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What I’ve Been Reading This Week


In between a mid week trial far from home and having to prepare several witnesses for cases next week, I had very little time to read many articles this week.  Nevertheless I found a few that I wanted to highlight for readers.  Of note?  Senator Bernie Sanders is in the news again, fighting for increased wages for the working class & taking aim at corporate America.

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


Senator Bernie Sanders Pushes WalMart to Raise Wages

At WalMart’s annual shareholder meeting this past Wednesday, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders appeared and criticized the company for paying many of its workers “starvation wages.”  Senator Sanders, who spoke at the meeting as a proxy for WalMart’s workers right group, called WalMart’s resistance to raising wages to $15/hour as “grotesque” and “absurd.”  As readers will recall, Senator Sanders recently spoke out in support of workers at McDonald’s that staged a walk out in recent weeks in their ongoing fight for higher wages.  With Senator Sanders currently running for the Democratic nomination for President, I would expect he will continue to take aim at large scale employers in the coming months.


Democrats (& 2020 Candidates) That Support Green New Deal Face Union Backlash

Politico recently published an article in which it noted that with some Democrats voicing their support for the Green New Deal (proposed by Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), many union workers have expressed their frustration with the proposal and the embrace of the legislation by Democrats.  Notably, this legislation has been characterized by some as the Democratic elites (that support the Green New Deal) against the Democratic working class union voters (that oppose the legislation.)  Opponents of the Green New Deal have labeled it as a job killer and have started to make known that they will protest and make known their dissatisfaction with those Democrats that support it.  With the union vote being a key voting bloc that Democrats will need to regain the Presidency (and pick up legislative victories throughout the country next year), this is an issue to keep an eye on going forward.


Burnout & the Dangers of Medicalizing Everyday Stress

At one point or another, many workers have experienced burnout in their workplace.  Some workers have different ways of dealing with it.  So too do bosses that become aware of workers that are experiencing burnout.  (I previously worked for a boss that badmouthed a former employee because of that employee’s decision to quit because he was burned out and simply did not have the stomach for doing the work anymore.  Employers, do not be like that boss.   Do not worry though, that former employee went on to find a better job more suited to his strengths, received a hefty pay raise, and is still enjoying that work to this day.)  As for this article, Richard Friedman penned an opinion piece for The New York Times on Monday in which he cautioned against medicalizing everyday stress, which the World Health Organization recently upgraded burnout from a “state” of exhaustion to a “syndrome.”  This article is worth a read as Friedman has several thought provoking theories and “warnings” that are important to consider.


With the EEOC Regaining a Quorum, What Can We Expect?

A few weeks ago, the Senate confirmed Republican nominee Janet Dhillon to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which gave the EEOC three members (just enough to have a quorum after many months of only having two EEOC Members.)  With the EEOC regaining a quorum and finally having the ability to function again, attention has turned to what can be expected from the EEOC with two Republican Members compared to only one Democratic Member.  For starters, Patricia Barnes does a good job walking readers through how Janet Dhillon was eventually confirmed and provides some insight as to Dhillon’s background in an effort to glean what direction the EEOC might go (ie pro employer or pro employee.)  While no one has a crystal ball here, Barnes does have some intriguing thoughts as to how things might play out now that the EEOC has regained a quorum.  (Spoiler alert, employers will likely be happy.)

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