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What I've Been Reading This Week: Labor Law Edition


It has been several weeks since I dedicated a post to a particular topic, let alone labor law.  However, having read a good article on Canada's recent attempts to get the U.S. to do away with right to work (which I find somewhat amusing), I think it is appropriate to focus on labor law developments this week.

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


In NAFTA Talks, Canada Pushes U.S. to Ban Right to Work Laws

Sean Higgins at The Washington Examiner wrote a recent article on how Canada is attempting to get the U.S. to pass a federal law which would ban states from having right to work laws.  The reason Canada has made this request?  Apparently right to work laws put Canadian businesses at too much of an economic disadvantage.  (At present, 28 states have right to work laws in place which stipulate that workers cannot be forced to join or support a union as a condition of employment.)  Perhaps unsurprisingly, the U.S. is opposed to this request (as President Donald Trump has previously indicated his support for right to work.)  It will be interesting to see how this progresses and whether Canada makes this a "make or break" matter during continued negotiation over NAFTA.


For Labor Unions, There is Only One Way to Go...Up

Following over a decade long stretch of decreasing (or at best stagnant) approval of labor unions, a recent poll from Gallup announced that approximately 61% of adults in the country now approve of labor unions.  However, this article from NPR suggests that while support for labor appears to be on the rise, that does not necessarily translate to increased political sway in Congress (let alone statehouses across the country.)  With a Republican President currently in office that made in roads with working class and manufacturing voters during last year's election, a majority of states having right to work laws in place, and a relatively minimal amount of impact at the ballot box in recent years, unions still face an uphill battle to regain the relevance they had back in the 1930's.  While this recent Gallup poll is somewhat encouraging for unions and their supporters, they still have a long, long way to go to regain the stature they once had.


Protests Begin in France Ahead of Potential Labor Reforms

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, French President Emmanuel Macron has made labor reform one of the prominent goals he seeks to achieve as President.  After making this one of the signature issues in his campaign, union activists went on strike this past Tuesday across the country to protest the attempted overhaul of France's labor code.  While opponents of Macron's efforts have been adamant that they will continue their protests and strikes, Macron is expected to have the labor reforms implemented later this month.  Interesting to see how far reaching those reforms end up being...and what impact (if any) continued protests and strikes have on the labor reform movement in the country.

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