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What I’ve Been Reading This Week


I feel like this week’s What I’ve Been Reading This Week post “plays the hits”, as some might say.  We have an article that touched on the continued labor strife at Amazon, an update on a prolonged battle by Uber & Lyft drivers in Seattle to unionize, and a thorough overview of the U.S. Women’s National soccer team’s upcoming gender discrimination and equal pay lawsuit set for trial next month.  Among the articles, I think readers can find several worthwhile reads to help break up any potential work from home monotony.

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


“Online Walkout” Planned By Amazon Employees

Annie Palmer at CNBC wrote an article earlier this week about a planned “online walkout” by some Amazon employees, seeking to bring attention to their criticisms of the company’s labor practices.  The “online walkout” calls on Amazon employees to, in unison, take next Friday off work.  The reason?  Following Amazon terminating two employees this week, critics of the company have cited the real reason Amazon terminated these employees is because they were voicing their support for better pay and more protective equipment for warehouse workers.  Amazon stated its reason for terminating the employees was for “repeatedly violating internal policies.”  How effective next Friday’s “online walkout” is remains to be seen.


Potential Unionization of Uber & Lyft Drivers Appears To Be On Hold

Pump the brakes.  A few years ago, there were widespread rumblings among Uber & Lyft drivers in Seattle that led many to speculate these gig workers were going to attempt to unionize...which is a rather difficult situation given that they are independent contractors rather than employees.  However, the Seattle City Council approved a law in 2015 that gave these gig workers the right to collectively bargain.  After many years fighting it out in court, Monica Nickelsburg writes at GeekWire that this unionization plan might be on the back burner.  Seattle’s mayor and the City Council recently approved the Fare Share program which will entitle drivers to minimum wage and establishes a Driver Resolution Center to arbitrate disputes between drivers and these gig companies.  In essence, the Fare Share program provides many of the same benefits these drivers would have if they were lawfully able to collectively bargain.  Does the Fare Share program kick the can down the road on this issue?  It looks like it.  However, for the time being, the matter shifts to the back burner.


The Who, What, Where, When, Why, & How of the USWNT Lawsuit

Ok, perhaps the who, what, where, when, why, & how headline might not apply here, but it is close.  With that being said, for those looking for more than a 30,000 foot view of the U.S. Women’s National Team’s (“USWNT”) equal pay and gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, look no further than this comprehensive review from John Murray at the Daily Bulletin.  With the USWNT’s lawsuit set to go to trial in about a month, this article provides readers with a thorough review of the background of the case, the issues that the jury will decide, and the possible outcomes that could come about depending upon how the jury rules.

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