SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A worker sorts parcels in the outbound dock at an Amazon fulfillment center in Eastvale, California on August 31, 2021.
(Photo: Watchara Phomicinda/MediaNews Group/The Press-Enterprise via Getty Images)
'A Big Deal': New NLRB Joint-Employer Rule Will Close Workers' Rights Loophole
The new rule "will help restore fairness to an economy rigged against workers," said Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Oct 26, 2023
Workers' rights advocates celebrated Thursday as the National Labor Relations Board finalized a rule establishing how companies can qualify as "joint employers"—a classification that makes firms responsible for workers' wages.
The board announced that, effective in 60 days, two or more entities can be considered joint employers of a group of employees if they both have employment relationship with the workers and help to determine their terms and condition of employment.
Under former Republican President Donald Trump, the NLRB narrowed the joint-employer standard, requiring joint employers to "possess and exercise substantial direct and immediate control" over at least one aspect of the workers' employment.
That standard, said the National Employment Law Project (NELP) at the time, would allow employers to "use temp agencies and subcontractors to try to duck responsibility for workplace violations and to squelch worker organizing and collective action for mutual aid and protection."
The new rule, said People's Parity Project co-founder Sejal Singh, would help anyone in the U.S. who has "ever technically 'worked' for a weird staffing agency or sketchy subcontractor instead of the company" that determined their pay and work responsibilities.
For those employees, said Singh, "it just got easier to organize a union."
Veteran union organizer Kraig Peck added that companies that rely on franchisees to operate their business, such as McDonald's, and corporations that hire certain workers through contracting companies, like Amazon, could now be required to negotiate with a union formed at a franchise or contractor if the NLRB determines they jointly employ the unionized workers.
"Giants like Amazon and McDonald's can't hide behind loopholes anymore," said labor rights media organization More Perfect Union.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), an outspoken defender of labor rights, said the new standard will "help ensure corporations cannot avoid their responsibility to collectively bargain with their workers."
The final rule, said the senator, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, "will help restore fairness to an economy rigged against workers."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
corporationsworkers rightsnlrbunionsnational labor relations boardamazon.comworkersmcdonald'sbernie sanders
Workers' rights advocates celebrated Thursday as the National Labor Relations Board finalized a rule establishing how companies can qualify as "joint employers"—a classification that makes firms responsible for workers' wages.
The board announced that, effective in 60 days, two or more entities can be considered joint employers of a group of employees if they both have employment relationship with the workers and help to determine their terms and condition of employment.
Under former Republican President Donald Trump, the NLRB narrowed the joint-employer standard, requiring joint employers to "possess and exercise substantial direct and immediate control" over at least one aspect of the workers' employment.
That standard, said the National Employment Law Project (NELP) at the time, would allow employers to "use temp agencies and subcontractors to try to duck responsibility for workplace violations and to squelch worker organizing and collective action for mutual aid and protection."
The new rule, said People's Parity Project co-founder Sejal Singh, would help anyone in the U.S. who has "ever technically 'worked' for a weird staffing agency or sketchy subcontractor instead of the company" that determined their pay and work responsibilities.
For those employees, said Singh, "it just got easier to organize a union."
Veteran union organizer Kraig Peck added that companies that rely on franchisees to operate their business, such as McDonald's, and corporations that hire certain workers through contracting companies, like Amazon, could now be required to negotiate with a union formed at a franchise or contractor if the NLRB determines they jointly employ the unionized workers.
"Giants like Amazon and McDonald's can't hide behind loopholes anymore," said labor rights media organization More Perfect Union.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), an outspoken defender of labor rights, said the new standard will "help ensure corporations cannot avoid their responsibility to collectively bargain with their workers."
The final rule, said the senator, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, "will help restore fairness to an economy rigged against workers."
From Your Site Articles
- As NLRB Delivers 'Victory' to McDonald's, Docs Reveal Fast Food Giant's Dirty Anti-Union Tactics ›
- 'When We Fight, We Win': California Fast Food Workers Launch Union ›
- NLRB Head Says Corporate Legal Challenges Are Anti-Union Firms' Attempt to Distract Public ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Workers' rights advocates celebrated Thursday as the National Labor Relations Board finalized a rule establishing how companies can qualify as "joint employers"—a classification that makes firms responsible for workers' wages.
The board announced that, effective in 60 days, two or more entities can be considered joint employers of a group of employees if they both have employment relationship with the workers and help to determine their terms and condition of employment.
Under former Republican President Donald Trump, the NLRB narrowed the joint-employer standard, requiring joint employers to "possess and exercise substantial direct and immediate control" over at least one aspect of the workers' employment.
That standard, said the National Employment Law Project (NELP) at the time, would allow employers to "use temp agencies and subcontractors to try to duck responsibility for workplace violations and to squelch worker organizing and collective action for mutual aid and protection."
The new rule, said People's Parity Project co-founder Sejal Singh, would help anyone in the U.S. who has "ever technically 'worked' for a weird staffing agency or sketchy subcontractor instead of the company" that determined their pay and work responsibilities.
For those employees, said Singh, "it just got easier to organize a union."
Veteran union organizer Kraig Peck added that companies that rely on franchisees to operate their business, such as McDonald's, and corporations that hire certain workers through contracting companies, like Amazon, could now be required to negotiate with a union formed at a franchise or contractor if the NLRB determines they jointly employ the unionized workers.
"Giants like Amazon and McDonald's can't hide behind loopholes anymore," said labor rights media organization More Perfect Union.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), an outspoken defender of labor rights, said the new standard will "help ensure corporations cannot avoid their responsibility to collectively bargain with their workers."
The final rule, said the senator, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, "will help restore fairness to an economy rigged against workers."
From Your Site Articles
- As NLRB Delivers 'Victory' to McDonald's, Docs Reveal Fast Food Giant's Dirty Anti-Union Tactics ›
- 'When We Fight, We Win': California Fast Food Workers Launch Union ›
- NLRB Head Says Corporate Legal Challenges Are Anti-Union Firms' Attempt to Distract Public ›
Related Articles Around the Web
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.