In a decision that could aid nearly three million workers nationwide, the National Labor Relations Board ruled on August 28 that big franchising firms, such as McDonald’s, are jointly liable with their local franchise-holders and subcontractors for worker rights and for obeying labor law. The 3-2 party-line vote in the Browning-Ferris Industries case, modernizing the agency’s joint employers rule, is also a win for unions seeking to organize workers at local franchises. Unions hailed the ruling, while the radical right – led by House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline, R-Minn. – denounced it...click below to read more. - Mark Gruenberg, PAI Staff Writer Jobs that were being done by students and managers at Howard University’s Sodexo food service have been restored as union jobs, reports Unite Here 23, which represents the Sodexo workers, about a dozen of which are affected. And at Centerplate at the Washington Convention Center, Local 23 won a grievance victory that will result in the company paying $132,496 into members' pensions. An investigation is now underway and members could be owed more. Click here to follow Local 23 on Twitter. photo: Unite Here 23 members at Centerplate
Keira McNett has returned to the Employment Justice Center as Acting Executive Director after Barbra Kavanaugh stepped down earlier this month after four years at EJC. McNett has been involved with the EJC in various capacities for more than 10 years, first as a intake volunteer while in law school, later as an advising attorney, and then as a staff attorney. Previously an associate at Murphy Anderson PLLC, where she represented unions and plaintiffs in employment law and employee benefits cases, McNett most recently was the Co-Director of First Shift Justice Project. The EJC credited Kavanaugh’s leadership for a number of victories in recent years, including passage of the Wage Theft Prevention Amendment Act of 2014, one of the strongest wage theft prevention laws in the nation. |