@alvinvelazquez
@alvinvelazquez.bsky.social
Associate Professor at IU Maurer School of Law thinking about labor law, bankruptcy, economic trends, and theology. All comments are my own and not my employer's.
Papers at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=6971537
Papers at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=6971537
Pinned
Power At Work Blogcast #96: Would workers have more power without the NLRA and NLRB?
YouTube video by The Burnes Center for Social Change
www.youtube.com
Thinking about getting rid of labor law in the US? @poweratwork.bsky.social hosted @gracabi.bsky.social, @mrsethharris.bsky.social@sethunion.bsky.social, Lynn Rhinehardt, and myself to talk about that and what could replace it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKDI...
Reposted by @alvinvelazquez
Cool paper alert: @alvinvelazquez.bsky.social has a new paper examining bankruptcy law’s role in shaping collective power for labor unions and workers.
Bankrupting Labor Power
Corporations use bankruptcy to undermine worker collective power. For example, corporations can run to bankruptcy court to shed collective bargaining agreements
papers.ssrn.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Cool paper alert: @alvinvelazquez.bsky.social has a new paper examining bankruptcy law’s role in shaping collective power for labor unions and workers.
I provided comments to El Nuevo Día about Puerto Rico's bankruptcy. Both the NLRB and the Oversight Board lack quorum. Should the local government have the power to step in and manage the bankruptcy as New York state is stepping in to fill a gap in labor law? www.elnuevodia.com/english/news...
After Fiscal Board layoffs, Donald Trump keeps PREPA debt restructuring in limbo
The White House began the layoffs on Aug. 1, but maintains the six vacancies created by the U.S. president
www.elnuevodia.com
September 26, 2025 at 5:46 PM
I provided comments to El Nuevo Día about Puerto Rico's bankruptcy. Both the NLRB and the Oversight Board lack quorum. Should the local government have the power to step in and manage the bankruptcy as New York state is stepping in to fill a gap in labor law? www.elnuevodia.com/english/news...
Who would have thought that Loper-Bright would matter in private sector bankruptcies involving labor unions and pension funds? Apparently, it does in the Yellow Bankruptcy. @bloomberg.com covered my thoughts on it. In short, Judge Ambro got this decision right. news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-l...
Yellow’s $6.5 Billion Pension Loss Marks Victory for PBGC (1)
Yellow Corp.'s failed bid to slash around $6.5 billion in pension withdrawal liabilities is a significant win for one federal regulator, even as the underlying legal issue is up for a possible revisit...
news.bloomberglaw.com
September 18, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Who would have thought that Loper-Bright would matter in private sector bankruptcies involving labor unions and pension funds? Apparently, it does in the Yellow Bankruptcy. @bloomberg.com covered my thoughts on it. In short, Judge Ambro got this decision right. news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-l...
@katejackson.bsky.social wrote a great paper that this LPE Post draws from. What really blew me away was how the descriptive accounts of authoritarian regimes tracked CEO behavior intuitively. This is really insightful stuff, and I'm thankful that Kate is doing this.
Very interesting post on the emerging politics of corporate law from @katejackson.bsky.social. But why “populism”? These aren’t agrarian antimonopolists. The classical term is “demagoguery”, no?
lpeproject.org/blog/a-popul...
lpeproject.org/blog/a-popul...
A Populist CEO in Corporate Law’s Court?
Recent amendments to Delaware’s corporate code have tilted the playing field toward powerful tech CEOs and private equity representatives. Beneath these reforms lies a deeper political shift — the…
lpeproject.org
September 9, 2025 at 4:55 PM
@katejackson.bsky.social wrote a great paper that this LPE Post draws from. What really blew me away was how the descriptive accounts of authoritarian regimes tracked CEO behavior intuitively. This is really insightful stuff, and I'm thankful that Kate is doing this.
Thanks to Michael Duff for the JOTWELL review of my paper the Death of Labor Law and the Rebirth of the Labor Movement. worklaw.jotwell.com/beyond-colla...
