HR News: The End of Affirmative Action, UBS Layoffs, Potential Labor Strikes, Exhausted Workers, and More

This is a weekly roundup of the latest in HR News.

The biggest news of the week was the Supreme Court striking down affirmative action, the most effective and one of the only solutions to the lack of diversity on college campuses and in workplaces. Despite positive economic indicators, news of layoffs continued to flood news feeds this week. The latest high-profile job cuts came from UBS after its "salvation" of Credit Suisse. In addition, some labor unions are gearing up for possible strikes. Both UPS workers and actors are in fierce negotiations that might result in protest. Finally, Deloitte and Workplace Intelligence put out a report and noted that bosses appear to be blind to the exhaustion of their workers. 

Supreme Court Ends Affirmative Action

Essentially, the Supreme Court ended affirmative action in a 6-3 ruling earlier this week. HR Exchange Network would be remiss not to mention this huge news, which will be transformational in the United States. HREN plans to provide more in-depth coverage soon. Stay tuned! 

In the meantime, HR professionals should know that the Court said that institutions of higher learning could no longer take race into account when making admissions decisions. This overturned decades of precedent. The reason this is such big news for the HR community is because it will influence the talent pipeline and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts at workplaces, too. Leaders in the space are warning that HR must remain more vigilant in its hiring, promotion, and retention practices to ensure this decision does not have a negative effect on progress made. 

UBS Job Cuts

Bloomberg reported that UBS plans to cut more than half of Credit Suisse's workforce. Bankers, traders, and support staff in Credit Suisse's investment bank in London, New York, and in some parts of Asia are most at risk. About 30% or 35,000 workers eventually will lose their job, according to many reports. Reuters cited that people familiar with the matter said that Credit Suisse's headcount is around 45,000. This is coming after UBS executed an emergency takeover of Credit Suisse in June. 

Potential Labor Strikes

The Teamsters Union, which represents 340,000 UPS workers, told the company to bring its final and best offer to the table by June 30 after months of negotiations or face a worker's strike, according to CBS News. This would be the largest single-company strike in U.S. history. 

"The world's largest delivery company that raked in more than $100 billion in revenue last year has made it clear to its union workforce that it has no desire to reward or respectfully compensate UPS Teamsters for their labor and sacrifice," according to a statement from the union. 

This is happening at the same time as the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists and the studios, streaming services, and production companies are in negotiations for a new contract. The current one expires on - you guessed it - June 30. The guild, led by president and former “Nanny” star Fran Drescher, represents over 160,000 screen actors, stunt performers, broadcast journalists, announcers, and hosts, but a strike would involve only actors working on television shows and films, according to the Associated Press.

Writers are already on strike, so this could mean more woes in entertainment. The guild is raising issues in both instances about the use of artificial intelligence as related to creatives, inflation outpacing pay, concern about royalty payments for successful shows on streaming services, and more.

Bosses Have No Clue about Worker Well-Being

CNBC reported on the results of the Deloitte and Workplace Intelligence survey, which showed that employees are feeling down about a myriad of things, but bosses think they are happy. 

"While 77% of executives believe that workers’ mental well-being improved, only 33% of employees surveyed feel so, said the report. An even lower percentage felt their social and financial well-being (27% and 30% respectively) are in a better place," according to CNBC. 

Supreme Court Forces Employers to Accommodate Workers' Religion

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court sided with a U.S. postal worker, who refused to work on the Sabbath. As a result of the Court's ruling, employers must make substantial efforts to accommodate their workers’ religious practices, according to The New York Times. 

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