The Majority Opinion: Legal Blog

I came across a couple articles this week in relation to hourly pay that I want to bring to the attention of readers.  In regard to the first article, even for those readers that are not in California (or do not deal with California employment matters), it is still worth paging through this article for an in depth dialogue on the benefits/drawbacks of pinning wage hikes to rising inflation rates. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Potential $15.50/Hour Wage Rate in California: Good or Bad? It is widely expected the the statewide hourly minimum wage rate in California will rise to $15.50/hour in January, triggered in part because of rising inflation.  (Currently, employers with at least 25 workers must pay at least $15/hour.  Employers with less than 25 workers must pay at least $14/hour.  By 2023, all employers will be required to pay their workers at least $15/hour.  However, there is a trigger for a quicker wage hike in the e...

A few months ago, there were elections held at several Buffalo area Starbucks in which workers took steps to unionize at the company .  While initial attempts to unionize several of the Buffalo area locations was successful, the union lost one election in the Buffalo area with a 12 - 8 vote against unionizing. While some might have thought that was the end of the road for that particular location, we have had an interesting development as of late.  Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) sought to order Starbucks to recognize the union that lost the election on the grounds that the company had unlawfully intimidated and retaliated against workers that sought to unionize. What happens here is quite simple.  The Buffalo regional office of the NLRB has to issue a complaint against Starbucks, which was previously done.  That complaint argued that Starbucks fired two employees because they supported unionization, promised benefits to workers to not unionize...

Last week, it was announced that the union representing the U.S. Men’s National and U.S. Women’s National soccer teams had reached a deal with the U.S. Soccer Federation in which both the Men’s and Women’s teams will be paid equally, including for World Cup bonuses. Readers might recall that there had been a prolonged and drawn out legal battle by the U.S. Women’s National soccer team against the U.S. Soccer Federation as these female players sought higher pay and more equal benefits compared to their male counterparts.   While that legal fight had finally reached its conclusion , last week’s victory in regard to the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement is nothing short of a win. In part, the bonuses paid to teams in both the men’s and women’s World Cup will be put into a pool and split evenly among the Men’s and Women’s National teams.  (Of note, the total bonus pool for teams in the men’s 2022 Qatar World Cup is to be in the ballpark of $400 million.  Conver...

When I read through some articles, I often take for granted that readers of the blog will understand the nuances of the developments I come across and highlight here each week.  In particular, labor unions have had a bit of a resurgence this year, thanks in part to workers at Starbucks, REI, and Amazon.  With that being said, I think some readers might appreciate a primer on labor unions/unionization.  I want to lead things off this week with just that to provide a bit of a 30,000 foot overview of the topic. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. The ABC’s of Forming a Union With so many labor law development over the past few months, I think it is important to take a step back and make sure readers are familiar with the concept of unionization/how a union is formed.  I refer readers to this article from KUT in Austin for a thorough breakdown of unions, how a union is formed, and what happens after workers vote to unionize.  Grand ...

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution by a vote of 217 - 202 that will allow Capitol Hill staffers (in the House, but not the Senate) to unionize without fear of retaliation. The House had previously allowed staffers to unionize but there was no framework in place to protect them from retaliation if they did in fact move to unionize.  With last week’s resolution, staffers will now be able to unionize and hold a vote if at least 30% of workers in a bargaining unit (each Congressional office) support a vote.  In effect, it is quite likely (if not a certainty) that some staffers will vote to unionize while peers in neighboring Congressional offices do not vote to unionize.  This will lead to somewhat of a haphazard unionization on Capitol Hill. If staffers successfully vote to unionize, they will be able to have a union bargain on a contract on their behalf.  As has been reported, alleged poor working conditions among some Congressional staf...

To call the ongoing unionization at Starbucks a situation that has been…brewing…for a few months now is an understatement.  With over 50 locations having voted to unionize, this has been far and away the top labor development through the start of 2022. With Starbucks workers making great strides in unionizing, that has caught the attention of many, including the White House.  In fact, President Joe Biden recently invited Starbucks union organizers to the White House for a visit which garnered media attention for the unionization effort.  However, notably absent from the White House visit were Starbucks executives or Starbucks workers that did not support unionization efforts. As you might guess, this did not sit well with Starbucks who felt the Biden Administration was significantly putting its finger on the scale to tip unionization efforts in favor of labor organizers.  Following the meeting at the White House, Starbucks sent a letter to Steve Riccheti, Counselor t...

Elon Musk has had his fair share of labor and employment law related stories over the years.  And no, we are not talking about this morning’s news that Musk’s bid to buy Twitter is on hold.  With that being said, I did want to note a Musk related development over at Tesla, as it applies to the employment context that is. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. U.S. House Hikes Staffer Pay Effective September 1st In recent days, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, announced that the minimum pay for Congressional staff will rise to $45,000.00/year starting September 1st.  In recent months, thanks in part to an infamous Instagram account , working conditions at the Capitol for Congressional staff has become a hot button issue that has been simmering.  With that Instagram account reporting on questionable work environments at the Capitol (such as low pay, long hours, and verbally abusive employers, among other issues), there has been increase...