Beyond Collapse: Why Labor Law Probably Can't End - Worklaw
Alvin Velazquez, The Death of Labor Law and the Rebirth of the Labor Movement, B.C.L. Rev. (forthcoming), available at SSRN (Feb. 13, 2025).Michael C. DuffIn The Death of Labor Law, Professor Alvin Ve...
worklaw.jotwell.com
September 5, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Thanks to Michael Duff for the JOTWELL review of my paper the Death of Labor Law and the Rebirth of the Labor Movement. worklaw.jotwell.com/beyond-colla...
I absolutely love this blog post by Eamon Coburn because it brings moral conversations into labor law in an explicit way. I may write a response to it because I liked it so much. It's a great pickup by the LPE Blog.
Today, Eamon Coburn argues that the legal scholars and the labor movement must confront a fundamental challenge to organizing: the erosion of social norms against union-busting.
Union Busting is (Morally) Disgusting
As legal protections for labor organizing face existential threats, the American labor movement must confront a deeper challenge: the erosion of social norms that once condemned union-busting as…
lpeproject.org
September 4, 2025 at 7:43 PM
I absolutely love this blog post by Eamon Coburn because it brings moral conversations into labor law in an explicit way. I may write a response to it because I liked it so much. It's a great pickup by the LPE Blog.
Reposted by @alvinvelazquez
This is very good on statutory paths to (private sector) faculty unionization:
A must-read by Mike Wishnie on why even tenured faculties of private universities should be able to unionize under EXISTING law!!
lpeproject.org/blog/why-not...
lpeproject.org/blog/why-not...
Why Not a Faculty Union?
Despite a recent surge in campus organizing, tenured faculty at private universities haven't unionized. Why is this? The conventional answer is that the Supreme Court said they can't. Fortunately…
lpeproject.org
September 2, 2025 at 11:33 AM
This is very good on statutory paths to (private sector) faculty unionization:
The Labor Studies Journal just published my article "Bargaining for the Common Good in Bankruptcy" after peer-review. It's a playbook for what unions should do in the event of a municipal bankruptcy to fight not only in their interest, but for the public good. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Bargaining for the Common Good in Bankruptcy - Alvin Velazquez, 2025
When a corporation files for bankruptcy, it is usually bad news for workers. That is because most corporations are usually looking to slash wages or seek other ...
journals.sagepub.com
August 28, 2025 at 1:50 PM
The Labor Studies Journal just published my article "Bargaining for the Common Good in Bankruptcy" after peer-review. It's a playbook for what unions should do in the event of a municipal bankruptcy to fight not only in their interest, but for the public good. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Reposted by @alvinvelazquez
New op-ed out in @bloomberg.com from Prof. @alvinvelazquez.bsky.social:
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
SpaceX’s Court Victory Paves Way for a Labor Movement Revival
Opinion: Maurer School of Law Professor Alvin Velazquez says a Fifth Circuit ruling against the National Labor Relations Board could open a tactical toolbox for organized labor to exploit.
news.bloomberglaw.com
August 27, 2025 at 2:32 PM
New op-ed out in @bloomberg.com from Prof. @alvinvelazquez.bsky.social:
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Bloomberg just ran my op-ed on SpaceX's victory in the 5th Circuit. I argue that its win could lead to a labor rebirth by taking out preemption and opening up the toolbox of tactics available to labor. Returning labor law to the law of the jungle? news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
SpaceX’s Court Victory Paves Way for a Labor Movement Revival
Opinion: Maurer School of Law Professor Alvin Velazquez says a Fifth Circuit ruling against the National Labor Relations Board could open a tactical toolbox for organized labor to exploit.
news.bloomberglaw.com
August 25, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Bloomberg just ran my op-ed on SpaceX's victory in the 5th Circuit. I argue that its win could lead to a labor rebirth by taking out preemption and opening up the toolbox of tactics available to labor. Returning labor law to the law of the jungle? news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Reposted by @alvinvelazquez
The 5th Circuit holding that the NLRB is not likely constitutional?
Wall Street Stock Market Crash GIF
ALT: Wall Street Stock Market Crash GIF
media.tenor.com
August 19, 2025 at 4:38 PM
The 5th Circuit holding that the NLRB is not likely constitutional?
