It’s Friday, and we have five labor-related stories that you might not have heard yet:
⚙️🧰 American skepticism of unions is running high:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a new survey that caught the eye of our own Phil Wilson for good reason. Overall, the 1000 respondents, all registered American voters, weren’t thrilled about lawmakers partnering up with union leaders to push agendas that claim to be “pro worker” but really end up favoring Big Labor.
The respondents also believe that unions should disclose more about their finances and be transparent about “salts” who seek employment for the sole purpose of unionizing a workplace. Additionally, they don’t approve of legislation that would mandate shortened periods for union campaigns or similarly interfere with collective bargaining process.
Finally, these respondents want more clarity on exactly how union leaders maneuver, and why some lawmakers aren’t asking more questions.
🌐🩺🧬 The tangled web of Visa H-1B fees:
President Trump’s executive order (EO) on $100,000 H-1B visa fees will keep reverberating, and employers are trying to feel out how much they can afford. One chip powerhouse, at least, has decided to foot the bill, even if it costs $147 million. That figure surfaced from Business Insider’s viewing of a memo from CEO Jensen Huang, who appears to see these fees as a cost of keeping AI in business.
The healthcare industry, however, is pushing back hard. In the Northern District of California, a lawsuit from varying plaintiffs reveals that nursing recruitment firms won’t be able to fill vacant positions in specialties like pediatrics and oncology at a cost of $100K per nurse. Schools and churches are adding their voices to that same chorus.
Meanwhile, the SEIU-affiliated Committee of Interns and Residents is warning that the EO will increase existing doctor-in-training shortages unless the White House follows through with a physician exemption.
🏛️ Another big week for Josh Hawley:
Somehow, Sen. Bernie Sanders isn’t the biggest (attempted) “mover and shaker” on the Senate HELP Committee right now. On Wednesday, GOP Sen. Josh Hawley kicked off a hearing by singling out his now-collaborator, who happens to be the Teamsters international president: “I’m glad that Sean O’Brien is here today….”
If you guessed that mutual backscratching went down, you would be correct. The pair sang praises for their brainchild, the Faster Contracts Labor Act, and of course Hawley allowed O’Brien to take the Big Labor ball and run with it. This included paying lip service to the Teamsters vs. UPS.
And on Thursday, the Senate HELP Committee voted to advance Board nominee James Murphy along with General Counsel nominee Crystal Carey. They’ll both proceed to a full Senate vote for confirmation, but Scott Mayer has been sidelined for the moment. Mayer currently acts as Boeing’s chief labor counsel, and since Hawley previously grilled Mayer over the St. Louis strike, the senator from Missouri likely counts that sidelining as a win.
🚚🪧 Meanwhile, Shawn Fain is looking elsewhere:
In contrast to Sean O’Brien, UAW President Fain reached a slightly more covert audience by delivering remarks to a webinar from the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations. During his address, Fain reflected upon his appreciation of–wait for it–1992 Reform Party presidential candidate Ross Perot for his anti-NAFTA position.
This was Fain’s roundabout way of pointing out how people shouldn’t be surprised to see union members turning toward Trump, and increasingly away from the Democratic party. And that led to Fain advocating for the creation of an independent political program that he feels would be better suited for Big Labor’s future. Stay tuned for whatever that might be.
🚗🏙️ More bumps in the RTO road:
We recently discussed what workers really want from the Great RTO Push, but clearly, no one-size-fits-all guidelines will apply to every company.
To that end, multiple Fortune 500 companies are finding that enforcing RTO policies is easier said than done. CNBC reported on a survey indicating that many managers don’t have the bandwidth to closely track direct reports’ comings and goings, which has brought the term “coffee badging” into the lexicon. That is, some workers allegedly show up for coffee conversations and leave, which certainly complicates RTO if true.
The takeaway here is that the RTO issue will likely remain in the headlines as companies and their workers adapt. Recently, Google made the news for placing additional restrictions on their “Work From Anywhere” policy, but they’re still allowing hybrid workers to WFH twice per week.
