Posts tagged Texas
Texas Judge Enjoins NLRB From Proceeding Against SpaceX, Casting Further Doubt on NLRB’s Constitutionality
July 31, 2024 // If the lawsuits ultimately succeed and the NLRB is dismantled in whole or in part, we may see a dramatic transformation of the way union organizing, elections, and worker and union disputes are decided under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). We will continue to monitor developments in these cases, as well as the expected wave of challenges to the NLRB’s rules and positions.
The Texas Supreme Court recently handed a significant victory to taxpayers, and Louisiana lawmakers should take note.
July 29, 2024 // The court held that the CBA did not authorize union activities like lobbying, supporting candidates, or engaging in other partisan political activities while on release time. To allow this type of activity would violate the Texas Constitution’s Gift Clauses, which prohibit state and local governments from allocating public resources to private purposes. Release time is time spent conducting union business—lobbying, attending conferences, or negotiating collective bargaining agreements—for which the member is granted paid time away from the job he or she was hired to do. In other words, it’s a form of taxpayer funded lobbying.
Labor unions start to unify behind Kamala Harris. Here’s why.
July 25, 2024 // Randi Weingarten, head of the 1.7-million member American Federation of Teachers and a close ally of President Joe Biden, said she'd forgotten to bring something on stage with her at the union's national convention in Houston, Texas on Monday. "I don't have tissues -- I should, unfortunately," Weingarten said, before thanking Biden for his achievements. A day earlier, Weingarten had been among the first labor leaders to express support for the newly announced presidential candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris.
17 states allege Biden opens path to unionize foreign farmworkers
July 17, 2024 // The Department of Labor denies the allegation, saying the rule merely gives foreign farmworkers the right to protect wages and working conditions through "concerted activities" and "self-advocacy." The AGs accuse the department of hiding "behind linguistic smoke and mirrors." "If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it's probably a duck," the motion for a preliminary injunction reads.
Huge shipping company shuts down and files Chapter 7 bankruptcy
July 10, 2024 // A review of the Texas Workforce Commission website shows that U.S. Logistics Solutions did not file a 60-day notice to employees that's required under the Worker Adjustments and Retraining Notification Act for companies with more than 100 employees. Failure to file the notice led a former employee on June 24 to file a class-action adversary proceeding complaint in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court against the debtor. The Charlotte, N.C.-based private equity firm in a statement said that all of the shipping company's employees had received their final paychecks, according to FreightWaves.
District Court Blocks Implementation of Overtime Final Rule for State Employees in Texas
July 8, 2024 // For now, however, the rule is in effect. As of July 1, 2024, the minimum salary threshold of the overtime pay regulations is set at $43,888, while the threshold for highly compensated employees is now $132,964. The next round of increases is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2025. Additionally, in another case challenging the rule, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas rejected software company Flint Avenue’s request for an injunction to block implementation of the rule nationwide. The court ruled that the company had not shown it would face irreparable harm if the rule went into effect, so it was not entitled to a preliminary injunction. The Northern District’s decision does not impact the Eastern District’s order, however.
Independent contractor classification still murky under new DOL rule
July 8, 2024 // Bill Webb, executive director for the Coalition for Independent Truckers, is skeptical. “To me, it’s just another one of those deaths by 1000 cuts for the independent contractor model,” he said. He believes this year’s November election will be crucial in retaining the current model. “(The DOL rule) does clearly change from a true AB5 model to something a little muddier,
OPINION: Republicans Don’t Need to Embrace Union Leaders to Win Union Workers
July 1, 2024 // Republicans should appeal directly to union members with commonsense policies. Working-class Americans are among the hardest hit by Bidenomics and its painful inflation. Republicans should reach them with policies that will reduce the cost of living and increase job opportunities. The GOP should simultaneously and forcefully oppose the union-backed demands with a message of spending restraint. Additionally, the GOP should extend the 2017 tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of 2025 — spurring a new era of job creation and wage growth.
Biden Administration Unveils Historic Rules for High-Paying Clean Energy Jobs The White House
June 19, 2024 // Clean energy projects that meet the requirements of these final rules will receive a fivefold increase for clean energy tax credits for deployment of wind, solar, nuclear, hydrogen, and other clean energy technologies, as well as for projects receiving allocations under the Section 48C Advanced Energy Projects credit., providing a significant incentive for project developers to pay prevailing wages to workers for construction, alteration, and repair of clean energy projects and to hire registered apprentices to earn while they learn by working on those projects. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su also published a blog highlighting the use of Project Labor Agreements as a best practice for large construction projects and a tool to help project developers comply with the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements. Project Labor Agreements, or pre-hire collective bargaining agreements that set the terms and conditions for employment on a construction project, help workers and developers alike by providing strong worker and wage protections while ensuring a reliable supply of skilled workers to help deliver projects on time and on budget.
17 state AGs sue Biden admin for allowing foreign farmworkers to unionize
June 14, 2024 // A group of 17 state attorneys general, led by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration this week over a rule that allows temporary farm workers in the country on H-2A visas the power to unionize. Federal law bans American farm workers from collective bargaining. “Once again, Joe Biden is putting America last,” Kobach said in a statement. “He’s giving political benefits to foreign workers while American workers struggle in Biden’s horrible economy. I stand with American workers.”