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What I’ve Been Reading This Week


I think one of the key developments in recent days has been the temporary halt of Assembly Bill 5 from applying to motor carriers.  While that development has dominated much of the (labor and employment law) news as of late, there are a few other noteworthy articles I came across this week that are worth highlighting.

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


Do Wages Mirror the Rising Stock Market?

For those readers that invest in the stock market (be it through direct ownership of shares, mutual funds, ETFs, etc.) or have simply been following along with the prolonged bull market over the past few years, attention inevitably turns to whether wages are also keeping track with the rising stock market.  As Christopher Ingraham at The Washington Post writes, while the S&P 500 has risen approximately 42% since President Donald Trump came into office in January 2017, wages have only seen about a 9% increase over that same timeframe.  Taking a wider look at the numbers, the S&P 500 has risen 4,116% since 1964 while wages have risen 852% over that same timeframe.  What does this show?  Well, without getting too far into the weeds, while stocks have experienced a prolonged period of rapid and sustained growth, wages have not kept up.  Whether anything will change to help bring wages more in line with the strength of the stock market remains to be seen (and likely is not reliant on any one specific factor.)  However, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has recently tweeted about this disparity between stocks and wage growth and urged lawmakers take steps to boost wages.  Stay tuned.


Senator Bernie Sanders Earns Two Key Union Endorsements

A few weeks ago, I had noted that Senator Bernie Sanders (running for the 2020 Democratic nomination for President) was earnestly working to obtain the endorsement of unions heading into the upcoming primary and caucus season.  Unlike in 2016 when he was able to obtain several key union endorsements which helped bolster his candidacy, unions have been slower to endorse any candidate this election cycle (due in part to the larger field of candidates this election cycle.)  That has changed, as Senator Sanders obtained the endorsement of a local union chapter (SEA/SEIU Local 1984) in New Hampshire last weekend and the Clark County Education Center in Nevada on Tuesday.  As always, while endorsements rarely make or break a candidate, if Senator Sanders can use these two labor union endorsements to help coalesce big labor around his candidacy, that could go a long way in propelling him closer to the Democratic nomination.


Judge Extends Temporary Restraining Order in Trucking Company Case Seeking to Halt Assembly Bill 5

Readers might recall that a lawsuit was filed last last year in which the California Trucking Association sought to block the implementation of Assembly Bill 5, on the grounds that the legislation ran afoul of federal law.  Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez extended a temporary restraining order, which keeps Assembly Bill 5 from applying to motor carriers.  Put this one under the category of a stark win for the California Trucking Association.  Will it lead to other successful attempts to prohibit the implementation of Assembly Bill 5?  Perhaps.

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