Dave Jamieson, HuffPost labor reporter, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the recent hearings held by the House Education and Workforce Committee and also gave an update on the Starbucks unfair labor practice complaints.
There were two hearings held by the House Education and Workforce Committee in November. The first hearing was about overtime regulations to determine the future of overtime compensation. Currently, overtime compensation has a salary threshold of $35,000 per year, and if you make more, you do not earn overtime after 40 hours of work per week as a manager. There was no resolution made, as Jamieson explained how the hearing went off track from its true purpose.
The second hearing was on a potential national So-Called “Right To Work” law. The trend seems to be going toward limiting workers' rights, Jamieson said. While there was no likeliness, these potential worker’s rights limits will not make it very far in the approval process, he said.
Meanwhile, Starbucks is facing multiple National Labor Relations Board complaints. So far, over 400 locations were organized, but no location has signed a first contract. Of the 38 unfair labor practice complaints, 36 were declared illegal, as Starbucks was found to have bargained in poor faith. Starbucks appealed all of the NLRB’s decisions, and according to Jamieson, while the company continues to delay the process, the union members are becoming more demoralized.
To hear more from Dave Jamieson, please listen to the show above.