The 2025 federal government shutdown is not merely a standoff over funding; it is fast becoming a laboratory for bureaucratic manipulation, where the normal rules of civil service employment are being tested and, in some cases, exploited. Among the most striking possibilities emerging is the use of Leave Without Pay (LWOP) and administrative leave duringContinue reading “The Bureaucratic Purge: How the Shutdown Could Weaponize Leave Policies”
Tag Archives: unions
The LWOP Purge: How the Shutdown Could Weaponize Federal Leave
The 2025 federal government shutdown is no ordinary standoff over appropriations. Beyond furloughs and halted operations lies a subtler, more insidious tactic: the potential use of Leave Without Pay (LWOP) to sideline federal employees during the 60-day notice period mandated for Reductions in Force (RIFs). While the law requires that employees receive notice before beingContinue reading “The LWOP Purge: How the Shutdown Could Weaponize Federal Leave”
Interfaith Friday #17: Labor Day, Sacred Work
Ahead of Labor Day, religious leaders are blessing picket lines while agnostic and atheist union members fight for wage equity. The concept of fair labor is embedded in many belief systems â from Islamic teachings about worker rights to the Hebrew Bibleâs instructions on fair wages. Secular ethics echo this with calls for economic justice.Continue reading “Interfaith Friday #17: Labor Day, Sacred Work”
Libraries and Schools as Legal Persons: Recognizing Institutions That Labor for Society
Legal personhood has long been applied in surprising and creative ways. Corporations, animals, rivers, infrastructure, religious institutions, municipalities, unions, social movements, countries, and even continents have all been argued to deserve legal recognition based on the labor they perform, their continuity, and their societal impact. Extending this framework further, libraries and schools clearly meet theseContinue reading “Libraries and Schools as Legal Persons: Recognizing Institutions That Labor for Society”
From Countries to Continents: Expanding Legal Personhood to the Global Scale
Legal personhood has historically been flexible, extending beyond individual humans to corporations, animals, infrastructure, and even religious institutions. If we recognize entities as legal persons based on labor, contribution, continuity, and societal impact, there is no inherent reason to stop at the scale of cities or unions. In fact, the next logical step is toContinue reading “From Countries to Continents: Expanding Legal Personhood to the Global Scale”
Beyond Humans: Recognizing Municipalities, Unions, and Movements as Legal Persons
The concept of legal personhood has expanded remarkably over time. Corporations, animals, rivers, infrastructure, and religious institutions have all been argued to deserve personhood under various ethical and legal frameworks. If personhood can be extended to these entities based on labor, contribution, continuity, and societal impact, then it naturally follows that municipalities, unions, and organizedContinue reading “Beyond Humans: Recognizing Municipalities, Unions, and Movements as Legal Persons”
Interfaith Friday #12: The Faith to Strike: Labor Movements and Religious Support for Worker Rights
As labor unions across the U.S. ramp up strikes in response to unsafe conditions and stagnant wages, religious groups from diverse backgrounds are stepping up in support. Catholic nuns marching with hotel workers. Muslim community centers providing meals for striking delivery drivers. Jewish rabbis calling for Shabbat sermons on justice for the working poor. EvenContinue reading “Interfaith Friday #12: The Faith to Strike: Labor Movements and Religious Support for Worker Rights”
May Day in MAGAland â Workersâ Rights in the Crosshairs
Today is May DayâInternational Workersâ Day. Around the globe, workers march to honor the historic struggles of laborers who fought for eight-hour workdays, fair wages, and the right to organize. In America, however, May 1st continues to be ignored, erased, or demonizedâespecially under the second term of Donald Trump. Letâs be clear: this administration isContinue reading “May Day in MAGAland â Workersâ Rights in the Crosshairs”