| | | | |  | | By Olivia Olander | With help from Nick Niedzwiadek.
| | — Why some unions still haven’t endorsed the self-proclaimed “most pro-union president” in history. — A Supreme Court case that could upend labor agencies’ authority. — And Congress gets ready to punt DOL funding to March 8. GOOD MORNING. It’s Wednesday, Jan. 17. Welcome back to Morning Shift, your go-to tipsheet on labor and employment-related immigration. Your job’s wellness offerings are probably useless. 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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| | IN NO RUSH: A handful of powerful national unions have yet to publicly back President Joe Biden’s reelection, despite Biden largely delivering on being the most pro-labor president in decades, Nick reports. Many of those holdouts could still line up behind Biden as the general election nears, and some of the same unions on the sidelines now — Teamsters, United Auto Workers and United Steelworkers among them — have waited until later in the presidential cycle to endorse in the past. Still, tension points remain: “Some labor officials remain sore about the Biden administration’s intervention to prevent a nationwide rail strike in 2022, and many blue-collar unions are cognizant of their memberships’ drift toward Republicans in recent years,” Nick notes. “We just didn’t see a particular benefit for early endorsements or jumping in until we address some unfinished business with this current administration,” American Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein told Nick, though he declined to say what those issues include. | | CHECKING IN ON CHEVRON: Arguments before the Supreme Court on Wednesday could have a tremendous impact on federal labor regulators’ power, particularly at the Labor Department. The cases challenge a legal doctrine, Chevron deference, which gives agencies broad discretion in interpreting the laws they enforce. If the doctrine is overturned, the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division could be the labor office that sees the greatest impact, Alex MacDonald, a shareholder at employer-side law firm Littler, said in an interview. Justice Brett Kavanaugh has already signaled he’d reconsider Wage and Hour’s interpretation on overtime exemptions, for example, MacDonald said. Supporters of the doctrine say that eliminating it would take power away from experts at agencies and put it in the hands of judges, while opponents have argued it made agencies more willing to test the limits of their power. Overturning it would affect a wide range of agencies, including those regulating the environment, our Alex Guillén and Josh Gerstein report. Details: Arguments will start at 10 a.m. for Relentless Inc. v. Commerce Department and Loper Bright Enterprises Inc. v. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. More agency news: “Labor Department Emerges as New Venue for Corporate DEI Attacks,” from Bloomberg Law. Even more: “OPM reduces the retirement backlog by one-third in 2023,” from Government Executive.
| | | SWERVING A SHUTDOWN: A stopgap funding patch released by lawmakers would delay government shutdown deadlines for labor agencies until March 8, our Caitlin Emma and Jennifer Scholtes report. The new deadline would include the bill that funds the NLRB and Labor Department as well as the one funding the Federal Labor Relations Board. A brief partial government shutdown could still happen on Friday if lawmakers don’t fast-track debate on the stopgap measure, Caitlin and Jennifer note. JOINT EMPLOYER RULE TAKES A HIT: The House on Friday voted to overturn the National Labor Relations Board’s rule on joint employer classification — a boon to conservatives who have advocated against the regulation, but one unlikely to have a policy impact as President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the resolution. The 206-177 vote, including eight Democrats who voted with Republicans, came as a surprise to AFL-CIO government affairs director Bill Samuel, he told OIivia. The organization had expected to lose about five Democrats, he said. (One of those Democrats, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), intended to vote no, he later clarified.) More on the Hill: “Tax breaks for parents, businesses possible in last-minute deal,” from our Brian Faler and Benjamin Guggenheim.
| | PAGING THE LUDDITES: Forty percent of workers have jobs that will be exposed to artificial intelligence, POLITICO Europe’s Pieter Haeck reports on a new study from the International Monetary Fund, with an even higher proportion in the U.S. and EU likely to be affected. Pieter notes: “While advanced economies have higher exposure to AI, they are also better positioned to reap its benefits, the study says.” The U.S., along with Singapore and Denmark, are some of the most prepared for AI’s impact, according to the IMF study. More workplace news: “Remote Workers Are Losing Out on Promotions, New Data Shows,” from The Wall Street Journal.
