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A panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals signaled skepticism toward an NLRB decision finding that former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz unlawfully threatened a pro-union barista by suggesting she “work for another company.” The judges questioned whether the single remark, made during a 2022 employee town hall where Schultz pledged no retaliation, truly amounted to coercion under labor law. Their eventual ruling could add to a string of appellate decisions narrowing the NLRB’s interpretation of what constitutes unlawful employer speech.

A National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge ruled that Amazon illegally required employees to sign overly restrictive workplace agreements that limited their ability to discuss working conditions or engage in organizing. The decision found that confidentiality, non-solicitation, and non-interference rules dating back to 2020 unlawfully chilled protected activity under federal labor law. Amazon was ordered to stop enforcing the policies and rewrite them, as the case unfolds amid ongoing unionization efforts at the company’s warehouses.

A Senate committee narrowly approved President Trump’s nomination of Scott Mayer, Boeing’s chief labor lawyer, to the National Labor Relations Board, moving his stalled nomination toward a full Senate vote. The NLRB has been paralyzed with only one sitting member since Trump fired Democratic board member Gwynne Wilcox in January, leaving hundreds of cases unresolved. If confirmed alongside two other nominees, Mayer would help restore the board’s quorum and shift it to a Republican majority for the first time since 2021.

Unions across India staged nationwide demonstrations to oppose new labor policies they say weaken worker protections and expand employer control. The protests, which included marches, strikes, and disruptions in several major cities, criticized the government for consolidating labor laws in ways unions argue make it easier to hire and fire workers and undermine collective bargaining. Officials defended the reforms as necessary to modernize the economy, but unions vowed to intensify resistance.

Employees at several Amazon warehouses in Germany launched strikes on Black Friday, demanding higher wages and better working conditions as part of a long-running dispute between the company and the Verdi union. The walkouts targeted one of Amazon’s busiest shopping days, though Amazon said the disruptions would not affect customer deliveries. Verdi argued that Amazon continues to refuse sector-wide collective bargaining agreements standard in Germany’s retail and logistics industries.

A federal appeals court upheld a National Labor Relations Board ruling that security contractor Constellis illegally fired firearms instructor Michael Macri after he raised serious health and safety concerns about ricocheting bullets and PPE bans at the ranges. The Fourth Circuit rejected the company’s argument that Macri was a “manager” excluded from NLRA protections, holding that instructors lacked policy-making authority and that the judicially created managerial exception must be construed narrowly to preserve workers’ rights to act for their mutual aid and protection on safety issues.

Workers at 16 Swatch stores across Turkey ended a strike after more than two weeks, accepting a new union-brokered contract. The agreement includes significant pay raises, better working conditions, and enhanced social benefits — a response to inflation and cost-of-living pressures that initially sparked the walkout. Union leaders call the deal an important precedent for retail workers nationwide.

Security guards at the Bank of England, who had planned a strike over pay disputes, have accepted a revised offer and called off the action. The new agreement gives them two 4% pay increases (one retroactive to March 2025, another in March 2026) and an extra day of annual leave. The resolution averts disruption at one of the UK’s most important financial institutions.

A union representing Starbucks baristas has broadened its indefinite strike to over 120 stores across 85 cities — up from 65 stores at the start — in a move timed for Black Friday, traditionally one of the chain’s busiest days. The union demands improved pay, staffing, and resolution of unfair labor-practice complaints. Starbucks says 99% of U.S. stores remain open and does not expect major disruption.

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction stopping New York’s labor board from enforcing a new state law that would let it handle private-sector labor disputes while the National Labor Relations Board lacks a quorum. The ruling sided with Amazon, which argued the law illegally intrudes on federal authority under long-standing labor precedent. The case stems from PERB’s attempt to hear a complaint involving the firing of a union leader at Amazon’s JFK8 warehouse, and the judge said allowing the state board to proceed risked conflicting rulings and irreparable harm.