| | | | |  | | By Nick Niedzwiadek | With help from Adam Peck and Olivia Olander
| | THE NEXT DOMINO: The NCAA’s decision in 2021 to abruptly drop their opposition to college athletes profiting off their names, images and likenesses has led to a patchwork of unequal and unregulated marketplaces — and has done nothing to deter advocates from pushing for a greater share of revenues for athletes. Some 62 percent of top-flight NCAA competitors support the idea of unionization to bargain for more rights and protections, according to a survey of 500 college athletes from The Generation Lab on behalf of The Athlete’s Bureau newsletter, shared exclusively with POLITICO. A nearly identical share stated that a politician’s position on NIL or revenue sharing would influence their willingness to vote for that candidate. That pro-union sentiment is on par with recent polling of Americans overall and Gen Z in particular, though the picture can get a bit murkier when the question moves from unions conceptually to actually joining one. “We want politicians to know that athletes are paying attention, athletes are informed, and they have an opportunity to position themselves on the right side of history,” Chase Griffin, the founder of the Athlete’s Bureau and a senior quarterback on UCLA’s football team, told POLITICO.
|  The Athlete's Bureau, The Generation Lab |
The issue remains a live ball, and one that Congress has largely kept to the sidelines of as several outstanding lawsuits are heaping pressure on the NCAA and lawmakers to find a path forward for a system that increasingly feels on the brink.
Members of the Dartmouth men’s basketball team this year petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for a union election, reviving unsettled labor-rights questions previously raised by Northwestern University’s football team, with big stakes for athletes at private institutions. The NLRB’s regional director in Boston is evaluating whether to order an election. (Public colleges are another matter, given differences in state laws.) And on Monday, an NLRB judge will resume oral arguments in a case involving athletes at the University of Southern California that’s also roped in the (beleaguered) Pac-12 Conference and NCAA. NLRB attorneys have said that the trio are misclassifying athletes as non-employees, and that the USC athletic department’s social media conduct policies infringe on free speech and other activity protected under federal labor law. — Nick Niedzwiadek and Adam Peck
|  The Athlete's Bureau, The Generation Lab |
GOOD MORNING. It’s Monday, Dec. 18. Welcome back to Morning Shift, your go-to tipsheet on labor and employment-related immigration. It’s been 279 days since the Senate received Julie Su’s nomination for Labor secretary. Send feedback, tips and exclusives to nniedzwiadek@politico.com and oolander@politico.com. Follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @NickNiedz and @oliviaolanderr.
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| | TEAMSTERS TEST THE WATERS: The Teamsters is one of the most significant labor unions yet to endorse President Joe Biden’s reelection and is hearing out interested candidates of all stripes. Our Brittany Gibson detailed what those forums look like. The campaign for independent Cornel West, who is challenging Biden from the left, told POLITICO that he met for an hour Thursday the Teamsters leader Sean O’Brien, General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman and rank-and-file members at the Washington headquarters on Thursday. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Republican Asa Hutchinson, Democrat Marianne Williamson and Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) were also among those who the Teamsters said accepted their invitation for a roundtable. More union news: “Chris Smalls, Amazon Labor Union president and founder, tells Business Insider he will not run for reelection,” from Business Insider.
| | | A CRITICAL STRETCH: The Department of Labor is keyed up for a busy period of rulemaking heading into the first part of 2024 as delays may risk exposing an array of policies to being overturned in the event of a shift in power following the elections. In recent days, the agency finalized a rule strengthening job security for workers on federal contract by requiring employers to extend the right of first refusal when a project changes hands and released proposed regulations on registered apprenticeship programs last updated in 2008. Labor unions are highly interwoven in many registered apprenticeships, and the Biden administration is a big booster of these programs over alternative models supported by some businesses. The new rule would take steps to create a more uniform system, and bolster the ability for high school and community college students to smoothly transition into an apprenticeship. Bloomberg Law has a deeper look on the rule here. Republicans have begun to pick apart the nearly 780-page proposal, claiming DOL is usurping congressional authority to bog down these programs by layering on prescriptive requirements, union-friendly labor protections and “woke” equity and inclusion language — ultimately increasing bureaucratic burdens on participants. Meanwhile, the Office of Management and Budget’s regulatory clearinghouse this month has completed its review of DOL drafts for several rules, including an initial proposal to unwind the Trump administration’s contentious association health plan policy, and final language on tightening the procedure for granting so-called prohibited transaction exemptions closely watched by the retirement investment industry. The greenlight from OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is one of the last steps before a rule is made public, often within a few weeks, meaning that these rules are likely near. More agency news: “Biden to require feds to take public transit, other ‘green’ options when traveling,” from the Government Executive.