| | | KEMP TARGETS VOLUNTARY RECOGNITION: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp wants to make it harder for workers to unionize at state-subsidized developments, The Associated Press reports on remarks before the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. More specifically: “Kemp seeks to bar any business that benefits from state business incentives from allowing employees to unionize without a formal election,” AP reports. The move would take away a relatively easy path to unionization for workers, in a state that already has one of the lowest unionization rates in the country.
| | | SCOTUS AND STARBUCKS: The Supreme Court will take up Starbucks’ challenge of the National Labor Relations Board, Nick reports. The company had petitioned the high court for a review of a judge’s order that it offer reinstatement to seven fired pro-union workers and refrain from similar illegal actions. The case could affect the standard applied as federal district courts decide whether to grant 10(j) injunctions, a key NLRB tool. Starbucks has drawn the ire of the NLRB for its aggressive response to unionization efforts, including nearly 130 complaints against Starbucks and its retail offshoot. It has denied it retaliated against the so-called “Memphis Seven” fired workers, and an NLRB administrative law judge has ruled two of the firings were legally justified. THE UN-UNION: A legally embattled T-Mobile program that toed the line between being a “suggestion box” and quasi-union violates labor law, Bloomberg Law reports according to a federal appeals court ruling. “The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday affirmed the NLRB’s decision that the company’s T-Voice program qualified as a labor organization and that it was unlawfully dominated and assisted by T-Mobile,” Bloomberg Law reports. More union news: “Robots Are Looking Better to Detroit as Labor Costs Rise,” from The Wall Street Journal.
| | | ONE YEAR OF DEFERRED ACTION: Guidance allowing immigrant workers to file complaints with labor agencies and participate in labor investigations has resulted in more workers being willing to testify about their working conditions since it was issued last January, according to the National Immigration Law Center. A more centralized system for processing labor-based deferred action cases, in which the U.S. chooses not to initiate an immigrant’s removal, has also led to more consistent outcomes and a more streamlined process, according to the NILC report. Still, many workers lack affordable legal counsel and are unable to apply for labor-based deferred action protections, the immigrant advocacy center notes. Meanwhile, the Labor Department and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission “have acknowledged delays of several months” in one of the initial steps in applying for deferred action, NILC said.
| | | | At 7:45 a.m. The U.S. Conference of Mayors holds its winter meeting. Participants include acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, White House senior adviser Gene Sperling, Assistant Labor Secretary for Veterans’ Employment and Training Service James Rodriguez and former Labor Secretary Tom Perez. At 9:30 a.m. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee holds a markup on the nominations of Cathy A. Harris to be chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board; Suzanne E. Summerlin to be general counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority; and Henry J. Kerner to be a member of the Merit Systems Protection Board. At 10 a.m. The Senate Budget Committee holds a hearing on “Closing Corporate Loopholes.” Participants include Roy Houseman, legislative director of United Steelworkers. At 2 p.m. The House Oversight and Accountability Committee holds a subcommittee hearing “Toward an AI-Ready Workforce.”
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | | — “American workers are staying put,” from The Atlantic. — “Teen Boy's Death At Mississippi Poultry Plant Leads To $213,000 Fine,” from HuffPost. — “Fast-food giants overwork teenagers, driving America's child labor crisis,” from The Washington Post. — “The hidden cost of unpaid caregiving is less money for retirement,” from The Washington Post. — “Don’t Mess With Us’: WebMD Parent Company Demands Return to Office in Bizarre Video,” from Vice. — Opinion: “Don’t Fire People for Making Pornography in Their Free Time,” from The Atlantic. THAT’S YOUR SHIFT! | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
