Jena Martin

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The United States Postal Service (USPS) has been in the news a lot more than usual lately. Amid controversies over the summer appointment of Louis DeJoy (a former corporate executive with no previous experience in the agency) as the Postmaster General, and more recent coverage of the Postal Service’s role in the upcoming election (and their ability to handle the uptick in mail-in voting) this widely-lauded government service has been the target of increasing calls for privatization.  Given President Trump’s open disdain for USPS, the results of the November election may well determine the future trajectory of this agency. Specifically, votes this November will likely determine whether USPS will remain within the ambit of its original intention: as a public trust for the citizens of the United States or become a privatized corporation where a profit making purpose is imposed on the new incarnation of the Postal Service in a way that will likely lead to disaster for all.  In a longer essay, (that will be published in the Texas Law Review Online) we provide an in-depth look into the Postal Service’s history and mission.  Here, we would like to take a moment to truly unpack the implications of placing a corporate veneer on a public service agency.

Welcome to the final guest blog discussing the work of the ULC study committee that focuses on coercive labor practices.  In previous blogs I have discussed other frameworks the study committee is considering, including disclosure-based regimes and frameworks that are centered on procurement.  In this final blog, I will examine what some consider the next frontier for combating coercive labor practices in supply chains: mandatory human rights due diligence.   

More after the jump …

Welcome to the ongoing guest blog that discusses the work of the ULC study committee that focuses on coercive labor practices.  In the last two blogs (here and here) I discussed two frameworks the study committee was considering: one that focuses on disclosure and one that examines labor procurement. Both of these frameworks rely on the government-as-regulator model. In this next blog I examine the government-as-purchaser model, one that would harness the enormous buying power of many of our states into a uniform law. 

More after the jump …

            Welcome to the 3rd in a series of 5 guest blogs discussing the work that I have done as a reporter for the ULC study committee on coercive labor practices in supply chains. In this blog, I want to provide a deeper dive into another regulatory options the study committee is reviewing: the use of labor procurement laws.

More after the jump…

            Welcome to the 2nd in a series of 5 guest blogs discussing the work that I have done as a reporter for the ULC study committee on coercive labor practices in supply chains. In the last blog, I provided some context for why the study committee was adopted. In this blog, I want to provide a deeper dive into one of the regulatory options the study committee is reviewing: the use of corporate disclosures.

More after the jump…

Since 1892, the Uniform Law Commission has deeply affected the practice of law – especially business law.  Uniform Acts like the Revised Uniform Partnership Act (RUPA) and the Uniform LLC Act are typical examples of the types of frameworks that the ULC typically develops. They are laws that serve as a guide to private transactions and civil liability.  Perhaps the most famous example of this has been the Uniform Commercial Code.

More recently however, the ULC has begun to study, draft, and approve laws that, if adopted, would expand its traditional scope – providing more regulatory and criminal oversight of various issues rather than more commercial transactions.

More after the jump…