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Janus V. Afscme, Revisited, Benjamin Derek Morse
Janus V. Afscme, Revisited, Benjamin Derek Morse
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
In the days after the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Janus v. AFSCME (2018)—a 5-4 conservative majority decision deeming the imposition of public union agency fees unconstitutional under the First Amendment—observers declared the end of public-sector unions. The Times called the ruling a “Sharp Blow ''[1] to organized labor. A Washington Post headline deemed the decision a “major blow”[1] [2] In the former piece, the Time’s Supreme Court correspondent wrote that “most of the labor movement’s strength these days is in the public sector. The [Janus] ruling contained a final blow for public …
“The New Pinkertons”: Anti-Union Consultants And Surveillance Tech Thwart Organizing, Jo Constantz
“The New Pinkertons”: Anti-Union Consultants And Surveillance Tech Thwart Organizing, Jo Constantz
Capstones
In 2020, just 6.3% of U.S. private-sector workers were union members, despite the fact that 68% of Americans approve of labor unions, the highest since 1965, and nearly half of non-union workers say they would join.
After World War II, wage growth kept pace with GDP growth, but then began to diverge in the 1970s, according to a study by the RAND Corporation. After 1975, incomes of the bottom 90% rose more slowly than the economy as a whole, while incomes of the top 10% grew faster. The declining wage growth coincided with and is closely related to a drop-off …
Will Unions Get Out The Vote For Mayor In 2021?, Caroline Leddy
Will Unions Get Out The Vote For Mayor In 2021?, Caroline Leddy
Capstones
Labor unions have played an important role in New York City politics for decades--with the 2021 mayoral election approaching, will they be able to motivate their membership to vote for the candidate they endorse, or will their members vote for whomever they want without taking into account who their union recommends? Link here: https://caroline-leddy.medium.com/will-unions-get-out-the-vote-for-mayor-in-2021-a85388813d2d
Fed Up, Desperate And Daring Enough To Unionize, Suzannah C. Cavanaugh
Fed Up, Desperate And Daring Enough To Unionize, Suzannah C. Cavanaugh
Capstones
This is a long-form story that outlines the hazards of restaurant work that predated the pandemic, among them wage theft, racism and sexual harassment. The story focuses on three restaurant workers pushed to unionize after Covid-19 worsened working conditions by cutting take-home pay and creating new safety hazards for employees. Legislation and employer resistance are stacked against them, but for many workers organization is the only solution.
Link to Capstone: http://fedup.tilda.ws/
Google Has A Labor Problem, And It’S Not Just Coming From Its Employees, Daniel Whateley
Google Has A Labor Problem, And It’S Not Just Coming From Its Employees, Daniel Whateley
Capstones
For decades, technology companies have used temporary and contract workers to lower costs, creating a shadow workforce of thousands of indirect employees. That business model is now under threat.
In September 2019, 80 contract workers at Google’s Pittsburgh office voted to unionize with the United Steelworkers, the first time that white-collar tech workers in the U.S. have successfully organized with a union. These contractors are employees of HCL Technologies, an Indian multinational IT and consulting company that partners with Google around the world.
Tech and office workers face a different set of workplace issues from blue-collar and factory employees, which …