Sen. Bernie Sanders, along with a group of Democrats, introduced a bill this week that would seriously strengthen workers’ organizing rights. The bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and Jeff Merkeley, would allow workers to unionize through majority sign-up; would ban so-called “right to work” laws, which force union members to pay for representing their non-union coworkers, who get the benefits of union membership without any of the costs; and would take aim at the gig economy by reining in the ability of companies like Uber to label their workers as independent contractors.
The Senate bill proposes changes to the definition of employees vs. independent contractors similar to a recent California court decision. Stopping the creep of the gig economy—and its attendant abuses—is a major factor in improving work in the United States:
“There are reasons why, decades ago, we as a society put in place these basic minimum standards,” said Shannon Liss-Riordan, a plaintiffs’ attorney who has sued a number of platform companies and was involved in a Massachusetts case cited by the California court. “There’s a growing recognition of the fallout of what happens when you allow an economy to start to grow that doesn’t pay any attention to those protections.”
Of course, this bill will go nowhere as long as Republicans control either branch of Congress or the presidency, but it’s good to have high-profile Democrats and Democrat-aligned independents staking out a strong position on these issues.
● Colorado lawmakers passed a bill screwing over teachers—which Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper plans to sign because hey, it could have been worse—while teachers in one Colorado city are on strike.
● 'We are humans too:' Voices of UCLA's striking custodians, hospital aides and imaging technicians:
For Chenelle Gabourel, a lead custodian at UCLA, childcare is a juggling act. Her mother and her fiancé also work at UCLA. She starts her job at 6 a.m. and works weekends. Her mother finishes at 2:30 a.m. and helps watch Gabourel’s 4-year-old and 3-year-old twins.
Gabourel’s biggest gripes are with her weekend shifts and the possibility of rising healthcare premiums. Giving up weekends “is a big sacrifice,” she said. She wants to plan activities and trips with her toddlers, but she doesn’t have a lot of spare money and her schedule makes it hard.
“We’re all trying to provide for our families,” she said.
She said she was considering bringing Sariah, her 4-year-old, to the picket line Tuesday so she could “see how hard we’re fighting.”
● Women of color face barriers in sexual harassment claims.
● Striking rocket workers:
Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers voted May 6 to reject a three-year contract offer from United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado.
The strike, which began May 7, involves about 300 workers who assemble rockets in Decatur, Ala., and about 300 who launch them, including about 220 at Cape Canaveral, Fla., and 80 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Union members cited travel requirements and a lack of job security as major sticking points, news outlets reported.
● The Supreme Court is poised to make forced arbitration nearly inescapable.
● Labor-backed group asks Washington state AG Bob Ferguson to charge Amazon with felony over head-tax threat.
● TPM's editorial staff has formed a union and Josh Marshall has immediately recognized it. Congratulations to all.
● Your periodic reminder that if you’re on Twitter and want more labor news, you should follow @blogwood.