Sen. Harkin's Fond Farewell to Washington Contained a Warning on Income Inequality; Senate Rules Change Allows Confirmation of Record Number of Judicial Nominees; NLRB Reforms Will Limit Corporations' Stalling Tactics in Union Elections; NLRB Decision on Email Protects Workers' Right to Organize in 21st Century Workplace; Not So Fast, Christie!; Groups Tell President Obama to Bring Fairness to the TPP Agreement; and more.
In 40 years of making laws in the nation's capital - 10 in the U.S. House of Representatives and 30 in the U.S. Senate, Tom Harkin (D-IA) has fought to give the little guy "a leg up on the economic ladder of success," with some failures but many, many successes, including leading the fight for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Harkin, chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP), spoke movingly about what drove him all these years.
In its final days, the United States Senate wrapped up a session marked by obstruction and gridlock by confirming scores of critical judicial and executive nominations.
The National Labor Relations Board upheld some modest changes in the union representation election process intended to simplify the process and minimize delay.
The NLRB ruled that workers have the right to use their work email accounts during non-work hours to discuss workplace issues in a case involving TNG-CWA members, who are American Sign Language interpreters at Purple Communications.
