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What I’ve Been Reading This Week


As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


NLRB: Union Elections to Resume Beginning Monday

On Wednesday, the NLRB issued a press release to announce that it would not extend the two week suspension of union elections that went into place a few weeks ago, in response to the coronavirus.  Readers might recall that in March the NLRB suspended union elections for two weeks (with the potential for a further suspension) because of concerns over the safety of workers that would vote in a union election and how the coronavirus virus complicated matters.  The two week suspension will now end today, marking the end of the two weeks.  It is interesting to note that the press release indicated the elections could resume in a “safe and effective manner” but did not provide specifics.



This could turn into an interesting story.  Juana Summers over at NPR wrote an article about two proposed class actions that were filed by former campaign workers for Democratic candidate Mike Bloomberg’s campaign for President.  The proposed class actions allege that as many as 2,000 campaign workers were promised a job (and pay) through November when they were hired by Bloomberg’s campaign, were recruited under false pretenses, and denied overtime pay.  In recent days, following Bloomberg’s prior suspension of his campaign for President and withdrawal from the race, his staffers have been let go.  While many have been promised pay through the end of this week, that has done little to quell the angst (and subsequent proposed class actions) after his campaign staff was allegedly promised to be paid through November.  Keep an eye on this one.



Before we get to the strike at Whole Foods this past Tuesday, I wanted to talk about a strike that happened the day before.  Some readers might have heard that some Instacart workers around the country staged a strike on Monday, seeking better pay, sick leave, and protective gear in response to the coronavirus pandemic.  In a somewhat novel approach, Aaron Mack over at Slate interviewed an Instacart worker to get a better idea of what the strike sought to accomplish.  For readers looking for a fresh perspective on the matter and wanting to hear from an actual worker, look no further.  This is an article worth a quick read.



Earlier this week, Whole Foods was confronted with a “sick out” by some of its workers, as the company sought to keep up with demand from customers across the country.  As Jaewon Kang at The Wall Street Journal reported, Tuesday’s “sick out” saw workers at Whole Foods locations around the country call out sick and stay home, as these workers seek expanded sick leave, healthcare for part time and temporary workers, hazard pay, more sanitation equipment, and the closure of any store where an employee tests positive for the coronavirus.  The company reported that there were no issues with some employees not showing up on Tuesday and things still ran business as usual.  Whether these workers will be able to convince Amazon (parent company of Whole Foods) to meet their demands remains to be seen.  Depending how long the coronavirus situation continues, whether the company receives more bad press on the matter, and/or whether politicians start to weigh in could tip the scales.

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