Labor News & Commentary March 26, 2024 a UAW local has rejected a House committee's subpoena & more

https://onlabor.org/march-26-2024/

By John Fry

John Fry is a student at Harvard Law School.

In today’s news and commentary, Florida weakens its child labor laws; Volkswagen workers will vote soon in Tennessee; Southern California hotel workers secure raises; and a UAW local has rejected a House committee’s subpoena.

Florida relaxed its child labor laws on Friday, as Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to work longer hours. While these teens will still be subject to a default maximum workweek of 30 hours during the school year, the new bill allows this limit to be waived with the consent of “parents, guardians or school superintendents.” The bill also allows these teens to work more than eight hours on a Sunday or holiday, even if they have school the next day. While violations of child labor laws have skyrocketed nationwide since 2019, states are not stepping up their enforcement to tackle the problem—across the country, they are loosening their child labor protections instead.

Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee will vote on whether to join the United Auto Workers next month, as the union announced election dates of April 17-19 on Monday. Sunah covered the workers’ petition for an election last week. In 2014 and 2019, UAW lost two highly contentious votes at the Chattanooga plant, which is the only Volkswagen factory on earth without union representation. This time, the union hopes to use its blockbuster new contracts with Detroit’s “Big Three” automakers as a catalyst for organizing new members. UAW is simultaneously pursuing union drives at dozens of other auto plants, including locations across the South, where unions have historically struggled to make inroads.

FULL story at link above.