Posts tagged unconstitutional
Amazon sues New York over union protections
September 24, 2025 // In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New York City, Amazon argues that a newly minted state law giving the New York State Public Employment Relations Board authority to oversee union elections and resolve unfair labor practice charges is an "unconstitutional power grab" that's preempted by federal labor laws. Amazon was seeking a temporary restraining order blocking the law, but U.S. District Court judge Eric R. Komitee rejected that request in an order issued late Tuesday, citing a lack of notice to defendants named in the lawsuit. Lawyers for Amazon said the New York law "flips U.S. labor law on its head" by giving the state's PERB jurisdiction over every private-sector employer "until the NLRB gets a court to hold otherwise."
Federal government reverses course on Florida union law, appeals court holds lawsuit
June 16, 2025 // An appeals court Tuesday put on hold a lawsuit that Florida filed against the federal government, after the Trump administration reversed course on a controversial 2023 state law that placed restrictions on public-employee unions. The law included a series of restrictions, including preventing most public employees from having dues deducted from their paychecks and requiring unions to be recertified as bargaining agents if fewer than 60% of eligible employees pay dues. The lawsuit deals with interplay between the state law (SB 256) and a longstanding federal law designed to ensure that transit workers’ collective-bargaining rights are protected before federal transit money is provided to local agencies.
Op-ed: ‘We win, they lose’ GOP should use Reagan’s approach with unions
May 23, 2025 // In the case of unions, that means fundamentally reforming the current labor model. This doesn’t mean going back to the bad old days, when unions were treated as a criminal conspiracy. But it does mean ending the legal favoritism that allows unions to coerce workers, control businesses and advance their selfish interests at the expense of everyone else. The Republican goal should be to make unions earnestly compete for workers’ support, with neither a monopoly in the workplace nor restrictions on workers’ ability to choose the union that’s best for them. When is the last time Republicans forcefully advanced such a principled vision? Even before the recent backsliding, Republican leaders rarely made the moral case against forced unionization. Sure, they broadly supported policies that would have empowered workers, and most Republicans still do. But with few exceptions, the party tip-toed around the real stakes. If union coercion is wrong, then anyone who loves freedom has a duty to fight it — without apology and without quarter.
Federal Appeals Court Hears Arguments in Starbucks Baristas’ First-In-The-Nation Suit Challenging Constitutionality of NLRB
May 16, 2025 // Cortes and Karam’s case, originally filed in 2023, was the first in the nation to advance the argument that NLRB board members’ removal protections – which insulate members of the federal labor board from accountability to the President except on very rare occasions – violate separation of powers doctrines in Article II of the Constitution. Since Foundation attorneys filed the baristas’ case, the Trump Administration advanced the same arguments to remove Biden NLRB Member Gwynne Wilcox from the Board, which is now the subject of ongoing litigation.
Jennifer Abruzzo Wants Workers to Fight Back
May 14, 2025 // On May 5, Workday Magazine interviewed Abruzzo, who has since returned to the Communications Workers of America, as a senior advisor to the president. We talked about how protected concerted activity can include Gaza protests, why it’s a shame that domestic workers and farm workers are excluded from the National Labor Relations Act, and what workers can do to fight back in the Trump era. “It’s up to the people to actually use their power and flex their muscles in order to get the changes that they deem are appropriate,” she says, “so that they can live the lives that they deserve with dignity and respect.
An Executive Power Case That Trump May Win
April 7, 2025 // The Supreme Court seems likely to agree that a member of the National Labor Relations Board may be fired by the president at will.
NY Starbucks Baristas File Amicus Brief Opposing Reinstatement of Biden-Appointed NLRB Member Removed by President Trump
March 13, 2025 // Starbucks employees have pending federal lawsuit challenging NLRB structure as unconstitutional, argue they could be harmed if member’s removal is blocked
Wisconsin Supreme Court won’t hear case seeking to overturn 2011 anti-union law for now
February 18, 2025 // Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost in December ruled that the law violates equal protection guarantees in the Wisconsin Constitution by dividing public employees into “general” and “public safety” employees. Under the ruling, all public sector workers who lost their collective bargaining power would have it restored to what was in place before 2011. The judge put the ruling on hold pending the appeal.
Mackinac Center Joins Amicus Brief Challenging Private Delegation of Government Regulatory Authority
February 13, 2025 // The amicus brief, filed alongside the Institute for the American Worker and the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, argues that delegating regulatory power to private industry groups violates the nondelegation doctrine and due process protections. The case before the Supreme Court challenges the FCC’s reliance on the Universal Service Administrative Company, a private, industry-run entity, to set and administer fees collected from telecommunications companies. These fees are ultimately passed on to consumers. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found this structure unconstitutional, ruling that it improperly allows private entities to exercise government power.
How Will the U.S. Election Outcome Affect Labor Law? A Deep Dive into the NLRB’s Future
November 19, 2024 // The NLRB’s policy agenda is almost certain to shift. The new General Counsel will likely take a different approach to several key labor issues that the current NLRB has made a priority. For example, current General Counsel Abruzzo pursued aggressive enforcement actions against restrictive covenants, like non-compete and nonsolicitation agreements, following her May 2023 memo where she articulated her view that restrictive covenants like non-competes “generally violate federal labor law.” The new General Counsel will almost certainly halt enforcement of this position and several others when the new administration takes control.