Reposted by @alvinvelazquez
Trump's so-far-successful effort to strip collective bargaining rights from federal workers appears to have resulted in a decrease in the total number of unionized American workers of more than 2%.
Courts Let Trump Strip Collective Bargaining Rights From Huge Number of Federal Workers
Just days after a federal appeals court cleared the way for President...
talkingpointsmemo.com
August 12, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Trump's so-far-successful effort to strip collective bargaining rights from federal workers appears to have resulted in a decrease in the total number of unionized American workers of more than 2%.
Reposted by @alvinvelazquez
It is very possible that the power of organized labor will be effectively broken under Trump and we will need to rebuild the American labor movement again, without making the same mistakes that got us here.
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/fragile-mo...
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/fragile-mo...
Fragile Movements Crumble
Taking seriously the threat to organized labor.
www.hamiltonnolan.com
August 10, 2025 at 4:14 PM
It is very possible that the power of organized labor will be effectively broken under Trump and we will need to rebuild the American labor movement again, without making the same mistakes that got us here.
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/fragile-mo...
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/fragile-mo...
The Stanford Law Review has accepted for publication my latest article "Bankupting Labor Power". I am beyond thrilled with it, and hope that it gets labor scholars and activists to think about bankruptcy's role in reviving the labor movement. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Bankrupting Labor Power
<div>
Corporations use bankruptcy to undermine worker collective power. For example, corporations can run to bankruptcy court to shed collective bargaining agr
papers.ssrn.com
August 11, 2025 at 5:56 PM
The Stanford Law Review has accepted for publication my latest article "Bankupting Labor Power". I am beyond thrilled with it, and hope that it gets labor scholars and activists to think about bankruptcy's role in reviving the labor movement. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Trump's removal of the Oversight Board's members all has to do with getting creditors paid. Old Board v New Board= a restructuring that PR cannot afford. My comments here in @elnuevodia.bsky.social.
www.elnuevodia.com/corresponsal...
www.elnuevodia.com/corresponsal...
Donald Trump asumiría el control de la Junta de Supervisión Fiscal con sus próximos nombramientos
La Casa Blanca atacó los gastos del ente fiscal y renovó las críticas del presidente a la “corrupción” en el gobierno de Puerto Rico
www.elnuevodia.com
August 6, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Trump's removal of the Oversight Board's members all has to do with getting creditors paid. Old Board v New Board= a restructuring that PR cannot afford. My comments here in @elnuevodia.bsky.social.
www.elnuevodia.com/corresponsal...
www.elnuevodia.com/corresponsal...
I have some thoughts about all of his covered by the Associated Press. apnews.com/article/puer...
The Trump administration dismisses most on a federal board overseeing Puerto Rico's finances
The Trump administration has dismissed five out of seven members on Puerto Rico’s federal control board that oversees the U.S. territory’s finances, sparking concern about the future of the island’s f...
apnews.com
August 5, 2025 at 6:18 PM
I have some thoughts about all of his covered by the Associated Press. apnews.com/article/puer...
My hunch...PREPA's creditors hope by removing certain Oversight Board members they will clear a path for raising some of the highest electrical rates on some of the poorest people in the U.S. to get paid back. www.breitbart.com/politics/202...
Exclusive: Trump Axes Five Members of Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico
President Trump fired five members of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, Breitbart News can exclusively report.
www.breitbart.com
August 5, 2025 at 3:12 AM
My hunch...PREPA's creditors hope by removing certain Oversight Board members they will clear a path for raising some of the highest electrical rates on some of the poorest people in the U.S. to get paid back. www.breitbart.com/politics/202...
@elnuevodia.bsky.social covered my comments about a recent Congressional hearing on PROMESA. The reality is that Puerto Rico's electrical authority does not have a viable path for restructuring in the long term without a truly feasible debt cut off. www.elnuevodia.com/corresponsal...
