Posts tagged American Rescue Plan
Opinion: Biden’s pension ‘guarantee’ stretches the law to bail out unions
July 15, 2022 // “PBGC has, after this further review of the statute, additional consultation with its Board agencies [Treasury, DOL, and, Commerce], consideration of comments, and extensive actuarial modeling, determined that an alternative interpretation… is reasonable and more likely to result in the [taxpayer funds] an eligible plan receives being sufficient for the plan to pay full benefits through 2051.” There is no limiting principle on the spending of taxpayer money if agencies can disregard the law with the hope no one has the standing to obtain judicial review. PBGC’s rationale that the American Rescue Plan’s goal to keep plans going through 2051 justifies overriding the statute to change the interest rate would also justify illegally pumping additional billions into plans if they run out of money before 2051, which is exactly what President Biden “guaranteed” on Wednesday. The bailout will cover only a small fraction of the $757 billion of underfunding in the plans. More than 95 percent of the system’s 11 million participants are in plans less than 60 percent funded. Why not also ignore the law’s eligibility criteria and bailout other plans? Chevron v Natural Resources Defense Council, Majority Leader Charles Schumer
Biden spotlights effort to rescue union pensions
July 7, 2022 // Reassuring frustrated blue-collar voters, President Joe Biden on Wednesday visited Ohio iron workers to highlight federal action to shore up troubled pension funding for millions now on the job or retired — and to make his political case that he’s been a champion for workers in the White House. Bill DeVito, Jeffrey Carlson, Rob Portman, Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, Republican J.D. Vance,
Op-ed: Small Business Administration should fight for entrepreneurs, not unions
June 24, 2022 // Nonetheless, a recent Freedom Foundation analysis of SBA’s PPP loan database identified 223 loans totaling $36.1 million made to labor unions and related organizations between March 2020 and March 2021 that, as mostly 501(c)(5) nonprofit groups, were not eligible to participate in the program. The recipient list included a dozen teachers unions and advocacy groups, such as the Michigan Education Association and the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association, ironically among the fiercest champions of lockdown policies, the effects of which PPP funds were intended to alleviate. Alabama State Employees Association, Maryland Public Employees Council, Alaska AFL-CIO, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, Isabel Guzman, Small Business Committee,
Congress thwarted Biden on unions. Or did it?
June 24, 2022 // “One of the biggest problems with this DOL is its obvious union favoritism,” the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), said at a hearing this month. “This department has bowed low enough before union bosses to taste dirt. How many times has the Biden administration’s DOL kowtowed before union bosses instead of standing up for workers?” From installing former union official Marty Walsh as Labor secretary, to outfitting the National Labor Relations Board with union alums, to issuing a spate of union-friendly executive orders, the White House has taken significant steps toward expanding union membership despite the challenges presented by a narrowly divided Congress. Steve Rosenthal, Rep. Donald Norcross, Shane Larson, Communication Workers of America, Kate Bronfenbrenner, Doug Parker, Alice Stock, Lauren McFerran, Bobby Scott, Nick Niedzwiadek
Unions rally for COVID hazard pay after arbitrator sides with the state
June 22, 2022 // “Pay us our motherf***ing money.” The American Rescue Plan is the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package approved early in President Joe Biden’s term. That measure sent more than $10 billion to Ohio — about half it going to the state and the other half split among local governments. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther contrasted his decision to use that funding for public employees. “If we can do it at the local level, we certainly can do it at the state level,” Ginther said. “And we stand in solidarity with you today.” Lorain Correctional Institution, Appalachian Community Grant Program, Wilson Humphrey,
NJ Unions Hit the Bricks for Hazard Pay
June 21, 2022 // On June 16, union members, a couple with their toddlers in tow, snaked through the Capitol complex looking to present a letter making the case for hazard pay. It was signed by several union presidents, including Charles Wowkanech, president of the New Jersey AFL-CIO and was addressed to Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin. The letter was also addressed to Gov. Phil Murphy. New Jersey Transit ATU, Janet Booker, 32 BJ SEIU, Make the Road New Jersey, Essex County Assemblywoman Mila Jasey,
Fact Checking Secretary Walsh
June 14, 2022 // Labor Secretary Marty Walsh will make some big claims at this morning’s Education and Labor Committee hearing. Education and Labor Committee Republicans is setting the record straight: Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, multiemployer pension plans, Federal Drug Administration,
Unionization Is Starting to Spread Across the Retail Sector
May 19, 2022 //
How should lawmakers promote the flexible work arrangements workers and families need?
March 12, 2022 // “Workers should be free to seek employment opportunities that use their unique skills to contribute to society, and businesses should have the flexibility to offer choices to diverse potential workers and clients.”
Report: Unions Collected Millions in Federal COVID Relief They Weren’t Eligible for While Cheerleading Lockdowns
March 2, 2022 // And, to top it off, a recent Freedom Foundation report documents how as many as 226 forgivable loans totaling $36.7 million were provided to labor unions and related organizations that were apparently ineligible for the funds.