News & Commentary

October 5, 2018

Vail Kohnert-Yount

Vail Kohnert-Yount is a student at Harvard Law School.

This morning, the Senate narrowly voted to end debate on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. A final vote could occur as early as tomorrow. 51 Senators, including Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) voted for cloture. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted no. It remains unclear whether the cloture votes of Senators Collins, Flake, and Manchin reflect their final position on Kavanaugh’s nomination.

Nearly 2,500 workers at seven Marriott hotels in San Francisco walked off their jobs yesterday morning to demand higher wages, workplace safety, and job security. They join 1,500 Marriott workers in Boston who went on strike the day before, including at the Boston Ritz-Carlton where the New York Yankees crossed the picket line. Unite Here Local 26 President Brian Lang said in response, “We understand that there’s a very intense rivalry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, but quite frankly we’re a little outraged they would take it out on working class people who are out here sacrificing to improve their livelihoods.”

Following Amazon’s announcement that it would raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour for all U.S. employees, the company gave notice that it will phase out its bonus and stock award programs for hourly workers. In the past, Amazon’s U.S. warehouse workers were eligible for monthly bonuses as well as stock awards. The company informed those employees on Wednesday that it will eliminate both of those compensation categories to help pay for the raises.

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