| | | WORKERS WEARY: A new survey from progressive think tank Data for Progress and the Center for Law and Social Policy is showing skepticism in workplace surveillance, particularly among gig workers. Nearly half of likely voters who reported being surveilled at work said it negatively impacted their mental health, with majorities of gig workers and people under 45 reporting a negative impact, according to the survey appearing first in Shift. (The survey was conducted in June among 1,131 likely voters, with a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.) Separately: Another recent voter study from communications agency ROKK Solutions found a majority of voters — both Democratic and Republican — feared artificial intelligence could exacerbate biases, including in mortgage rates, college admissions, credit access and law enforcement. That survey also said a majority of voters in both political parties think the state and federal government has a responsibility to regulate artificial intelligence, but a minority believe the government actually understands it well enough to properly regulate it. (It was conducted among 1,008 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points.) Also related: “Workers Are Fighting Back (and Winning) Against AI Overlords,” from the Daily Beast.
| | | ACTIVISION SETTLES HARASSMENT SUIT: Video game giant Activision Blizzard reached a roughly $54 million settlement with the California Civil Rights Department over claims that the company fostered a toxic workplace, the Los Angeles Times reports. The bulk of that money will go toward compensating female employees in California who worked at the company between 2015 and 2020, with the rest going to the state agency’s legal expenses. The settlement includes language stating that “no court or any independent investigation has substantiated any allegations that: there has been systemic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard,” or that “Activision Blizzard senior executives ignored, condoned, or tolerated a culture of systemic, harassment, retaliation, or discrimination,” according to the L.A. Times and other outlets. — “The Questions Raised by California’s Dropped Sexual Harassment Suit Against Activision,” from The New York Times. More state news: “Is a $15 minimum wage still too low? Gov. Murphy suggests it might be,” from NorthJersey.com Hot job: “Do you have the physical and mental stamina to lead the Times Square Margaritaville?” from Gothamist.
| | | | GLOBAL PLAYBOOK IS TAKING YOU TO DAVOS! Unlock the insider's guide to one of the world's most influential gatherings as POLITICO's Global Playbook takes you behind the scenes of the 2024 World Economic Forum. Author Suzanne Lynch will be on the ground in the Swiss Alps, bringing you the exclusive conversations, shifting power dynamics and groundbreaking ideas shaping the agenda in Davos. Stay in the know with POLITICO's Global Playbook, your VIP pass to the world’s most influential gatherings. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | | THE FINE PRINT: The chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee last week pressed the U.S. Postal Service to explain language in its privacy disclosures that’s alarmed conservative groups for its potential to allow unions to access customer data. “The Committee is aware that USPS employs this language on multiple public webforms, which raises concerns that USPS would take information necessary for consumers to access USPS services and provide it to labor unions,” Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) wrote on Dec. 14. At issue is language tied to the postal service’s free Covid testing distribution program that states that it will not disclose personal information save for limited exceptions — including “to labor organizations as required by applicable law.” Foxx’s letter says committee staff has identified at least two other disclosures with similar language. Last year, Americans for Fair Treatment, a right-to-work nonprofit, filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against USPS related to the development of the Covid test language. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth in March whittled down parts of the case, though the legal back-and-forth is on track to stretch into 2024. A USPS spokesperson confirmed receipt of Foxx’s letter but did not comment further.
| | SCHEDULE MAKING: The Labor Department on Friday called on employers and outside groups to provide input on whether to expand the types of occupations allowed to bypass some immigration-related requirements in order to bolster the number of AI experts in the U.S., your host reports for Pro subscribers. DOL announced it would open a 60-day window for interested parties to submit comments on whether the agency should consider adding STEM occupations to Schedule A, a list that has been around for decades that allows employers interested in sponsoring an applicant for an employment-based green card to speed past some initial procedural hurdles. Shift highlighted the issue a few weeks back, and while the official request for information is focused on STEM-related occupations, it does leave the door open for submissions about non-STEM jobs that could benefit from being placed on Schedule A. About that EO: “Think tank tied to tech billionaires played key role in Biden’s AI order,” from our Brendan Bordelon. 2024 time: “‘Poisoning the blood of our country’: Trump delivers caustic attack on immigrants,” from our Olivia Alafriz; “White House calls out Trump’s immigrant comments as ‘fascist’,” from our Craig Howie and Eugene Daniels.
| | Noon Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, General Services Administrator Robin Carnahan and Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director for Management Jason Miller make an announcement on “a new approach the Biden-Harris administration is taking to ensure federal construction projects are done on time and on budget,” Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building, 1240 East 9th St., Cleveland, Ohio.
| | | | — “‘Bidenomics’ is a big hit — outside the US,” from POLITICO. — ”A Stubborn Workplace Holiday Tradition,” from The Atlantic. — “Did the Actors’ Union Really Win?,” from The New Republic. — “Shein Accused of ‘Mafia-Style’ Tactics by Rival Temu,” from The New York Times. — “The Race Is On to Hire Interns for 2025. Really,” from The Wall Street Journal. THAT’S YOUR SHIFT! | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
