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What I've Been Reading This Week


What a week this has been.  In between the decision of Andy Puzder to withdraw as the nominee for Labor Secretary to the quick announcement of Alexander Acosta as the new nominee yesterday, this has been a fast moving story.  As things progress on that front, I think it is appropriate to lead off with an article on the new nominee.

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


AFL-CIO Suggests that Acosta Could Face a More Favorable Confirmation Process Than Puzder

Nikita Vladimirov at The Hill wrote an article on Wednesday about comments made by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations ("AFL-CIO") in which the group praised President Trump's nomination of Alexander Acosta for Labor Secretary.  While the AFL-CIO had been critics of the prior nominee, Andy Puzder, it appears that the group is offering its tentative support to the nominee.  As I had noted earlier this week, Acosta appears to be a much 'safer' choice (on the surface at least) and would likely face less of an uphill climb in his confirmation process.  Perhaps this is the first step in showing that some labor groups will not be as vocal in their criticism of the Labor Secretary nominee.


Under FDR, Remember When the Army Invaded Montgomery Ward Over a Labor Dispute?

A loyal reader of the blog passed along this article a few weeks ago and I believe it is well worth a read (in particular for those looking for a bit of history of the labor movement in the U.S.).  Back in 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the Army invade Montgomery Ward when the head of the company, Sewell Avery, refused to settle a strike with his workers.  At the time, the company's labor agreement had expired and FDR ordered Avery to either extend the contract, pending a union-certification vote, or allow the government to seize the company.  As the leading picture on this article shows, Sewell refused and was physically carried out the door by the Army.  Quite the interesting story!


Ivanka Trump Gathers Female CEOs to Meet with Canadian Prime Minister and President Trump

This past Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the White House for a meeting with President Trump.  After the meeting between the two heads of state, they joined Ivanka Trump and several female CEOs for a discussion on women's issues in the workplace.  As the article from Fortune notes, Ivanka Trump was a proponent of similar issues during the presidential campaign (and had even encouraged President Trump to introduce a paid maternity leave proposal).  It will be interesting to see what comes of this meeting, but for those wondering, it is encouraging to see women in the workplace is a point of discussion with the new administration.

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