Abigail Disney, granddaughter of the co-founder of the Walt Disney Co., called out the family business’ current CEO last month for making what’s supposed to be the happiest place on earth pretty darn miserable for its workers. All of the company profits shouldn’t be going into executives’ pockets, she said in a Washington Post column. The workers …
With the midterms behind us, we have Nov. 4, 2020, to look forward to—labor’s next morning after. On Nov. 5, 2008, we were euphoric and full of delusional hope over the imminent passage of the Employee Free Choice Act and the restoration of labor. On Nov. 9, 2016, we were paralyzed by despair and denial. …
Forget Elections—Labor Needs To Get Back to Its Roots Read More »
Amidst headlines about porn stars and bromance with Russian President Vladimir Putin, it can be hard to track the many ways the Trump administration is hurting workers in the United States. The Supreme Court’s Janus ruling that struck a blow to unions’ ability to collect membership dues held a brief spotlight in the national news …
Beginning in 1960, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and then-President George Meany of the AFL-CIO began a relationship that would help bring the labor and civil rights movements together with a combined focus on social and economic justice. Meany was an outspoken defender of individual freedom, and in March 1960, he emphasized the crucial link between the …
King and Meany Brought Civil Rights and Labor Together for a Legacy That Continues Today Read More »
It was a big night for labor’s agenda as pro-worker candidates won election from coast to coast Tuesday. In Virginia, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam handily defeated Ed Gillespie as AFL-CIO-endorsed candidates won throughout the commonwealth. Virginia AFL-CIO President Doris Crouse-Mays hailed the victories: “Today, Virginia’s voters turned out in record numbers to stand with working people and reject …
Labor-Backed Candidates Win Big in Tuesday’s Elections Read More »
When is the moment in time for a freelance writer that a late payment becomes wage theft, and what do you do about it? For A.J. Springer, who recently moved to the District of Columbia, the line was April 27, 2017, when he went public in a Chicago Tribune news story about the $1,755 owed him at the …
It might not get as much press coverage as other Donald Trump administration calamities, but the U.S. president is set to appoint a known union buster to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), push the body to a Republican majority and reverse Obama-era protections that rankle Big Business. On July 13, the Senate Health, Education, …
The exploitation of academic workers has simmered for decades. Now, buoyed by a National Labor Relations Board ruling that graduate employees at private universities have the right to unionize, a new generation is organizing unions across private universities—defying a wave of pushback from administrations. Some students win (Columbia, Loyola). Some withdraw (Duke). Some get caught in …
As Universities are Gutted, Grad Student Employee Unions Can Provide a Vital Defense Read More »
Come sunrise, the men fill the street corner, among them Luis, quietly sitting by himself, nurturing hopes for work today. There was no work yesterday, nothing the day before and nothing for weeks. Still, the 50-year-old Guatemalan, who didn’t want his last name used, waits in the growing heat, saying he has no other choice. …
Last year, I wrote about the open shop referendum in Virginia, calling it the most important election for the labor movement in 2016. While Virginia has been a “right-to-work” state since 1947, supporters of the referendum argued that a constitutional amendment was necessary to prevent Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring or future Democratic legislative majorities from overturning …
This is Why Labor Should Care About Virginia’s Gubernatorial Primary Read More »
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
