Posts tagged Labor
A Republican-Led NLRB May Soon Revisit Expanded Remedies and Other Labor Precedents
October 30, 2025 // The HELP Committee’s approvals signal a likely realignment in the months ahead but not an immediate one, as it remains unknown as to when or whether the NLRB will have a quorum. A new NLRB majority may act quickly once seated to revisit recent precedents—not only Thryv, but also rules governing joint-employer status, independent-contractor classifications and union election procedures. The coming months will be a period of heightened uncertainty for employers navigating ongoing unfair labor practice matters.
US Transportation Secretary threatens to fire absent air traffic controllers
October 14, 2025 // Last week, the president said some employees who are not at work might not receive retroactive pay once the government reopens. Air traffic controllers, though, are considered "essential workers" and are still required to carry out their duites. "When you come to work you get paid," Duffy said. "If you don't come to work, you don't get paid. That's the way we're going to do it."
AI Needs Data Centers—and People to Build Them
October 6, 2025 // That brings us to the second tool for expanding the skilled workforce: convincing more people to pursue a career in the trades. Here, policymakers should tap into the vast potential workforce among young men released from prison for nonviolent offenses by expanding inmates’ access to vocational education. Only a small fraction of this group currently receives such training. And to train more would-be tradesmen in general, we need to make training more effective—and more interesting. Technology can help here, too. Leading construction-equipment makers already use virtual reality and augmented-reality systems for their training simulators. Tests show VR training significantly improves users’ training-completion and employment outcomes.
‘The Pitt’ Production Assistants Vote to Unionize In Major Move
September 11, 2025 // The current slowdown in production has hit PAs particularly hard, rendering job opportunities scarcer and more competitive. Higher-ups like assistant directors and locations professionals have stepped back down into PA roles to keep working.
Commentary: The 2025 Labor Power 100 New York’s most influential union chiefs and worker advocates
August 26, 2025 // City & State’s Labor Power 100 highlights the most influential leaders in one of the most politically powerful spheres in New York. The list, researched and written in partnership with journalist Aaron Short, features union chiefs who have scored major victories – new contracts, new legislation, new members – and navigated tough circumstances. It also highlights a number of retirements that have paved the way for new leaders to ascend.
Op-ed: Is anyone in charge of Los Angeles?
August 12, 2025 // LWithin days, the LA Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress — whose $3 million budget comes primarily from Delta Airlines, United Airlines and the American Hotel & Lodging Association — filed paperwork to put a citizen’s-veto referendum before voters in 2026. (Plummer is among the small businesspeople listed as the measure’s official proponents.) It would take 92,000 signatures to reach the ballot, but just filing the referendum had an immediate impact: delaying implementation of the law’s first planned pay increase on July 1, to $22.50 per hour. Frustrated by the possibility that years of lobbying could be wiped away with a corporate-backed campaign, organized labor launched a counteroffensive. In June, Unite Here Local 11 — which represents 32,000 workers across Southern California hotels, airports and sports arenas — filed a package of four ballot initiatives.
Commentary: Blatant Lawlessness
August 7, 2025 // A new Yankee Institute report, Blatant Lawlessness: How the CT Department of Labor & Union Leaders Disrespect Union Workers and Ignore the Law, highlights the Connecticut Department of Labor’s (CT DOL’s) failure to enforce vital state laws. These laws require unions to provide financial transparency to their members, and the state’s non-enforcement leaves dues-paying workers vulnerable to potential mismanagement and corruption. Enacted in 1959, Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 31-77 mandates that unions representing public and private sector employees submit verified annual financial reports to the CT DOL and make them available to members.
Nationwide Lowe’s Boycott Planned for August 1: What to Know
July 31, 2025 // Progressive groups have spearheaded the action and expressed concerns over a number of issues, including company tax avoidance and workers' rights, as well as the scaling-back of diversity hiring commitments.
Two unions announce opposition to UP-NS merger (revised)
July 30, 2025 // Two unions — the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, and the Transport Workers Union of America — have announced their opposition to the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger proposed today by the two railroads. SMART said it will oppose the merger when it goes to the Surface Transportation Board for approval, while the TWU — which represents some Norfolk Southern workers — said it “strongly opposes” the deal and is urging regulators, lawmakers, shippers and unions to block the transaction. Other unions have also expressed concern about the creation of a coast-to-coast railroad that would cover more than 52,000 miles and employ more than 52,000 people, although few have done so in language as strong as that of TWU International President John Samuelsen. In a statement, he called UP’s safety record “shameful” and said, “There is no world where Union Pacific should be controlling a coast-to-coast rail network.
MICHIGAN: Labor unions praise ‘responsible bidder’ ordinances while contractors warn of workforce shortages
July 30, 2025 // But contractors say some elements of the plan would unfairly impact local bidders. Jeremiah Leyba is the director of engineering for the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, which represents more than 500 companies in Michigan. He says not all contractors can easily access federal apprenticeship programs and also rely on trade school diplomas, community college degrees and industry certifications for workforce development. “The city of Lansing would be excluding bidders that are highly qualified, and with dwindling workforces across the state, it is an exclusion no municipality can responsibly afford,” Leyba said. Several localities in Michigan already have responsible bidder ordinances in place, including Jackson, Royal Oak and Detroit.