Impera aún la desconfianza en el gobierno de Puerto Rico en el manejo de los temas fiscales y de quiebra, según expertos
Analizan el saldo de la sesión del miércoles, en el Congreso, con ocasión del noveno aniversario de la ley Promesa y el desempeño de la Junta de Supervisión
www.elnuevodia.com
July 18, 2025 at 2:02 PM
@elnuevodia.bsky.social covered my comments about a recent Congressional hearing on PROMESA. The reality is that Puerto Rico's electrical authority does not have a viable path for restructuring in the long term without a truly feasible debt cut off. www.elnuevodia.com/corresponsal...
Anyone have a take on these Board nominees? I would love to hear them as I form my own thoughts.
news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
Trump Names NLRB Nominees, Paving Path to Functioning Quorum (1)
President Donald Trump tapped a pair of National Labor Relations Board nominees who, if confirmed, would give the agency enough board members to fully function.
news.bloomberglaw.com
July 17, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Anyone have a take on these Board nominees? I would love to hear them as I form my own thoughts.
news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
Indiana and labor activity are not two words that have gone together in much in the last twenty years. But historically Indiana has had a rich culture of union activity. Thanks to our NPR affiliate for getting my thoughts about the resurgence in labor union activity.
www.wfyi.org/news/article...
www.wfyi.org/news/article...
As union action in Indiana continues to grow, here's what one professor has to say
Indiana has seen a wide range of union action this year from some workers unionizing their workplace, or successfully negotiating new contracts, to others demonstrating outside of the Statehouse.
www.wfyi.org
July 17, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Indiana and labor activity are not two words that have gone together in much in the last twenty years. But historically Indiana has had a rich culture of union activity. Thanks to our NPR affiliate for getting my thoughts about the resurgence in labor union activity.
www.wfyi.org/news/article...
www.wfyi.org/news/article...
Quoted today in Bloomberg Law about Sunnova's bankruptcy. This is major news in Puerto Rico, and I think demonstrates how bk law doesn't have great tools for handling debtors reliant on federal grant money.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-law/sunnova-bankruptcy-complicates-puerto-rico-solar-fund-payments
t.co
July 15, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Quoted today in Bloomberg Law about Sunnova's bankruptcy. This is major news in Puerto Rico, and I think demonstrates how bk law doesn't have great tools for handling debtors reliant on federal grant money.
Thinking about getting rid of labor law in the US? @poweratwork.bsky.social hosted @gracabi.bsky.social, @mrsethharris.bsky.social@sethunion.bsky.social, Lynn Rhinehardt, and myself to talk about that and what could replace it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKDI...
Power At Work Blogcast #96: Would workers have more power without the NLRA and NLRB?
YouTube video by The Burnes Center for Social Change
www.youtube.com
June 24, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Thinking about getting rid of labor law in the US? @poweratwork.bsky.social hosted @gracabi.bsky.social, @mrsethharris.bsky.social@sethunion.bsky.social, Lynn Rhinehardt, and myself to talk about that and what could replace it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKDI...
Reposted by @alvinvelazquez
This is a shocking account of intentional and unprecedented defiance of the federal courts by a top DOJ lawyer. And: it was always going to be through immigration law. For earlier traces of executive branch failure to comply with the judiciary in immigration: www.yalelawjournal.org/feature/exec...
June 24, 2025 at 5:28 PM
This is a shocking account of intentional and unprecedented defiance of the federal courts by a top DOJ lawyer. And: it was always going to be through immigration law. For earlier traces of executive branch failure to comply with the judiciary in immigration: www.yalelawjournal.org/feature/exec...
Just dropped a new version of my paper "The Death of Labor Law and the Rebirth of the Labor Movement". It has some thoughts about Wilcox's Supreme Court case, whether to encourage the Court to kill off the act, and insights from organizing literature. Link 👇 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
The Death of Labor Law and the Rebirth of the Labor Movement
What if the current Supreme Court could do what Congress has failed to do since 1935—reform labor law to facilitate worker organizing? The current Supreme Court
papers.ssrn.com
June 24, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Just dropped a new version of my paper "The Death of Labor Law and the Rebirth of the Labor Movement". It has some thoughts about Wilcox's Supreme Court case, whether to encourage the Court to kill off the act, and insights from organizing literature. Link 👇 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....