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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

 

With the start of any new Presidential administration, there are always a host of legislative priorities to tackle.  That includes relevant labor & employment law matters.  As noted below, there have been a few developments on that front in regard to how President Joe Biden is handling things over at the National Labor Relations Board, a potential minimum wage hike, and juggling growing labor issues over the Keystone XL Pipeline.

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


$15/Hour Wage Hike Legislation Uncertain in Congress

Politico published a report earlier this week that reported that despite the House indicating they intend to tie any Covid relief bill to a $15/hour minimum wage hike, it is unclear whether the President Biden administration will back that proposal.  President Biden, who has previously voiced his support for a $15/hour wage rate has appeared to indicate that he wants Congress to take up that matter and the Covid relief bill separately.  However, as recently as yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had indicated that a $15/hour minimum wage hike would be included in a Covid relief package sent to the Senate.  With progressives pushing Democrats, who control the House, Senate, and White House, to approve legislation hiking the minimum wage and also providing additional Covid relief, the pressure is on to deliver this legislative victory sooner rather than later.  Will progressives be pacified with the two matters potentially getting taken up separately?  Time will tell.


Union Election Underway at Amazon Alabama Location

A few weeks ago, I had made note of a scheduled union election at an Amazon location in Alabama.  The company was seeking to delay that election on the grounds that it should not be conducted via mail and should instead be held at a later date when it could occur in person.  Despite making efforts to halt the election, that effort was denied and the election began earlier this week. That means approximately 5,800 ballots are being mailed to workers at the Bessemer, Alabama location to vote on the matter.  Should the union organizers win, this location would become the first unionized workplace for Amazon in the U.S.  Readers might have heard that leading up to the election, Amazon brought in some union suppression consultants in an effort to stymie an unfavorable vote (for Amazon, that is.)  This is one to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.


AFL-CIO President Critical of President Biden’s Cancellation of Keystone XL Pipeline

Recently, President Biden chose to end further construction on the Keystone XL Pipeline, as many had expected.  However, following that decision, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka voiced his displeasure with President Biden’s decision on the grounds that there was no plan in place to replace the jobs that would be lost as a result of the cancellation.  (The decision to end further construction on the Keystone Pipeline means a loss of an expected 11,000 jobs this year and nearly $1.6 million in gross wages.)  Trumka went on to criticize President Biden and Democrats by claiming that they were abandoning fossil fuels for green energy...which would leave those workers in the fossil fuel industry scrambling for a new job.  Should Trumka keep up his criticism of President Biden, that could be a thorn in the side of Democrats for years ahead...

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