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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

 

Relatively speaking, this was somewhat of a slower week on the labor & employment law front.  Heading into the holiday weekend, I will keep this post short and to the point.  There are two articles I came across this week that I want to highlight for readers.

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


Some Current & Former NLRB Attorneys Praised Firing of NLRB’s General Counsel

Reuters reported a few days ago that after President Joe Biden terminated Peter Robb, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel, after Biden took office, some current and former NLRB attorneys praised the move.  As the article notes, these emails, which were obtained in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act, show that a surprising number of NLRB staffers cheered the announcement.  Republicans and pro business groups have hailed Biden’s termination of Robb as an unprecedented power grab.  With the release of these emails, I would suspect that there will be further calls for an investigation into the decision to terminate Robb so soon after Biden took office.


Pennsylvania Governor Pushes for Higher Statewide Wage Rate

Earlier this week, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf voiced his support for legislators in the state to increase the hourly minimum wage rate.  The minimum wage rate in Pennsylvania is currently $7.25/hour but the Governor is advocating for an increase to $15/hour by 2027.  Whether the Governor’s support for a higher wage rate leads to any movement by legislators in the state remains to be seen.  Stay tuned.

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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

A few years ago, I remember when the “Fight for $15” movement was taking off around the country.  Lo and behold, it appears that a $15/hour minimum wage is not the stopping point, which should be no surprise.  As the below article notes, New York is aggressively moving to ramp up hourly wage rates even higher.  While all the  below articles are worth a read, I called particular attention to that one. As always, below are a couple article that caught my eye this week. Disney World Workers Reject Latest Contract Offer Late last week, it was announced that workers at Disney World had rejected the most recent contract offer from the company, calling on their employer to do better.  As Brooks Barnes at The New York Times writes, the unions that represent about 32,000 workers at Disney World reported their members resoundingly rejected the 5 year contract offer which would have seen workers receive a 10% raise and retroactive increased back pay.  While Disney’s offer would have increased pa