law; Starbucks loses bid to dismiss Workers United trademark suit.
October 6
Protect College Sports Act dampens athlete unionization outlook; Stanford RA union decides to withdraw petition
October 5
Delaware bans captive audience meetings; EEOC settles remote work national origin discrimination claim; First Circuit stays enforcement order in VA's dispute with AFGE.