With Donald Trump sitting in the White House and right-wing Republicans controlling Congress, there is not much for labor to cheer about on the American national political scene. In addition, the overall prospect for union organizing does not look very good. Republicans are pursuing policies at both the national and state level to further erode …
Hints of Progress for Labor in the United States Read More »
Back in 2011, as the Occupy Wall Street movement was still spreading through the country, a smaller standoff was unfolding at Sea-Tac, the international airport in the small, eponymous town between Seattle and Tacoma that serves both cities. Along with some of her coworkers, Zainab Aweis, a Somali Muslim shuttle driver for Hertz car rental, …
Veteran Organizer Gives Inside Look at the First $15 Minimum Wage Campaign Read More »
“A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess.” — A. Philip Randolph One of our most celebrated labor leaders, A. Philip Randolph, an organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, knew the connection between the labor movement …
Oh, those overpaid teachers: Average weekly wages (inflation adjusted) of public-sector teachers decreased $30 per week from 1996 to 2015, from $1,122 to $1,092 (in 2015 dollars). In contrast, weekly wages of all college graduates rose from $1,292 to $1,416 over this period. For all public-sector teachers, the relative wage gap (regression adjusted for education, experience, and …
This week in the war on workers: Teacher pay is falling behind Read More »
President Obama’s long-awaited increase in overtime pay eligibility has taken the next step to being a reality—a reality that would mean five million American workers would get overtime pay if they worked extra hours: The Department of Labor (DOL) has sent its finalized changes to the rule expanding who is covered by overtime laws to …
This week in the war on workers: Five million workers a step closer to overtime pay Read More »
Despite hardline Senate Republican opposition to meeting with, let alone voting on, any potential replacement for recently deceased Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, on Tuesday, President Obama nominated Chief Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., to fill the vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia after his recent, unexpected death. …
Where Would Obama’s Supreme Court Nominee Merrick Garland Stand on Labor Issues? Read More »
The most important election in Virginia this year has no candidates on the ballot. On February 2nd, the Republican-dominated General Assembly passed the two-session threshold needed to put the open shop before the Commonwealth’s voters in November. You might be asking yourself, “Wait. I thought that Virginia was already an open-shop state?” Your inclinations would be correct: legislation …
Vietnam is already snubbing the unenforceable labor provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Voice of America reports, in “Vietnam Beating Case Highlights TPP Labor Rights Issue“: A Vietnamese labor activist has accused authorities of beating and detaining her after she talked with fired workers in southern Long An province. Long-time labor rights advocate Do Thi …
Now Vietnam Thumbs Nose At TPP’s Unenforceable Labor Provisions Read More »
As early afternoon shoppers strolled sidewalks outside a Whole Foods market in an artsy, eclectic section of Washington, D.C., dozens of labor activists broke mid-day monotony by loudly calling attention to alleged injustices 2300 miles away in Washington state. “If they’re abusing workers in one place than they will abuse workers in another. An injury to …
D.C. labor activists blast fruit grower over alleged worker abuse Read More »
Setting the stage for The White House Summit on Worker Voice, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) today introduced The Workplace Democracy Act. According to Sanders’ office, this legislation “would make it easier for workers to join unions and bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions.” The Workplace Democracy Act allows the …
Sanders’ Workplace Democracy Act And The White House Worker Summit 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.
