In a 9-0 decision, the court overturned a ruling by a federal judge in Tennessee who sided with the NLRB and ordered Starbucks to rehire the so-called “Memphis Seven.”
In doing so, the justices set a higher legal standard to prevent judges from deferring to the labor board in pending disputes.
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AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler denounced the decision and said the court had “sided with corporate power over Starbucks baristas today in a direct attack on the fundamental freedom to organize a union on the job. This decision sets a higher threshold for courts to reinstate workers who have been unfairly fired. In a system that is already stacked against workers, this will make it even harder for them to get back their jobs.”
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Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented in part, saying she did not think judges were exercising too much power in these cases and should generally defer to the labor board.
“I am loath to bless this aggrandizement of judicial power where Congress has so plainly limited the discretion of the courts, and where it so clearly intends for the expert agency it has created to make the primary determinations about both merits and process,” she wrote.
Hey, companies. Remember before there were labor laws? Labor still organized. It’s just that we organized to tell you to give us a raise, or we’ll burn your fucking factory down.
Your move.
Getting involved in some local leftist groups has been the biggest infusion of hope in this respect for me. They’ve gotten two open socialists elected to nearby city councils (and are working on a 3rd!), run some successful salting / strike support campaigns, and are a growing problem for a local big business that I shan’t name because things are ongoing.
Talking to some of the older heads there, tons of recent events have been followed by waves of people signing up. The Bernie campaign, Trump’s presidency, the George Floyd protests, the recent overturning of Roe. Every one of these has moved more and more people to action. I won’t pretend to know if it’s enough to make meaningful change on a national / global scale, but it’s been good for my outlook on life to see it happen near me, especially in the American south.
I’m not sure how it would happen in the U.S., but we’re overdue for a general strike. Simple work stoppage. To start, fewer than a dozen very clear demands. Figure out how to care for those who are most vulnerable, and then everyone just stay the fuck home.