Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore, CC 2.0) Earlier this month, President Trump visited Beaver County, Pennsylvania, just north of Pittsburgh, to give a speech at Royal Dutch Shell’s petrochemical plant. A memo sent from Shell to union … [Read more...]
Stacey Abrams Launches “Fair Fight 2020” To Protect Voters in Battleground States
The Republican Party faces two fundamental political problems. The first is that while the party's overall “small government” message is broadly popular with a significant cross-section of the electorate, its specific policies (huge tax cuts for the rich, complete opposition to gun control, radical environmental and workplace deregulation) are … [Read more...]
Kentucky Right to Work Law Upheld, Ohio Republicans Pass Stand Your Ground Bill
Republicans in control of the governments in two states – Ohio and Kentucky – won big victories in mid-November, as the latter's Right to Work law was upheld by a state court and the former's GOP-dominated legislature passed a controversial stand your ground bill. These victories show just how meaningful control of state governments can be, … [Read more...]
80 Years Later, How the Fair Labor Standards Act Protects You
Going into effect October 24, 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act is one of the most important legacies of FDR's New Deal. The FLSA establishes regulations that govern the treatment of both full-time and part-time workers, and it has proven to be one of labor's most important shields since its passage. In this year, on the 80th anniversary of the … [Read more...]
NLRB Reexamining Workers’ Communication Rights
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent federal board whose members are appointed by the President for five-year terms. Its job is to look out for the rights of private sector employees. In 1935, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act) was passed, and the NLRB was created to ensure the Act was enforced properly. In … [Read more...]
Court Rejects McDonald’s Proposed Settlement in On-Going Labor Relations Case
Fast-Food Giant Wants to Avoid “Joint Ownership” Label with Franchisees McDonald’s relationship with their franchisees has been an integral part of the fast-food giant’s success – but a recent ruling in a major case is putting those relationships in jeopardy, and McDonald’s is definitely not lovin’ it. Although the Big Macs and the other menu … [Read more...]
Trump Guts Federal Workers’ Protections
In recent months, the Trump administration has taken aim at workers’ rights, buttressing regressive Supreme Court decisions with an all-out attack on labor organizations and unionized federal employees. At the end of May, the President signed three executive orders that effectively gut protections for workers employed by the federal government. One … [Read more...]
California Bill Could Mitigate the Damaging Effects of Forced Arbitration
The US has seen, in recent years, the decline of unions and worker protections. This decline has come in a variety of forms, but perhaps most insidious is a phenomenon known as forced arbitration. Thanks to a little-known contractual clause, consumers and workers, alike, face severe obstacles to seeking justice after being wronged by businesses … [Read more...]
Facebook Algorithm Excludes Boomer Job-Hunters
Back in the 1970’s, when baby boomers at college campuses across the nation were grooving to David Bowie’s “Young Americans,” communications majors were also captivated by the 70’s media guru Marshall McLuhan’s cult phrase “the medium is the message”. McLuhan’s said the medium is embedded in the message and “synergistically” alters its content, … [Read more...]
Whole Foods Fails to Gain Support from the NLRB
Emboldened by a conservative panel at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Whole Foods recently attempted (and failed) to overturn an Obama-era ruling that prohibits certain restrictive policies put forth by the grocery conglomerate. Last year, the Second Circuit US Court of Appeals upheld the NLRB’s 2015 decision, putting an end to Whole … [Read more...]
